The buzz at Sotheby’s last week was high as a Vermeer was put on the block. But “the atmosphere at Christie’s Old Masters sale a few hours earlier could scarcely have been more different. There were empty seats, little buzz and a lacklustre mood. Several of the most important pictures failed to sell, including El Greco’s Saint Francis meditating, estimated at £700,000 to £1 million, Il Vanvitelli’s The Piazza del Popolo, Rome, expected to fetch £1 million to £1.5 million, and Bodegon with bread by Luis Melendez.”