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Romigioli Antichità
Standing Madonna with Child, circa 1290-1310 Polychrome sandstone (and restorations) Northern Spain (in particular the cultural area between Castilla and Léon, La Rioja, the Basque Country and Navarre) H 102 x W 65 x D 42 cm Provenance: collection Costantino Nigro, Genoa Condition: the lower part of the statue is missing Literature: attribution and critical reading by Professor Luca Mor Exhibition: Biaf-Biennale Internazionale di Firenze, 2022
Galerie des Modernes
jean dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet (Le Havre 1901-1985 Paris) Chien errant, 1957 'Assemblage d'empreintes' series Ink and cut paper collage on paper mounted on cardboard 105 x 67 cm Signed and dated lower left 'J. Dubuffet 57' Provenance: Galerie René Drouin, Paris; collection Madame F. Montel, Paris; the Redfern Gallery, London; Waddington Galleries, London; Andrew Crispo Galleries Inc, New York; Sid Deutsch Gallery, New York; private collection, New York; private collection, Belgium Literature: Max Loreau, Catalogue des Travaux de Jean Dubuffet, Fascicule XII: Tableaux d'assemblages, Weber éditeur, Lausanne, 1969, described p. 99 and p. 130 and reproduced p. 99, n° 119; Andreas Franzke, Dubuffet Zeichnungen, Rogner & Bernhard, Munich, 1980, repr. in black and white on p. 175 Exhibition: Summer Exhibition 1972, The Redfern Gallery, London, Summer 1972
Galerie Raf Van Severen
pierre alechinsky
Pierre Alechinsky (Brussels, 1927) Les Pleins et les Déliés, 1962 Oil on canvas 100 x 80 cm Signed and dated Provenance: Kunsthandel M.L. de Boer, Amsterdam, n° 8048; private collection, The Netherlands 'Les pleins et les déliés' is an abstract expressionist painting by the Belgian painter Pierre Alechinsky (1927). Alechinsky was one of the prominent members of the avant-garde group Cobra (1948-1951). Characteristic for the art movement of that time, Alechinsky applied a chaotic and dynamic use of colors, with red the main color in this painting. He got to that result by using wild brushstrokes. This painting is considered an early work in the oeuvre of Alechinsky and can be situated during the top period with the likes of Karel Appel. Paintings like 'Barbaars Naakt' (SMAK, Ghent) by Karel Appel used a similar color palette with again violent paint strokes. As a result, the figures in their paintings are barely obeservable. But that was basically what they were trying to achieve. Together, the members of Cobra all tried to bring over the same message in their paintings. They wanted to disrupt an existing order and harmony. As this is an early work, the painting is still oil on canvas. Not much later in his career, Alechinsky made the full-time switch to mixed media on paper laid down on canvas. In the latter technique, the viewer can recognize elements of calligraphy. That became a passion for Alechnisky, after he visited Japan in 1955. In these paintings, he started expressing his love for calligraphy, by using it on the canvas itself, more specifically the typical ink. Even in this painting, we can already notice a reference to calligraphy or handwriting. Just not yet on the canvas, but in the title. 'Les pleins et les déliés' is a concept used in calligraphy where 'Les Pleins' refers to the thick strokes or the full, bold lines made when writing. 'Les Déliés' refers to the thin strokes or the delicate, lighter lines. It is easier to comprehend by imagining a brush stroke. If it’s done vertically you get a thicker brush stroke, if done horizontally, it’s possible to get a finer stroke.
Galerie Marc Maison
alexandre sandier
Alexandre Sandier (France, 1843-1916) Decorative panel depicting Queen Cleopatra, circa 1880 Sarreguemines earthenware with painted decoration H 161.5 x W 202.7 x D 2.5 cm Literature: Alain Benedick, La Faïencerie de Sarreguemines, Éditions ABM 57, 2009; Figures décoratives par Alex. Sandier, Éditions A. Calava, Paris, undated; Guide du visiteur […]. 8e Exposition de l’Union centrale des arts décoratifs, Paris, Imprimerie Chaix, 1884 Exhibitions: Exhibition of the Union centrale des arts décoratifs in 1884; 1889 Paris Exposition In the 1880s, the Sarreguemines pottery factory began creating earthenware panels for interior and exterior decoration. This magnificent panel depicting Cleopatra, painted by Alexandre Sandier, is one such example. Its vivid yet soft and pleasing colours combine with a meticulous sense of archaeological detail to produce a masterly lesson in Egyptomania, bearing witness to the fascination that Egypt still exerted at the end of the century for artists and audiences alike.
Valerio Turchi
Diana Venatrix Roman, 2nd century AD Marble H 103 x W 45 x D 26 cm Accompanied by Art Loss Register certificate: S00217922 Provenance: the former collection of an art dealer, USA; Sotheby’s New York, Antiquities and Islamic Art, 1-2 March 1984, lot.73; then former collection of the explorer and adventurer J. Stephen Fosset (1944-2007); acquired in London, 21 October 1986
Galerie Taménaga
pierre bonnard
Pierre Bonnard (Fontenay-aux-Roses 1867-1947 Cannet) Femme nue à la lampe, circa 1900 Oil on cardboard 53 x 33 cm Stamp of the signature at the lower right 'Bonnard' Provenance: Bonnard estate; private collection Literature: Jean et Henry Dauberville, Bonnard, catalogue raisonné de l’œuvre peint, supplément 1887-1947, n° 01830 repr. p. 207 Exhibitions: Musée de Lodève, Bonnard, guetteur sensible du quotidien, 20 June-1 November 2009, n° 14, p. 103; Musée national des Beaux-Arts de Quebec, Pierre Bonnard, La couleur radieuse, 6 October 2016-15 January 2017, édition Skira, ill. p.87
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Mearini Fine Art
Venetian Master (Michele Linder from Hamburg?) Crucifix, circa 1490 Alder wood H 115 x W 92 x D 16 cm Recto and verso hollowed out and juxtaposed to recompose the figure Expertise Prof.ssa Serenella Castri Provenance: private collection, Italy Exhibition: 'Sculptura' Capolavori Italiani dal XIII al XX secolo, Modena 2023 This is an absolute masterpiece in the corpus of wooden Crucifixes of the late fifteenth century in Venice. This is a sculpture of exceptional technical skill. The ‘construction’ technique is unique: the figure of the Christ has been obtained from two alder wood valves hollowed out and then fitted together more then perfectly. Even more emblematic is the dramatic introspection of its carving, whose executive value is comparable to that of ivories, and, above all we can date it to circa 1490, the apex of the Venetian Renaissance. In Venice, the reference model for the production of wooden crucifixes was the famous monumental Crucifix (ca.1468/75) of the basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, from which a varied series of examples derived until the first decades of the sixteenth century. The expressive suggestion of ‘German’ models certainly contributed to the very original characteristic of these sculptures, especially thanks to the presence in Venice of skilled carvers from Northen Europe. The attribution to Michele Linder from Hamburg, resident in the district of Santi Marcuola and Fortunato, has been strongly corroborated. Linder was one of the most estemeed wood carvers in Venice and the most famous sculptor of ivory crucifixes.
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Galerie Berès
Jean Degottex (Sathonay-Camp 1918-1988 Paris) IMPA-VIDE (II), 1959 Oil on canvas 199 x 130 cm Signed lower right ‘Degottex’; signed, titled and dated on the back: Degottex IMPA-VIDE (II) 1959 This work will be included in the catalogue raisonné of Jean Degottex Inclusion certificate n°2023-34 issued by Comité Jean Degottex dated 21 November 2023 Provenance: private collection Exhibitions: Les Alliances, Les Dix-huit vides, Galerie internationale d'Art contemporain, séquences sonores de Pierre Henry, Paris, 26 November-31 December 1959 Jean Degottex was born in Sathonay-Camp on 25 February 1918 and died in Paris on 6 December 1988. Degottex was a French abstract painter, best known for his initial proximity to the lyrical abstraction movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In his own words, his work gradually moved from gesture and sign to writing, and then from writing to line. Considered a major artist of abstraction in the second half of the 20th century, he drew inspiration from Far Eastern calligraphy and Zen philosophy to achieve the obliteration of the creative subject. In 1958, he joined the Galerie internationale d'art contemporain, directed by Maurice d'Arquian. There he rubbed shoulders with Pierre Henry, Yves Klein and Maurice Béjart. He became better known abroad, particularly in Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. The period from 1956 to 1963 was particularly productive. He worked in series/suites: suite Ashkénazi (1957), suite Serto (March-April, November 1957), suite des Hagakure (November 1957), les 18 Vides (1959), suite des Roses (1960), suite des Alliances (1960), les 7 Métasignes (1961), Jshet (1962). Many of his works were then entitled Écriture, Suite Écriture. EXHIBITION Les Alliances, Les Dix-huit vides, Galerie internationale d'Art contemporain, sound sequences by Pierre Henry, Paris, 26 November-31 December 1959 Jean Degottex joined Maurice d'Arquian's Galerie Internationale d'Art Contemporain in 1958. Maurice d'Arquian was particularly keen on the confrontation between different forms of creation. He organised performances in his gallery and brought the composer Pierre Henry into contact with the painter. In 1959, the artist exhibited Alliances, eighteen empty forms, and Pierre Henry produced sound sequences inspired by the 18 empty spaces on display. The music will be played throughout the exhibition. The title ‘IMPA-Vide’ (II) corresponds to the eighteen forms of emptiness listed in the Mahâ-prajnâpâramitâ (The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom).
DYS44 Lampronti Gallery
Bernardo Bellotto (Venice 1722-1780 Varsavia) Roma, veduta del Colosseo e dell’Arco di Costantino, 1743-1744 Oil on canvas 61 x 98.1 cm Provenance: private collection, New England; R. Birkedal, Seekonk, Massachusetts; T. Gilbert Brouillette (1906-1970), Falmouth, Massachusetts; Alicia Corchenuk de Buenfil, Città del Messico; Con Steven Juvenis e Firestone & Parson, Massachusetts, entro il 1976; Vendita anonima ('The Property of a Gentleman'), London, Sotheby's, 4 July 1990, lot 19 (as Canaletto); acquired from a private collection; Vendita anonima ('The Property of a European Collector'), London, Christie's, 7 July 2004, lot 98 (as Bellotto); private collection, by 2008; with Cesare Lampronti Gallery, London, by 2009 (as Bellotto); purchased privately from Hampel, Munich, by the current collector in 2019 Exhibitions: Gorizia, Palazzo della Torre, Le Meraviglie di Venezia, Dipinti del '700 in collezioni private, 14 marzo-27 luglio 2008, n° 92; Foligno, Palazzo Trinci, Giuseppe Piermarini, tra barocco e neoclassico, Roma, Napoli, Caserta, Foligno, 5 giugno-2 ottobre 2010, n° B2.22; Monaco, Alte Pinakothek, Canaletto, Bernardo Bellotto Paints Europe, 17 ottobre 2014-15 gennaio 2015, n° 21 Literature: W.G. Constable, Canaletto, Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768, J.G. Links (a cura di), Oxford 1976, vol. I, n° 388*, riprodotto in pl. 206, e vol. II, pp. 393–94, n° 388* (come Canaletto); W.G. Constable, Canaletto, Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697–1768, J.G. Links (a cura di), Oxford 1989, vol. I, n° 388*, riprodotto in pl. 206, e vol. II, pp. 393–94, n° 388* (come Canaletto); J.G. Links, A Supplement to W.G. Constable's Canaletto, Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697–1768, Londra 1998, p. 38, n° 388* (come Canaletto); C. Beddington, in Bernardo Bellotto and the Capitals of Europe, E.P. Bowron (a cura di), cat. mostra, Venezia e Houston 2001, pp. 112 e 114 n° 7, sotto il n° 26; B.A. Kowalczyk, in Bernardo Bellotto and the Capitals of Europe, E.P. Bowron (a cura di), cat. mostra, Venezia e Houston 2001, pp. 136 e 138 n° 13, sotto il n° 35, riprodotto a p. 136; D. Succi, in Le Meraviglie di Venezia, Dipinti del ’700 in collezioni private, D. Succi e A. Delneri (a cura di), cat. mostra, Gorizia 2008, pp. 264–65, n° 92, riprodotto a colori (come Bellotto); M. Fagiolo, in Giuseppe Piermarini, tra barocco e neoclassico, Roma, Napoli, Caserta, Foligno, M. Fagiolo e M. Tabarrini (a cura di), cat. mostra, Foligno 2010, pp. 52 e 55, riprodotto a colori fig. 10; C. Lollobrigida, in Giuseppe Piermarini, tra barocco e neoclassico, Roma, Napoli, Caserta, Foligno, M. Fagiolo e M. Tabarrini (a cura di), cat. mostra, Foligno 2010, pp. 190, 300 e 301, n° B2.22, un dettaglio riprodotto a colori p. 190; T. Wagner, in Canaletto, Bernardo Bellotto Paints Europe, A. Schumacher (a cura di), cat. mostra, Monaco 2014, pp. 192–93, n° 21, riprodotto a colori; B.A. Kowalczyk, in Bellotto and Canaletto. Wonder and Light, B.A. Kowalczyk (a cura di), cat. mostra, Milano 2016-2017, p. 150, sotto il n° 46; B.A. Kowalczyk, in Canaletto 1697–1768, B.A. Kowalczyk (a cura di), cat. mostra, Roma 2018, p. 150, sotto il n° 39
Herwig Simons Fine Arts
Manierist Mascaron Italy, mid 16th century Istrian marble H 50 x W 40 cm An expressive Mascaron in Istrian marble of a lion's head holding a ring in his mouth. Istrian marble was widely used during the Renaissance, particularly in Venetian architecture, and its soft tones beautifully complement the intricate details of the lion's face and ring. This design is symbolic: lions represented strength, protection, and authority and gave the building grandeur, serving as a sculptural accent that elevates the aesthetic quality of the entrance or facade.
Pauline's Jewellery Box
Belle Epoque sapphire & diamond Chaumet bow brooch, circa 1910 Set with sapphires and diamonds. Estimated total sapphire weight 10.00 carats. Estimated total diamond weight 15.00 carats. The diamonds are bright and lively, mounted in platinum and 18kt yellow gold. Stamped with French hallmarks and maker’s marks: 280-470-4320 / 89834 Provenance: France
Willow Gallery
Raoul Dufy (Le Havre 1877-1953 Forcalquier) Le Bal, 1920 Oil on canvas 55 x 65 cm - framed: 70 x 80 cm Signed lower right 'Raoul Dufy' Provenance: Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (in March 1924); Max Pellequer, Paris (acquired from the latter in January 1925); Marcel Kapferer, Paris (before 1928); Doctor Alexandre Rudinesco, Paris (before 1951); its sale, Parke-Bernett Galleries Inc., New York, October 10, 1968, lot 22 (titled 'Le Bal du quatorze Juillet à Antibes', dated '1910'); B. Gerald Cantor, New York (before 1970); private collection; private collection, France Literature: C. Zervos, Raoul Dufy, Paris, 1928, n° 29 (ill.; titled 'Antibes'; dated '1921'); M. Gauthier, Raoul Dufy, Paris, 1949 (ill., pl. VIII; dated '1912'); P. Courthion, Raoul Dufy, Geneva, 1951, p. XII, n° 62 (ill., pl. 62; titled 'Le Bal à Antibes'; dated '1910'); M. Brion, Raoul Dufy, Paintings and Watercolors, London, 1958, pl. 13 (ill.: titled 'Ball at Antibes, 14 July'; dated '1910'); Maurice Laffaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue Raisonné de l’Oeuvre Peint, Tome IV, Editions Motte, Geneva, 1977, p. 147 n° 1581 Exhibitions: Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Plaisir de France, June 1951, n° 62 (titled 'July 14'); Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Plaisirs de la campagne, June 1954, n° 61 (titled 'July 14'); Albi, Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, Raoul Dufy Exhibition, Paintings, watercolors, drawings, tapestries, July-September 1955, p. 24, n° 11 (ill., pl. VIII; titled 'The Ball in Antibes, July 14'; dated '1910'); Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune-Dauberville, Masterpieces of Raoul Dufy, For the benefit of mutual aid of intellectual workers, April-July 1959, n° 9 (ill., pl. 5; titled 'Antibes'; dated '1910'); Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Les Fauves, 1962, n° 55 (titled 'July 14'); Mexico, Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno, Cien años de pintura en Francia, De 1850 a nuestros dias, October-November 1962, p. 118, n° 47 (titled '14 de Julio'); Des Moines, Art Center; Indianapolis, Indianapolis Museum of Art; Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Art Museum; Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Museum of Art and Fort Worth, Fort Worth Art Center Museum, Selections from the B. Gerald Cantor Collection, December 1970-August 1971, n° 4 (ill. in colour, titled 'Fourteenth of July Dance at Antibes'; dated '1910') Born in 1877 in Le Havre, Dufy entered the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1900. During this period, he was heavily influenced by Impressionism. He exhibited his work for the first time at the 1901 Salon des Artistes, and then at the Salon des Indépendants in 1903. He also met Berthe Weill in 1902, and began to show his work in her gallery. Dufy received a boost to his confidence when the artist Maurice Denis was one of the first buyers of his work. For the next few years, Dufy painted in the vicinity of Le Havre, made famous by Eugène Boudin and Claude Monet. In 1905 Dufy saw Matisse’s painting ‘Luxe, Calme et Volupté’ in the Salon des Indépendants and his work became influenced by the Fauves until about 1909 when exposure to the work of Paul Cézanne led him to adopt a more subtle technique. In 1911, he and the couturier Paul Poiret founded the ‘Petite Usine’, a company that printed fashion and decorative textiles. Initially interested in engraving, he then began to work in lithographs and watercolours before moving into ceramics alongside the Catalan artist Llorens Artigas. He also illustrated books. After also showing interest in cubism, Dufy finally began to develop his own distinctive approach in 1920. Skeletal structures, foreshortened perspective, and thin, quickly-applied washes of colour became his trademark, in a manner he referred to as stenographic. As subject matter, he chose yachting scenes, views of the French Riviera, parties, and musical events. He had also become fascinated with horseracing, which developed into one of his main subjects. Dufy initially focused on the fashionable racegoers, but soon also became fascinated by the racing itself. The colour and atmosphere of horseracing gave Dufy the opportunity to use and explore his ‘colour-light’ technique, which put the focus on using colour rather than black and white to imply light and shade. Throughout his career, the colour blue was a constant presence in his work. As he once remarked, ‘Blue is the only colour which maintains its own character in all its tones…it will always stay blue…whereas yellow is blackened in its shades and fades away when lightened: red when darkened becomes brown, and diluted with white is no longer red, but another colour – pink’. During this period, Dufy was prolific, working in a variety of materials producing ceramics, tapestry hangings, and large-scale architectural decorations. Dufy’s success continued to grow, and in 1937 he (with the help of his brother Jean) was asked to create what was then the largest painting in the world for the Electricity Pavilion at the Universal Exhibition. ‘La Fée Electricité’ covers over 600 square meters, and was donated the Musée d’Art Moderne by Électricité de France and installed in 1964. Despite the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, Dufy exhibited in the annual Salon des Tuileries during the late 1940s and early 1950s and was awarded the grand prize for painting at the 26th Venice Biennale in 1952, the year before his death. Today, Dufy’s work is held in the collections of the Musée D’Orsay in Paris, the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and many others. An explosion of colour with a dense yet carefully organized patchwork of lines and shapes convey the almost electric atmosphere of this festive dance scene painted by Raoul Dufy. Sometimes referred to as the 14th July, or the 14th July in Antibes, other times just as a dance or ball, Le Bal, is one of the most ambitious renderings of those two subjects combined into one that Dufy explored several times throughout his career. For example, Dufy painted a Bal Populaire in his Fauvist years in 1906, much less constructed and dominated by the green tones of the scene’s setting in park. In 1912, his interpretation of the 14th July festivities seems the closest in terms of composition to Le Bal, with its interlocked diagonals in the upper part – referring to the ball’s tent and flag garlands – and its animated dancing floor in the lower part rendered through spontaneous and vibrant brushstrokes suggesting the figures and their movements. In 1920, Raoul Dufy appears to have painted two very different dancing scenes, both titled Le Bal: the present work and another painting now in a private collection. Dufy opted for a setting in a park for the latter – closer to that of the 1906 painting – as opposed to setting the ball in a colourful almost circus-like tent, as seen in this example, recalling the painting of the 14th July (corresponding to ‘Bastille Day’, the national French public holiday marking the beginning of the French Revolution on 14 July 1789) dating from 1912. These similarities and differences with other works from Dufy’s oeuvre explain the ambiguity of the present work’s dating, given it was exhibited at Galerie Charpentier’s themed exhibition on Fauvism in 1962 and there dated ‘1908’. In other bibliographical references, it is often dated 1910, yet Fanny Guillon-Laffaille adamantly dated Le Bal of 1920 in the corresponding entry of her catalogue raisonné. The daring colour code and combinations, and the broad brushstrokes barely defining the figures are reminiscent of his Fauvist years. The wide bands of colours covering more than half of the composition show Dufy’s awareness of the slightly later avant-gardist movements steering towards abstraction, such as Orphism. Whether or not Le Bal depicts one of the traditional festivities of Bastille Day, and whether or not it is effectively set in Antibes, its vibrant composition is so full of life that it translates a sort of timelessness. Dufy presents us with a snapshot of modern life – it is colourful, dynamic and never stops – and there is no doubt that the 14th July was a perfect pretext to stage and glorify this exhilarating modern life. Judi Freeman wrote that Dufy ‘shared the Impressionist enthusiasm for the annual transformation of cities and towns for Bastille Day on July 14th and other flag-waving celebrations. Whereas Manet and Monet occasionally painted Parisian boulevards adorned with flags for patriotic holidays, Dufy and Marquet regularly depicted the festivities. For the Impressionist the flag-draped streets provided an opportunity to show a colorful festival of modern life, occasionally tinged with political overtones. For Dufy and Marquet the holiday provided motifs that could be situated within the Impressionist tradition but more loosely rendered, with the sketchier brushworks and scattered, almost random color ('The Distant Cousins in Normandy: Braque, Dufy and Friesz', in The Fauve Landscape, New York, 1990, p. 221-222).
Mearini Fine Art
Presbytery fence pillar with ribbon, interlacing relief and recesses for pluteo on the sides White marble Central Italy (Lazio or Umbria), late 8th-early 9th century H 46 x W 27 x D 16 cm Expertise by Professor Guido Tigler Provenance: private collection, Italy Comparative literature: M. Salmi, la Basilica di San Salvatore di Spoleto, Firenze 1951, p. 37, tavv. XXIIId; L. Pani Ermini, (la Diocesi di Roma: La quarta regione Ecclesiastica (Corpus della scultura alto medievale, VII, 1), Spoleto 1974. pp.91-92 cat. 40); R. Krautheimer, S. Corbett, W. Frankl, Corpus Basilicarum Christianarum Romae. The Early Christian Basilicas of Rome (IV-IX century), Città del Vaticano 1959, p. 91 fig. 86
Kunsthaus Kende
Ane Christensen (Copenhagen, 1972) Dented bowl Sterling silver London, 2000 H 10.3 x W circa 35 x D circa 30.1 cm Weight 966.2 gr. The body with a fully frosted surface, divided in the centre. A decorative, modern fruit bowl in sterling silver by one of Britain’s most important modern female designers and silversmiths. The silversmith and designer Ane Christensen, born in 1972 in Copenhagen, studied at the Royal College of Art, London and London Guildhall University, whilst also working as an assistant to Howard Fenn and Alfred Pain. Since 1999, she has worked as a professional artist silversmith in London. The incomparable formal language of her objects quickly brought her international renown as well as numerous exhibition participations and awards. Her artworks can be found in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, the Koldinghus Museum, Kolding (Denmark) and in the Birmingham Museum Collection.
Hoffmans Antiques
Pair of Gustavian armchairs Ephraim Ståhl (Sweden, 1768-1820) Parcel gilt and bronzed wood Stockholm, circa 1810 H 85 x W 63 x D 50 cm Each armchair has a scrolled back and armrests decorated with carved laurels. The side rails are adorned with griffin heads and a palmette frieze; the fluted, tapered front legs with leaf-tip carvings. The sabre-shaped back legs end in lion's paw feet. The pair of armchairs is attributed to Ephraim Ståhl and made around 1805. Ephraim Ståhl a renowned Swedish craftsman who was a prominent furniture maker from the late 18th century to the early 19th century. Known for the high quality of his work and as well his bold, innovative designs. Ståhl became a favorite of the Swedish Royal family, with his pieces featured in nearly every royal castle. This model however featuring griffins beneath the armrests, is one of Ståhl’s more unusual designs, rarely seen on the open market. It was likely a special commission, possibly by Duke Karl, the brother of Gustav III, who had a particular fondness for the griffin motif, incorporating it throughout the interiors of Rosersberg Castle.
Galerie von Vertes
George Condo (New Hampshire, Concord 1957) Female composition, 2006 Oil on canvas 165.1 x 152.4 cm Verso signed and dated 'Condo 06' George Condo, Female Portrait, 2006 'Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before'. Edgar Allan Poe Like the ‘Manichini’ or metaphysical mannequins of Giorgio de Chirico that reject a face as a symbol of status and identity, Female Composition is created as a hand puppet on a stick wearing a distinguished cloak, mocking the traditional depictions of the female portrait as seen in the works by Parmigianino, Rembrandt, and Picasso. This ironic interpretation depicts the woman as a faceless puppet with breasts, a cape, neckless and head topped with a carrot. Condo simultaneously offers a deep respect for art history and a blatant disregard for conventional narratives. In his own words: “As far as I’m concerned, the Renaissance was yesterday, and Cubism was a hundred years before it.” (George Condo quoted in Simon Baker, George Condo: Painting Reconfigured, New York 2015, p. 104). Female portrait perfectly encapsulates Condo’s concept of Artificial Realism. Exploring the carefully constructed conventions of traditional portraiture and how our reality is made up of artificial components, this majestic dystopian portrait ingeniously challenges the artificiality of visual representation.
Gokelaere & Robinson
bodil kjaer
Bodil Kjaer (Denmark, 1932) President desk, 1959 Rosewood, steel H 72 x W 210 x D 100 cm Manufactured by E. Pedersen & Son, Denmark Bodil Kjær is a Danish architect, furniture designer, professor and researcher. Kjær’s furniture creations mainly date from 1959 to 1964. Her first commission was a series of upholstered sofas for Paul Rudolph, the dean of the Yale School of Architecture. She also designed a building for Harvard University for Josep Lluís Sert, the head of the Harvard Graduate School of Design. The architect and furniture designer Marcel Breuer installed 28 of her upholstered sofas in a building he had designed in New York. Examples of her furniture are still visible today at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University. In the notes she prepared in 1995 for an exhibition in Berlin, Kjær commented: "I often had problems finding furniture that could express the same ideas as those we used in the buildings we designed and which could, at the same time, express the ideas of Modern management."
rodolphe janssen
sanam khatibi
Sanam Khatibi (Belgian with Iranian heritage, 1979) A few more crimes, 2018 Oil, pastel and pencil on panel 24 x 31 cm Sanam Khatibi (b. 1979, Belgium, of Iranian heritage) is a Belgian artist whose multifaceted practice spans painting, tapestry, sculpture, and installation. Based between Brussels and Paris, Khatibi’s work explores the delicate and complex balance between beauty, violence, and vulnerability. Her practice engages with themes of human imperfection, the tension between domination and submission, and the chaotic forces that shape our lives. Through a distinctive use of color and form, she draws attention to the fragility of the human experience and the unspoken violence that often lies beneath surface appearances. In her work, Khatibi delves into the darker aspects of human nature, exploring our struggles with excess, control, and the breakdown of social and moral boundaries. These explorations are framed in landscapes that juxtapose natural beauty with underlying violence and destruction, invoking a timeless tension between civilization and primal instincts. Her figures -whether human, animal, or mythical-are often presented as fragile, vulnerable, and engaged in various states of conflict, emphasizing the stark realities of human survival and the consequences of unchecked desire. These small-scale vanitas paintings from the 'murders serie' are introspective works, conceived as protection charms, invite the viewer into an intimate reflection on life's transience and human vulnerability.