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Stern Pissarro Gallery
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Limoges 1841-1919 Cagnes-sur-Mer) Coco mangeant sa soupe, 1905 Oil on canvas 46.3 x 37.9 cm Signed lower right 'Renoir' Provenance: Ambroise Vollard, Paris; private collection, Zurich, circa 1930; Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego, March 1942 (on loan from a private collection); Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles, 1943-1949; Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries, New York, 1953; Chapin and Mary Alexander Riley, Malibu/Worcester, acquired in 1953; Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts (inventory n° 1991.238) (one third gifted in 1992 and a second third gifted in 1997) Literature: Principales acquisitions des musées en 1992, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1993, p. 65; Guy-Patrice Dauberville and Michel Dauberville, Renoir: Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles, vol. IV, 1903-1910, n° 3415, p. 435 Exhibitions: Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Vincent van Gogh en zijn Tijdgenooten, 1930, n° 269; San Diego, Fine Arts Gallery, 1942; Los Angeles, Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Renoir (1841-1919), 1943, n° 5; Los Angeles, Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, A Superb Exhibition: Modern French Masters, 1949, p. 5 (travelled to New York, Barbizon Plaza Hotel); Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Renoir: Intimidad, 18 October 2016-22 January 2017, p. 149 (travelled to Bilbao, Museo de Gellas Artes de Bilbao, 7 February-15 May 2017) Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Coco mangeant sa soupe (1905) is an intimate portrait of the artist’s youngest son, Claude, known as Coco, aged four, painted at Cagnes-sur-Mer in the South of France. Built from soft, flowing brushstrokes in warm oranges, pinks and reds, it shows Renoir’s late style at its most affectionate. The painting was exhibited at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, in Vincent van Gogh en zijn Tijdgenooten (1930) and at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Renoir: Intimidad (2016–17). Its provenance includes Ambroise Vollard and the Worcester Art Museum. A tender, closely observed portrayal of family life, it offers an intimate glimpse into the final chapter of Renoir’s career.
Rueb Modern and Contemporary Art
Jan Sluijters ('s-Hertogenbosch 1881-1957 Amsterdam) Greet van Cooten with headband, 1910 Oil on canvas 35.5 x 42 cm Signed and dated Provenance: Salomon Beffie collection, Amsterdam; Willem Beffie collection, New York; Galerie van Voorst van Beest, The Hague; Reens collection, Amsterdam; A.J. van Hillegondsberg collection, Blaricum; private collection, Amsterdam Literature: online catalogue raisonné Jan Sluijters - www.rkd.nl/images/100130 Exhibition: The Hague, Pulchri Studio, Paintings, drawings and pointes-sèches of Jan Sluijters and Lodewijk, Schelfhout, 3 July-25 July 1915, n° 40 After winning the prestigious Prix de Rome, Jan Sluijters received a grant that enabled him to travel to Rome and later to Paris. There, he encountered Fauvism, an avant-garde movement that emerged in the early 20th century. The Fauves revolutionised the use of colour, applying vivid, unmixed colours directly to the canvas. Their bold approach challenged artistic conventions and initially provoked criticism. The art critic Louis Vauxcelles famously nicknamed them les fauves (“the wild beasts”). Together with Piet Mondrian and Leo Gestel, Sluijters became one of the leading representatives of Dutch Luminism, a movement that developed around 1909 and embraced the expressive power of light and intense colour. Painted in 1910, Greet van Cooten with Headband is an early example of Sluijters’s exploration of this vibrant new style. Its striking colours reflect the influence of Fauvism, while demonstrating his own distinctive approach to colour and light. Greet van Cooten was Sluijters’s favourite model; she later became his wife in 1913.
Galerie Nicolas Bourriaud
Rembrandt Bugatti (Milan 1884-1916 Paris) Small Elephant at Rest (1912), circa 1923 Bronze with a nuanced brown patina H 20.3 x W 20.5 x D 12.5 cm Signed ‘R. Bugatti’ Cast by Hébrard, numbered ‘11’, bears the mark ‘CIRE PERDUE A.A. HEBRARD’ Only twenty examples have been recorded to date. Certificate of authenticity by Véronique Fromanger Provenance: Cahier Hébrard inv. n° 3717, formerly in the collection of the Countess de V, Toulouse, acquired in 1923 or 1924; private collection, Marseille Literature: Véronique Fromanger, 'Rembrandt Bugatti, Sculptor: A Monographic Catalogue: A Meteoric Career', Paris, Les éditions de l’Amateur, 2016, model listed under n° 300, p. 364 All of Rembrandt Bugatti’s talent as an animal sculptor is evident in his Little Elephant at Rest, depicted standing upright, somewhat ungainly, leaning on his trunk to maintain his balance. Through the sensitive yet dynamic treatment of its modelling, the sculpture beautifully reveals the Master’s ability to convey a palpable sense of life through the medium of sculpture. This endearing model was produced in an edition of only 20 examples. This particular example, numbered 11, is distinguished by the beauty of its patina, with its particularly nuanced and delicate shades of brown enhanced by touches of green, as well as by the exceptional quality of its casting, executed by Albino Palazzolo at the Hébrard foundry. So finely rendered is the bronze that the artist’s fingerprints remain visible in numerous places.
Samuel Vanhoegaerden Gallery
Karel Appel (Amsterdam 1921-2006 Zurich) People, Birds and Sun, 1951 Gouache and pastel on paper, mounted on canvas 65 x 100 cm Signed and dated lower right Provenance: the estate of the artist; Galerie Max Hetzler, London Exhibition: Karel Appel-Cobra/Non Cobra, Galerie Max Hetzler, London, January-February 2024 This work by Karel Appel embodies the playful, instinctive visual language that makes his finest Cobra-period pieces so instantly recognizable. As the original version of the painting held in the Tate Gallery’s collection, this piece offers a glimpse into the evolution of a composition in which the imagination is given free rein. A child, a bird, a sun, and fantastical creatures appear alongside and intertwined with one another, without ever conforming to a traditional representation of reality. The figures are childlike and direct. Large eyes, erratic contours, and bold, spontaneous lines lend them an expressive presence. Appel does not paint what he sees, but rather he paints what he imagines and senses. The exuberant colors - yellow, red, green, blue, and black - collide, overlap, and amplify one another. The yellow plane infuses the composition with light and energy, while the dark lines provide structure to the various figures. This combination of childlike spontaneity and controlled painterly craft lies at the heart of Appel’s Cobra aesthetic.
Lemaire
Japanese and Chinese porcelain potpourri Kangxi and Edo periods, circa 1760-1770 Porcelain mounted in gilt-bronze H 23 x Ø 16 cm The piece is composed of two distinct sections. The circular Japanese porcelain base is decorated with a vegetal motif and set within a finely chased gilt-bronze mount, from which rise three small feet. Above, three Chinese biscuit porcelain dogs support a globular potpourri vessel, surmounted by a flower-form finial in porcelain. This work is typical of the marchands-merciers active in Paris during the second half of the 18th century.
MassModernDesign
Jorge Zalszupin (Warschau 1922-2020 São Paulo) L'Atelier, Brazil 1959 Bergere chair Hardwood, fabric H 92 x W 83 x D 93 cm This exceptional Bergère armchair perfectly embodies the essence of Jorge Zalszupin’s design philosophy. A masterful interplay of organic forms, contrasting materials and outstanding craftsmanship, the chair combines beautifully sculpted wooden armrests with refined upholstery and luxurious textures in a remarkably harmonious composition. The contrast between the warm brown suede, textured ivory fabric and richly grained wood highlights Zalszupin’s sophisticated approach to materials and his great attention to detail. Every curve, joint and transition has been carefully considered, reflecting the fine woodworking skills and uncompromising standards of quality that defined his workshop, L’Atelier. More than simply a comfortable armchair, this rare 1959 design is a sculptural expression of Brazilian modernism, bringing together elegance, innovation and traditional craftsmanship in a single, harmonious creation. It remains in excellent condition, a rare occurrence for a piece of this age.
Franck Anelli Fine Art
Secretary Charles Topino (1742-1803), master in 1773 Transition period Oak, Breccia marble top, bronze and marquetry in rosewood, amaranth, holly, sycamore, lemonwood, stained woods and tobacco wood H 139 x W 92 x D 38 cm Stamped TOPINO and bearing the Jurande hallmark Transition period secretary in wardrobe stamped Charles TOPINO (1742-1803) and Jurande hallmark. Rectangular in shape, the front uprights with cut sides, the front legs arched, the hind legs straight, the oak frame, it opens with a drawer, two leaves and a flap revealing a compartmentalized interior of seven drawers and four compartments. Top of breccia marble from Aleppo. Inlaid decoration in rosewood, amaranth, holly, sycamore, lemon tree, stained wood, tobacco wood, drawing lattices on the uprights and the upper drawer, those of the latter, embellished with flowers, and trompe-l'oeil on the front and on the sides, a decoration of garlands of oval cartouches of stylised acanthus leaves uniting the panels of the toilet seat and the leaves, each also presenting, in the upper part, a leafy garland that can be found on the side panels. The latter are decorated with two gadrooned urns close to the flowered vases of the leaves. The toilet seat has a trompe-l'oeil perspective decoration, an orangery whose open shutters give a glimpse of a wooded landscape in the distance, a perspective accentuated by the checkerboard paving, also present on the leaves. Eight boxes of fruit trees are spread around a table on which are placed two flowered vases and under which is a watering can. The interior reveals six side drawers in three rows, inlaid with a floral vase pattern, as well as a central drawer. Stamped TOPINO and hallmark of Jurande Charles TOPINO received master in 1773 The art of marquetry The bronzes are discreet on our desk and this is intended to give pride of place to marquetry, qualified as wooden painting. If it is possible and tempting - rightly to link a cabinetmaker to his marquetry and this is regularly the case for Topino whose utensil marquetry inspired by the borders of Chinese Coromandel lacquer screens of the time is a characteristic of the artist - it turns out that the models circulated and that inlaid panels could be used by the same circle of cabinetmakers. If the vases, potiches, flowers, utensils reproduced, invented, associated, allow us to recognize Topino's art, it should be noted that the framing motif made up of oval reserves with quartefeuilles and spandrels can be found on secretaries, a chest of drawers and a dressing table stamped Jacques Bircklé. By this same cabinetmaker, a secretary also presents the same vases present on our furniture. Very similar marquetry panels. both in their compositions and in their frames can be found on a chest of drawers attributed to Jacques Bircklé, illustrated in the book by Pierre Kjellberg, who also defines the paving pattern as Bircklé's 'almost exclusiveness'. our secretary thus witnessed the circulation of drawn or engraved models.
Guy Pieters Gallery
Pierre Alechinsky (Brussels, 1927) Paysage impressionné, 1959 Oil on canvas 205 x 289 cm Pierre Alechinsky’s ‘Paysage impressionné’, executed in 1959, is a large oil painting from an important early period in the artist’s career. Painted after the CoBrA movement had dissolved, it reflects his interest in spontaneous, expressive forms, a vivid sense of movement and the freedom of the brush. The lively brushwork and interplay of colours give the painting a sense of movement, while the broad composition feels balanced and harmonious. This combination of energy and control makes the work especially engaging.
Marty de Cambiaire
Hans Rottenhammer (Munich 1564-1625 Augsburg) Minerva and the Muses, 1606 Oil on copper 32.8 x 39.4 cm Signed with a monogram and dated '1606/ HR' on the rock, centre right Provenance: said to have belonged to the Earl of Roseberry, Mentmore, Buckinghamshire; private collection, Danbury, Connecticut; Jean-Luc Baroni Ltd., London, 2011; Charles Petit collection, London, 2011; Sotheby’s, London, 8 July 2015, lot 39; private collection Literature: Bernard Aikema, in 'Hans Rottenhammer', exhibition catalogue, Munich, 2004, p. 38, repr. fig. 55; Jean-Luc Baroni, 'Master Paintings at the Tefaf Art and Antiques Fair', cat. 2011, n° 8 Painted on copper, signed and dated 1606 by Hans Rottenhammer, this work captivates through its delicate execution, distinctive palette and refined subject matter. It brings together two formative influences on the artist: the northern landscape tradition, absorbed through his association with Paul Bril and Jan Brueghel the Elder and evident in the finely delineated foliage and blue atmosphere of the distance; and Venetian culture, which provided the inspiration for the subject, notably through the work of Tintoretto. The subject of the painting, variously described in the sources as 'The Muses Tuning Their Instruments' or 'The Concert of the Muses', reflects Rottenhammer’s broad artistic culture and his familiarity with courtly life. The variety of instruments and the open mouth of the singing putto in the foreground convey the presence of sound within the image. Yet the painter also seems intent on suggesting his knowledge of music through the means proper to his own art: the harmonies and nuances of colour, the correspondences between the figures and the movements of their arms invite us to see the composition as a pictorial rendering of musical harmony. Rottenhammer frequently depicted the Muses and the arts, contributing to the development of an iconographic programme intended to elevate the status of artists.
Desmet Fine Art
Pietro Simoni da Barga (Florence, active 1574-1588) (Attributed) A fallen man-A Titan Florence, circa 1570-1590 Bronze, All’Antica patina H 11 x W 20 x D 12 cm Art Loss Register: S00213873 Provenance: probably Cardinal Ferdinando de ’Medici, later Grand Duke Ferdinando I of Tuscany (1549-1609); Hugo Finaly (1844-1915); Madame Jenny Finaly (1850-1938); Villa Landau Finaly, Florence, by 1916; private collection, UK; private collection, The Netherlands Published: G. de Nicola, 'Notes on the Museo Nazionale of Florence-II', in: The Burlington Magazine, (December 1916, Vol. XXIX), pp. 368-69 In the second half of the 16th century, Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici was one of the most renowned collectors in Rome. He created one of the greatest collections of Antiquities for his villa on the Pincian hill in Rome. When certain highly acclaimed sculptures ended up in the papal collection or other important collections which he couldn’t acquire, he contented himself with having copies made. These weren’t full-size copies, but rather fine statuettes on a reduced scale, intended for his studiolo. His passion for antiquity is mirrored in the collection of small bronzes he had. He kept in his service an artist called Pietro da Barga; a sculptor known to us only by the references in cardinal Ferdinando’s inventory. One of the main characteristics of his bronzes is the green all’antica patina he used to resemble the surface of the newly discovered ancient Roman bronze statues. Not only did he make reduced copies of ancient roman sculpture, he also used famed Renaissance models like Giambologna’s Mars or Michelangelo’s standing Christ.
N. Vrouyr
Etablissements veuve Guillon et fils, Belgium Before 1925 Warp and weft, cellulose, pile, wool 460 x 370 cm Numbered at the back Literature: Arthur De Rudder, International exhibition of modern decorative and industrial arts (Paris, 1925): official catalogue of the belgian section Exhibition: International exhibition of modern decorative and industrial arts, Paris, 1925, Belgian Pavilion, gallery of complete interiors, dining room by the Maison Gustave and Edouard Blondel The Guillon company The firm Établissements Veuve Guillon et fils was founded on 20 November 1924 by Célina Penez and her two sons, Alexandre and Charles Guillon, with its registered office at 69 avenue de la Toison d’Or in Brussels. The company operated factories in Brussels, Hemiksem (Sichem) and Herselt and specialised in carpets, including coconut-fibre rugs. Paris 1925 The carpet was exhibited in the dining room furnished by Maison Gustave & Edouard Blondel at the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (Paris, 28 April–October/November 1925), in the 'Galerie des ensembles complets' of the Belgian Pavilion. Designed by Victor Horta, the pavilion comprised three large halls: a monumental hall with a fifteen-metre-high domed roof, the Constant Montald Hall, and Philippe Wolfers’ official dining room, complemented by six smaller rooms. The Blondel dining room was one of the eight Belgian “ensembles complets” (complete room interiors), alongside those by, for example, Van de Voorde, Hamesse, Risel and Au Bon Marché.
De Wit Fine Tapestries
Large leaf verdure with wild boar Southern Netherlands, possibly Oudenaarde, 16th century Tapestry, wool and silk 265 x 370 cm This Large leaf lerdure with wild boar depicts an idealised view of nature. The vegetation is in bloom and various animals are roaming through the crops. Whilst tapestries of this type often survive in fragments, this piece is complete and contains all the typical, characteristic elements. The piece is in very good condition, with strong contrasting colours that emphasise the illusion of vibrant nature. Whereas we often see oval or circular balustrades in tapestries of this kind, which frame the natural scene behind them, the picture plane here is sharply interrupted by a straight balustrade. A gallery is formed which attempts to keep the viewer at a distance, but it cannot hold back the foliage, and some of the vegetation and animals pass beyond the frame and escape from the border.
COLNAGHI
Robert Mapplethorpe (New York 1946-1989 Boston) Female torso, 1978 Silver gelatin photograph 50.8 x 40.6 cm Made in 1978, the photograph belongs to a life-long dialogue in Mapplethorpe’s work between photography and sculpture. The subject would later serve as the opening image of his 1989 volume Some Women, where its classical reference establishes a point of comparison for the contemporary women portrayed in the book. The photograph was produced in an edition of ten. Impressions of the image are held in major public collections, including the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The documented provenance of this impression begins with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation in New York, from which it passed into a private collection in Belgium.
Marty de Cambiaire
Denys Calvaert (Antwerp circa 1540-1619 Bologna) Holy Family with Saint Jerome and the Infant John the Baptist Oil on copper 50.4 cm x 39.6 cm Signed and dated CALVA ... T ... / ... CIT / 158 ? ... lower centre Provenance: Von Planta Family, Samedan, acquired in the 1920s according to the family tradition (although it could have been acquired earlier); London, Sotheby’s, 3 December 2014, lot 18; private collection, Brussels Flemish by birth, Calvaert settled in Bologna in 1562, where he became a leading artist and played a central role in training the foremost painters of the Bolognese school. Guido Reni, Francesco Albani and Domenichino were among his most celebrated pupils. A specialist in religious subjects, Calvaert excelled both in large altarpieces and in small, refined paintings for private devotion. This exquisite Holy Family, painted in the 1580s, belongs to the latter category. Conceived as a sacra conversazione, it invites meditation on Christ’s future sacrifice. In response to the scroll bearing the words “Ecce Agnus Dei”, which the young Saint John the Baptist fervently holds up, the Christ Child expresses gentle acceptance, raising his right hand in blessing and holding in his left an apple, a symbol of the redemptive purpose of the Passion to come. The Virgin and the two saints contemplate this symbolic dialogue in quiet adoration. Few works by Calvaert combine so successfully the elegance and refinement of Mannerism with the clarity of religious expression advocated by the Counter-Reformation. The poetic vista of landscape and architecture in the background lends depth to the composition and reflects Calvaert’s Flemish taste for an airy atmosphere and a sense of recession achieved through gradations of blue and green rather than geometry. It contributes to the gentleness, calm and balance that pervade the scene.
Alexis Lartigue
Victor Vasarely (Pecs 1906-1997 Paris) Untitled, circa 1958, Oil on masonite 120 x 100 cm Signed lower center Provenance: private collection, USA; Christie’s sale, London; Lo Guidice Gallery, Chicago; Sotheby's sale, London; private collection, London; Christie’s sale, London; Galerie Zlotowski, Paris; private collection, Europe; Sotheby's sale, Paris; private collection, Switzerland Exhibition: Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Summer Loans, 1970
Galerie Nicolas Bourriaud
Raymond de Meester (Mechelen 1904-1995 Brussels) Yawning Leopard, circa 1928-1929 Bronze with a nuanced brown patina H 45.2 x W 41.6 x D 15.5 cm Signed ‘Rd de Meester de B’, titled ‘Yawning Leopard’ and dated ‘1928–29’ Batardy cast, edition of 3, numbered I/III, bearing the stamp ‘BATARDY CIRE PERDUE BRUXELLES’, and the inscriptions ‘Épreuve d’Artiste’ and ‘cire perdue’ Literature: Léonard Dieleman, Raymond de Meester de Betzenbroeck, Animal Sculptor, Gallery Dieleman, Brussels 1989, repr. n° 5; Xavier de Ghellinck Vaernewyck, ‘de Meester de Betzenbroeck’, Nouvelle Biographie Nationale, Part 6, Royal Academy of Belgium, Brussels, 2001, pp. 133–135 With this Yawning Leopard, Raymond de Meester, a leading figure of the Brussels School during the interwar period, once again demonstrates his exceptional ability to capture the anatomy and demeanour of animals with striking realism. While recalling Bugatti’s Reclining Lioness Yawning, which de Meester was probably inspired by, the feline is depicted here in a particularly original pose. An appealing and rare model, this sculpture was cast in an edition of only three examples. This example, numbered 1, is an artist’s proof, as confirmed by the engraved inscription, meaning that the artist personally oversaw its production. This is particularly evident in its beautiful, richly nuanced warm brown patina, to which the sculptor attached great importance, as well as in the high quality of the casting, executed by Batardy.
Waddington Custot
Jean Hélion (Couterne, Rives-d'Andaine 1904–1987 Paris) Homme au chapeau, 1943 Oil on canvas 58.1 x 43.1 cm Signed and dated on reverse ‘Hélion va 43’ This work is recorded in the online catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre peint de Jean Hélion, no. 876 (http://www.helion-cat-rais.com/moteur/pop.php?id=1216) Provenance: John Ashbery, New York (directly from the artist); Connaught Brown, London Exhibitions: ‘Jean Hélion’, Spencer A. Samuels & Co., Ltd, New York, 7 April–22 May 1976, catalogue no. 8 (repro. In b&w); ‘Works from the Collection of John Ashbery’, Kasmin Gallery, New York, 1 November–22 December 2018; ‘Regards croisés’, Waddington Custot, Paris, 11 June–26 September 2026
Galerie Flak
U’u Club Marquesas Islands, Polynesia, 18th or 19th century Carved wood and fibers H 138.5 cm Provenance: David Petty collection, London; Pierre-Richard Royer collection, Paris; Alexandre Bernand collection, Paris; private collection, acquired from the above in September 2016 Exhibition: TEFAF 2024, Maastricht, Serge Schoffel, catalogue T3, p. 28
Galerie Tiago
Rectangular lacquered wooden suzuribako (writing box) Japan, Edo period (1603-1868) Wood, lacquer, silver, gold, hiramaki-e, takamaki-e, kirigane, gyōbu-nashiji, tsumemaki nashiji H 4.7 x W 27 x D 23.5 cm Decorated in gold lacquer with a continuous design depicting a pavilion set in a karst landscape dotted with pine and maple trees. Complete with an inkstone, a silver water dropper, a blade and a set of brushes.
Laurent Schaubroeck
Paul Evans (USA, Newtown 1931-1987 Nantucket Island) and Phillip Lloyd Powell (USA, Germantown 1919-2008 New Hope) Monumental wall unit, circa 1960 Steel, wood, gold leaf H 282 x W 236 x D 51 cm Unique piece Provenance: Martin Brooks, Doylestown Wall-mounted cabinet by Paul Evans and Phillip Lloyd Powell, two key figures in American postwar design. This one of a kind piece combines carved wood, torch-cut and enameled metal, and gold leaf. Features four floating shelves and a two-door lower cabinet with concealed storage. Rare in both scale and collaboration.
Gallery Sofie Van de Velde
Victor Servranckx (Diegem 1897-1965 Vilvoorde) Opus 20, (Calm Blocks Fallen from an Obscure Disaster), 1927 Oil on canvas 146 x 81 cm Signed and dated lower left Provenance: Félix Carlier, Watermael-Boisfort (purchased from Galerie Le Centaure, Brussels, 1929); Galerie J.-P. Alaerts, Brussels; London, Christie’s, 16 October 1990, lot n° 61 (ill.); Lokeren, De Vuyst, 6 October 2001, lot n° 489; private collection, Brussels; Galerie Ronny Van de Velde, Antwerp Literature: La Nation belge (Brussels), 12th year, n° 48, 17 February 1929, ill. p. 3; Le Peuple (Brussels), 5th year, n° 48, 17 February 1929, ill. p. 1 Exhibitions: Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, 1929 (no catalogue); Brussels, Galerie Le Centaure, Exhibition De Boeck, Flouquet, Gailliard, Servranckx, 1929, n° 33; Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, 1947, n° 45 '146 x 92 cm'; Brussels, Musée d’Ixelles/Museum van Elsene, Retrospective Le Centaure. Homage to Walter Schwarzenberg, 1963, n° 117; Brussels, Musée d’Ixelles/Museum van Elsene, 1965, n° 107; Hasselt, Provinciaal Begijnhof, 1970, n° 57 (ill.) Thanks to a photograph showing the artist during his solo exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels) in January 1929, we know that the painting was exhibited there. Félix Carlier acquired the work at the group exhibition (featuring works by De Boeck, Flouquet, Gailliard, and Servranckx) at Galerie Le Centaure in Brussels in 1929. As one of the leading pioneers of the abstract movement in Flanders, Servranckx explored the new possibilities of modern art with extraordinary intensity. Opus 20, (Calm Blocks Fallen from an Obscure Disaster), dating from 1927, can rightly be regarded as a pivotal work in his oeuvre. It represents a remarkable synthesis of geometric abstraction and the artist’s lyrical imagination, while also anticipating the emergence of Surrealism. Jacques Lipchitz (Lithuania, Druskininkai 1891-1973 Capri) Sitting figure, 1915 Bronze H 87 cm Signed 'JLipchitz' and numbered 2/7 (on base) Provenance: the estate of the artist; acquired from the above mentioned in 1989 by current owner Exhibition: Musée des Années 30, 'Lipchitz, Les Années Françaises de 1910 à 1940', 2005-2006, n° 10, pp. 16-17, ill. in colour
Van Herck-Eykelberg
Paul Delvaux (Antheit 1897-1994 Veurne) Hôtel de Ville, 1953 Watercolour and pen and ink on paper mounted on board 69.5 x 50.5 cm Signed and dated 'P. Delvaux 4.53' Provenance: Albert and Georges Niels, Brussels; Galerie Isy Brachot, Brussels; private collection, Belgium Literature: Jean Stengers, Bruxelles: Croissance d'une capitale, Anvers, 1979, ill. in colour on the cover Exhibitions: Brussels, Le Cercle Royal Gaulois, Bruxelles vu par les artistes, 1959, n° 46, listed (titled L'Hôtel de Ville); Brussels, Galerie Isy Brachot and Paris, Galerie Isy Brachot, Paul Delvaux: dessins, aquarelles et encres de Chine, 1987-88, n° 48, ill. in colour (titled L'Hôtel de Ville de Bruxelles)
Axel Vervoordt
William Turnbull (Dundee 1922-2012 London) Young Torso, 1981 Bronze 49 x 28.5 x 3 cm Edition of 6, AP 1/1 Provenance: the estate of the artist Literature: Amanda A. Davidson, The Sculpture of William Turnbull, The Henry Moore Foundation in association with Lund Humphries, 2005, cat. n° 205, ill. p. 154 William Turnbull (1922–2012) was one of the most distinctive sculptors and painters of post-war Britain. Throughout his career, he explored the enduring power of ancient and archaic art, seeking an elemental visual language that connects the distant past with the present. In Young Torso, Turnbull revisits the archetypal figures and totemic forms that fascinated him from the 1950s onwards. The simplified silhouette evokes prehistoric figurines and ancient idols, yet belongs to no specific culture or belief system. Both familiar and mysterious, the sculpture seems to speak a universal language whose meaning remains elusive. The warm brown patina and irregular surface suggest weathered stone, while delicate incisions recall tattoos or fragments of an unknown symbolic language. These markings animate the figure, hinting at lost rituals and traditions. Reflecting Turnbull’s sensitivity to surface, line and colour, the textured bronze combines tactile richness with formal simplicity. Neither an imitation of an ancient artefact nor a purely abstract form, Young Torso occupies a space between recognition and mystery. Through the encounter between archaic references and modern expression, Turnbull evokes humanity’s enduring desire to create forms that transcend time and preserve traces of our existence.
Univers du Bronze
Rembrandt Bugatti (Milan 1884-1916 Paris) Deux antilopes Goudou or 'Deux Amis', circa 1911 Bronze, dark brown patina H 23.1 x L 43.2 x D 11.9 cm Signed 'R. Bugatti' Original cast and edition by 'A.-A. Hébrard cire perdue Paris' (seal and inscribed in the wax 'Fondu en 1925'), engraved '(13)' Edition cast in 1925 The years 1910–1911 were the most creative in Rembrandt Bugatti’s career. His art was flourishing, with his first major exhibition in Antwerp in 1910, followed by one organised by the foundryman Hébrard, for which the artist presented a magnificent collection of one hundred sculptures. The 'Deux antilopes goudou' were probably created in 1911, following a group of Trois antilopes goudou that Bugatti presented for the first time at the Salon d’Automne in 1911. From this group of three, the sculptor chose to retain only a pair of animals, adopting an even more sensitive approach, full of great tenderness, which the artist’s Impressionist touch renders here even more vibrant. To emphasise this intimate and ‘friendly’ character, Bugatti positions the antelopes – also known as Les deux amis – in a face-to-face interaction, with the head of one resting trustingly on the other’s large ear. The two heads come together harmoniously at the centre of the composition. At the same time, the sculptor modelled another, complementary group featuring similar antelopes, this time muzzle to muzzle, which he named 'Deux antilopes Goudou' or 'Caresse'. This cast, listed in the sculptor’s catalogue raisonné, bears the number '13', denoting the thirteenth cast produced from this model, and the casting date 'Fondu en 1925' – an extremely rare detail in Bugatti’s Oeuvre. The production run of these beautiful African antelopes was a great success for Hébrard, who cast thirty-two bronzes based on this subject. This bronze, with its deep brown patina, stands out from other known casts due to the high quality of the mould, which perfectly showcases the master’s characteristic and original treatment of the material.
Galerie bei der Albertina ▪ Zetter
Dagobert Peche (Sankt Michael im Lungau 1887-1923 Mödling) Lamp, Design 1921 Manufactured by the Wiener Werkstätte, model number M 3494-M la 24 Brass, embossed, floral decoration, foot with beaded decoration, one flame, lamp shade renewed, new electrification H 87 cm - Ø 46 cm (lamp shade) Marks: WIENER / WERK / STÄTTE, monogram DP According to the MAK only two lamps were manufactured in the year 1923 Provenance: collection Schedlmayer Literature: cf. WW Archive, MAK Vienna, design sketch lamp base KI 12649-5-2, photo archive inventory n° WWF 98-116-1 as well as entry in the book of commissions of the Wiener Werkstätte model book WWKA 679; cf. Exhibition catalogue ‘Die Überwindung der Utilität. Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstätte’, ed. by Peter Noever, MAK, Vienna 1998, ill. p. 221, n° 51; cf. Exhibition catalogue ‘Dagobert Peche and the Wiener Werkstätte’, ed. by Peter Noever, MAK, Vienna 1998, Neue Galerie, New York 2002, ill. p. 228, n° 45; Exhibition catalogue ‘Die Sammlung Schedlmayer. Die Entdeckung’, ed. by Ivan Ristic, Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Leopold Museum, Vienna 2021, ill. p. 72 Exhibition: Vienna, Leopoldmuseum, 'Die Sammlung Schedlmayer. Eine Entdeckung', 2021 Josef Hoffmann, one of the founders of the Wiener Werkstätte, hired the then 28 year old Dagobert Peche as a leading designer for the Wiener Werkstätte in 1915. With his finesse and elegance Peche fundamentally shaped the second decade of the Wiener Werkstätte, heading the Zurich branch of the Wiener Werkstätte from 1917 to 1919. Floral ornamentation and playful designs play a key role in his artistic works full of subtlety and imagination, which contrasted the strict geometric designs of Hoffmann and Koloman Moser. Before his untimely death he was involved in the opening of the ‘Wiener Werkstätte of America’ showroom on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. According to the records of the MAK, Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts, this table lamp was produced only twice, in 1923. It was part of the renowned Schedlmayer collection – a high-ranking collection bringing together prime examples of Austrian decorative arts and works of fine art from the first half of the 20th century. In 2021 this lamp was presented at the Leopold Museum’s exhibition 'The Schedlmayer collection. A discovery'.