This section will be available this Autumn.
Brame & Lorenceau
julio gonzález
Julio González (Spain, Barcelona 1876-1942 Arcueil, France) Personnage au cornet, 1937 China ink and coloured pencil on paper 29 x 21 cm Signed and dated lower centre Provenance: private collection Literature: J. Gibert, Catalogue raisonné des dessins de Julio González, Projets pour sculptures personnages, Paris, 1975, vol. 9, p. 47 (ill.) Exhibition: New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Julio González, Drawings and Sculpture, February-April 1956, Minneapolis
Galerie Alexis Bordes
léon spillaert
Léon Spilliaert (Ostend 1881-1946 Brussels) Mères et enfants sur le quai du port d’Ostende, 1910 Wax crayon and Conté crayon on paper 50.2 x 32.2 cm Signed lower right 'L. Spilliaert' This work will be included in the catalogue raisonné of Léon Spilliaert being prepared by Dr. Anne Adriaens-Pannier Provenance: Louis Sneyers collection, Brussels; Mr. and Mrs. Marcel Thomas, Brussels (by descent); Henriette Thomas-Bodart, Brussels (by descent); Galerie Ronny Van de Velde, 1997; Onzea-Govaerts collection, Belgium Exhibitions: Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, 41st Antiques Fair of Belgium, January-February 1996; Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, 42nd Antiques Fair of Belgium, January-February 1997
COLNAGHI
Attributed to the Menzies group Red-figure epichysis in terracotta with Hermaphroditos and a woman Greek, Apulian, circa 330-310 B.C. H 21 cm Provenance: Eugène Piot collection (1812-1890); his sale, 3 May 1870, lot n° 21; private collection, France; purchased from the above, 2022 Literature: F. Lenormand, Collection d’Antiquités Grecques recueillies dans la Grande-Grèce, l’Attique et l’Asie Mineure par M. Eug. P., Paris 1870, p. 16, n° 21 This epichysis is noteworthy for its provenance, as it was once part of the prestigious collection of Eugène Piot (1812–1890) - the French art critic, journalist, publisher, collector, and photographer - and it still bears his collection label. The present example also stands out for its above-average size and exceptional quality. It is in excellent condition and is typical of 4th-century BC Apulian Greek pottery. This vessel, characterized by its elegant neck surmounting a coiled body, was probably used to contain precious liquids intended for sparing use. Its delicate mouth seems ill-suited for serving wine, as has sometimes been suggested in the past, with some even describing such vases as “low-shaped oinochoai with flat bottoms.” Rather, they were most likely used for oil or perfume. The dropper-like mouth is flanked by two small, stylized masks in relief. The wide, disc-like shoulder of the vase has been decorated with particular attention to detail and form. The border is adorned with a frieze of eggs. A hermaphroditic Eros kneels and presents a mirror to a seated young woman, who also holds a mirror and a crown. On the reverse, an elegant arrangement of palmettes unfolds from the base of the handle and frames the central scene. The concave sides of the body are decorated with a vegetal frieze, overpainted in white and incised. Comparable examples are held at the Getty Museum in Malibu and the Musée Saint-Raymond in Toulouse; both have been attributed to the Menzies Group, active during the third quarter of the 4th century BC.
Martos Gallery
keith haring
growing suite, 1988
Screen print on Lenox Museum board Signed and dated with edition in graphite along right edge of sheet; retains Martin Lawrence Limited Edition and printer's blind stamps lower left edge of sheet 40 x 30 in: 101.6 x 76.2 cm 47 x 37 in; 119.4 x 94 cm (framed)
Galerie Bernard De Leye
Umbilicated dish and gadrooned basin in enameled copper Venise, circa 1500-1530 Ø 33 cm Provenance: collection Messel, Darmstadt; collection Ludwig and Anne Messel, London; collection Leonard and Maud Messel, London until 1953; Galerie Kugel, Paris; private collection, Switzerland Literature: Les cuivres émaillés dits Vénitiens, Corpus des œuvres en collections publiques et privées, Silvana Editoriale, 2018, Volume II, n° 34, p. 92 Twelve convex, curved white gadroons with blue highlights on a green background. This enamel production in Venice spans over a very short period within Venetian Decorative Arts. The basin is adorned with two rows of 24 concave, curved gadroons, then with scale-like motifs. The entirely blue reverse is richly decorated with gilded patterns.
Galerie Hurtebize
pierre-auguste renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Limoges 1841-1919 Cagnes-sur-Mer) Composition, Paysages et Fleurs, circa 1910 Oil on canvas 15 x 25.5 cm Initial R bottom left Certificate of authenticity from the Wildenstein Institute n°24.05.29/21585 dated 12 June 2024 Provenance: private collection, France
Univers du Bronze
roger godchaux
Roger Godchaux (Vendôme 1878-1958 Paris) Toomai des éléphants or Le Retour de chasse au tigre (1928 or earlier) Circa 1932 H 57.5 x W 70.5 x D 22.7 cm Lifetime bronze signed 'Roger Godchaux' and numbered '2/15' Old edition by 'Susse Frères Éditeurs Paris' (mark and seal), inscribed 'cire perdue'
Desmet Fine Arts
Two fragments of a wooden sarcophagus corner post of the Priest Horudja re-united after 50 years Wood Egypt, late Dynastic period, 26th Dynasty, circa 664-525 BC H 92 x W 15 x D 5.5 cm Accompanied by Art Loss Register certificates: S00238635 & S00238636 Provenance: Fragment A: Chakib Slatine, Paris (acquired 1975); private collection, Paris (acquired 1977). Fragment B: Chakib Slatine, Paris (acquired 1975); private collection, Paris (acquired 1977); Ede Gallery, London (of which acquired in 2020)
Galerie Oscar De Vos
albijn van den abeele
Albijn Van den Abeele (Sint-Martens-Latem 1835-1918 Aldaar) Last rays of sunshine and rising moon, 1904 Oil on canvas 80.5 x 110.5 cm Signed lower right: Albijn Van den Abeele Provenance: A. Van den Abeele, Sint-Marten-Latem; P. De Rijckere, Ghent; R. Van den Abeele, Sint-Martens-Latem; E. Van den Abeele, Sint-Martens-Latem Literature: Boyens, P., Sint-Martens-Latem. Kunstenaarsdorp in Vlaanderen (1992), 176-177 (ill.); Boyens, P., In de voetsporen van de Latemse kunstenaars (2003), 76-77 (ill.); Devoghelaere, H., Albijn Van den Abeele (1935), 39, 45, no. 33; D'Haese, J. & H. Lampo, Albijn Van den Abeele en de schilders van de Leie (1973), cat. 28 (ill.); Haesaerts, P., Sint-Martens-Latem. Gezegend oord van de Vlaamse kunst (1965), 76 (ill.); Hoozee, R., Veertig kunstenaars rond Karel Van den Woestijne (1979), 43-44, cat. 58 (ill.); Pauwels, H., De eerste groep van Sint-Martens-Latem 1899-1914 (1980), 96, 148, cat. 5 (ill.); Pauwels, P.J.H. & V. Van Doorne, Leie. Rimpeloze eenvoud (2010), 35, 106, cat. 8 (ill.); Van den Abeele, R., Albijn Van den Abeele. De stamvader van de Latemse kunstenaars (1993), 98-99, 135-138, 211, cat. 117 (ill.); Van den Abeele, E. e.a., Albijn Van den Abeele (2019), 34 (ill.); Van Doorne, V. e.a., Retrospectieve tentoonstelling Albijn Van den Abeele (1835-1918) (1985), 98-99, 211, 226, cat. 117 (ill.); Van Doorne, V. e.a., Sint-Martens-Latem - Worpswede 1880-1914. Twee kunstenaarskolonies (1996), 13, 65, 72, cat. 5 (ill.); Van Lerberghe, J., Belgische kunst van 1890-heden (1966), 21, cat. 7 Exhibitions: 1924, Ghent, Kunstgalerij Brabantdam, Albijn van den Abeele, cat. 8; 1966, Utrecht, Centraal Museum, Belgische kunst van 1890 tot heden, cat. 7; 1973, Venlo, Cultureel Centrum, Albijn Van den Abeele en de schilders van de Leie, cat. 28; 1974, Sint-Martens-Latem, Latemse Galerij, Kunstenaars zien Latem, cat. 156; 1976, Brussels, Passage 44, Tentoonstelling Oost-Vlaanderen, s.n.; 1978, Antwerp, AMVC Letterenhuis, Karel Van de Woestyne, s.n.; 1979, Brussels, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Karel Van de Woestyne 1879-1929, cat. 183; 1979, Ghent, MSK, 40 Kunstenaars rond Karel Van de Woestyne, cat. 58; 1980, Ingelheim (Duitsland), Villa Schneider, Von Ensor bis Delvaux, cat. 9; 1985, Deinze, MuDeL, Retrospectieve tentoonstelling Albijn Van den Abeele (1835-1918), cat. 58; 2010, Deinze, MuDeL, Leie. Rimpeloze eenvoud, cat. 8; 2019, Sint-Martens-Latem, Gemeentehuis, Albijn Van den Abeele, s.n.
Heutink Ikonen
Anastasis Russia, circa 1600 32.5 x 26.5 cm The Anastasis (resurrection) of Christ and the victory over the realm of death are central to this icon. Christ, surrounded by a radiant mandorla, tramples the gates of the underworld and pulls Adam up from a stone coffin by his wrist. Behind Adam stands John, pointing to Christ with his hand and addressing a group of Old Testament prophets and forefathers. To the right of Christ are Eve, Kings David and Solomon, and the prophet Daniel, amongst others. At the bottom right, Christ can be seen rising from his own tomb
DIE GALERIE
pierre alechinsky
Pierre Alechinsky (Brussels, 1927) Le Point du Jour, 1966 Oil on canvas 130 x 81 cm Signed lower right 'Alechinsky'; signed, dated and entitled verso Certificate by the artist from 19 March 2012 Provenance: Galerie Birch, Kopenhagen; DIE GALERIE, Frankfurt am Main Literature: Pierre Alechinsky, Galerie Birch, Kopenhagen 1966; CoBrA. Una grande avanguardia europea 1948-1951, exh. cat. Fondazione Roma Museo, Palazzo Cipolla, Rome 2015, p. 211 Exhibitions: Pierre Alechinsky, Galerie Birch, Kopenhagen 1966; CoBrA international – Momente einer Utopie, Museum für aktuelle Kunst, Sammlung Hurrle, Durbach, 2012-2013; CoBrA – Una grande avanguardia europea 1948-1951, Fondazione Roma Museo, Palazzo Cipolla, Rom, 2015-2016; 70 Years of CoBrA, DIE GALERIE, Frankfurt am Main, 2018; Pierre Alechinsky and his artist friends, DIE GALERIE, Frankfurt am Main, 2025
Philippe Heim
andré maire
André Maire (Paris, 1898-1984) Vue de Segovie, circa 1940 Oil on canvas 163 x 227 cm Signed lower right Certificate of authenticity issued by Philippe Heim Provenance: the artist's family Literature: André Maire (1898-1984), L'itinéraire décoratif d'un peintre voyageur, Éd. Gallimard, 16 October 2008, repr. p. 89 Exhibition: André Maire (1898-1984), L'itinéraire décoratif d'un peintre voyageur, Roubaix, La Piscine, 18 October 2008 to 1 February 2009
Galerie Raf Van Severen
anne-pierre de kat
Anne-Pierre De Kat (The Netherlands, Delft 1881-1968 La Frette-sur-Seine, France) Femme à la cigarette, 1921 Oil on canvas 102 x 80 cm Signed bottom left Provenance: private collection, Knokke-Heist Literature: Paul Caso, Anne-Pierre De Kat, Une vive intelligence visuelle, Les Editeurs d'Art Associés Exhibition: Guillaume Campo, Meir 47-55 Antwerpen, Exposition n° 121 (label at the back)
COLNAGHI
Gillis Neyts (Ghent 1623-1687 Antwerp) A winter cityscape of Antwerp, 1666 Oil on panel 54 x 86 cm Signed and dated lower left: g. nyts. f. / 1666 Provenance: sale Fievez, Brussels (16 June 1931), lot 113; sale of the F. Stuyck collection, Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts (7-8 December 1960), lot 91; Galerie P. de Boer, Amsterdam (1961) n° 54; Laboratoria Tupens, Sint-Niklaas (?); with Rafael Valls, London; with De Jonckheere, from whom acquired by the present owner Literature: P. Gustot, Gillis Neyts. Un paysagiste brabançon en vallée mosane au XVIIe siècle, Namur, 2008, p. 69, n° P13, repr. Exhibition: Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Le siècle de Rubens, 15 October-12 December 1965, n° 157, repr.
Chambre professionnelle belge de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne (CLAM)
Unique binding of incredible modernity, produced circa 1925 by the great architect and designer Josef Hoffmann (Pirnitz 1870-1956 Vienna), one of the founding members of the Wiener Werkstätte and the creator of the fabulous Palais Stoclet in Brussels. Large quarto, full fawn morocco on wooden boards with undulating decor, dark fuchsia silk doublure and endpapers, interior gilt signature Wiener Werkstätte with, above, Hoffmann's small gilt monogrammed mark. On: Henny Bauer & Wilhelm Kienzl, Sanctissimum (1924), first edition of the score for voice and piano. Signed by Josef Hoffmann Literature: Isabella Croÿ-Frick, Bookbinding and Leather in Christian Witt-Dörring & Janis Staggs, Wiener Werkstätte 1903-1932, The Luxury of Beauty, (2017), pp. 192-211; MAK Wien: Archiv der Wiener Werkstätte, Entwurfszeichnungen, Bucheinband, inventarnummer WWE 24-9; Yves Peyré, Histoire de la reliure de création, (2005), p. 138, p. 140; Ruperta Pichler, Wiener Werkstätte. Lederobjekte aus den Sammlungen des Österreichischen Museums für angewandte Kunst, (1992), pp. 77-92; Werner J. Schweiger, Wiener Werkstätte, art et artisanat, 1903-1932, (1982), p. 183 Pierre Coumans, Antiquarian bookseller
_GeorgesJEANCLOS_T638915587955330883.tif?width=410&height=2000&qlt=90&scale=both&mode=max&format=jpeg)
Galerie Capazza
georges jeanclos
Georges Jeanclos (Paris, 1933-1997) Kamakura, 1991 Terracotta H 30 x W 45 x D 40 cm Provenance: the artist's studio Exhibition: Georges Jeanclos, Élévation, Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud, 25 November 2023-4 March 2024 The Kamakura series was inspired by Georges Jeanclos' trip to Japan, which took him to the country's ancient medieval capital, home to the oldest Japanese Zen gardens. Jeanclos was deeply moved by the beauty and serenity that emanated from these meditative and contemplative landscapes. Upon his return to Paris, these characters were born, sculptures of resilience, ‘monks in meditation, spectators of their inner gardens’ (Tzvetan Todorov). Georges Jeanclos (1933–1997) was one of the great French sculptors of the 20th century. His work was inspired by the traumatic events of the Second World War. To escape the roundups threatening Jews in France, his family had to hide in the woods; he himself, aged around ten, learned to live with the danger of death. In the aftermath of the Liberation, he saw the bodies of former collaborators hanging from lampposts; shortly afterwards, he discovered the skeletal beings who had survived the camps. Decades later, Jeanclos would respond to this formative experience: not by withdrawing into his own experiences, but by opening himself up to the universal, listening to all suffering, past and present; not by depicting horror, but by finding within himself the strength to create beauty. Jeanclos transforms the earth he works with into thin sheets, which he uses to form figures with similar faces, both children and adults, men and women. They are sleepers lying under a sheet of earth; beings enclosed in urns stamped with Hebrew letters taken from prayers for the dead; figures loaded onto boats bound for the other world; kamakuras, meditating monks. Later, he would add Pietàs, Adam and Eve in love, couples brushing against or embracing each other. Jeanclos' images reveal both the insignificance of our person and the indomitable strength of our love; by their mere existence, they help us to live. Tzvetan Todorov
Galerie Nicolas Bourriaud
jacq orlande sinapi
Jacq Orlande Sinapi (Marseille, 1911-1989) Bison, circa 1940 Bronze with nuanced brown patina Cast by Leblanc-Barbedienne and bearing the foundry's stamp H 50 x W 57 x D 21 cm Signed ‘Jacq Orlande Sinapi’ Only two pieces known to date Provenance: private collection, France
Galerie Oscar De Vos
emile claus
Emile Claus (Waregem 1849-1924 Astene) Villa Zonneschijn (Sunshine) and the Lys, 1893 Oil on canvas 83 x 73 cm Signed lower left: Emile Claus Dated and monogrammed on reverse: Juli 1893 / E.C. Provenance: private collection, Belgium Literature: Buysse, C., Emile Claus. Mijn broeder in Vlaanderen (1925); De Smet, J., Retrospectief Emile Claus (1997); De Smet, J., Emile Claus en het landleven (2009); De Smet, J., Emile Claus. Prins van het luminisme (2024); Lemonnier, C., Emile Claus (1908)
Galerie Bernard De Leye
Enamel basin 'Adam and Eve Mourning the Death of Abel' L 47.5x W 38.7 cm Provenance: sale Tajan 17 juin 1977, n° 127; former collection of Henry Kravis, New York; gallery 'à la Façon de Venise', Paris; former private collection, Switzerland Most Limoges enamel pieces were created over a very short period, between 1540 and 1580, marking the peak of Limoges enameling art. They reflect the French Renaissance and the Fontainebleau School. These secular objects were cherished by court dignitaries and the wealthy bourgeoisie. Too precious and fragile to be used, they adorned the sideboards of reception rooms or the cabinets’ display shelves. Comparative pieces: Musée du Louvre, Paris, eight plates from 1540/1560 by Jean Miette in Limoges enamel; Victoria & Albert Museum, London, a closed cup and two plates, circa 1560 by Jean Miette in Limoges enamel; British Museum, London, three plates, circa 1570 by Jean Miette in Limoges enamel; State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersbourg, five plates, mid-16th century by Jean Miette in Limoges enamel
Romigioli Antichità
giuseppe piamontini
Giuseppe Piamontini (Florence, 1664-1744) Small Faun playing with a Satyr, 1710 Carrara marble H 79 cm Signed and dated 1710 Provenance: private collection, Florence Literature: Sandro Bellesi, I marmi di Giuseppe Piamontini, ed. Polistampa 2008 Ideal pendant 'Eros and Anteros' at the Money Museum in Palazzo Pitti, Florence
De Wit Fine Tapestries
victor vasarely
Victor Vasarely (Hungary 1906-1997 Paris) WA-4, circa 1970 Wool 156 x 156 cm Signed lower right corner Aubusson, atelier Pinton (Monogram lower left corner) Edition 1/6 The WA-4 tapestry consists of a large square divided into four squares, on top of which a fifth square is placed, itself divided into four squares. The inside of each of these squares is filled with rhombuses whose colour change from dark blue to purple and then to light beige. These rhombi are arranged on backgrounds of varying colours, ranging from charcoal grey to purple and pink, then from aqua green to pale pink and dark green. The different colour areas are clearly distinct from one another when viewed up close on the tapestry's very fine fabric. But when you step back and view the tapestry from a distance, the planes and shapes seem to interact with each other, and the colours appear to move. The optical effects are particularly striking here. Our gaze is captured by the illusion of movement created by the brain. Vasarely experimented with this fascinating relationship between vision and perception in his paintings, which he then transposed into various media, including glass, ceramics, metal, goldsmithing and tapestry. Vasarely relied on science, because he believed it was the only common language available to humanity. He developed a pictorial system based on the logic of algorithms and binary codes, a square background, coloured and filled with simple geometric shapes. A champion of geometric abstraction, he is best known as the inventor of op-kinetic art (the adjective kinetic derives from the Greek word κίνησις (kinesis), meaning “movement”). Op art or optical art was revealed to the general public by the sensational exhibition ‘Le Mouvement’ (1955), which Vasarely initiated at the Denise René gallery in Paris. In this exhibition he brought together younger artists such as Bury, Jacobsen, Soto and Tinguely alongside the leading figures of Marcel Duchamp and Alexander Calder. Alongside his work as a painter, Vasarely devoted a significant portion of his activity to transposing his art into other media. He promoted the reproduction of his works as tapestries, as he saw this as an opportunity for recreation, in contrast to the concept of a unique work. He envisioned a concept of art for all, based on a new aesthetic, leading to ‘the polychrome city of happiness’. He thought of his tapestries as prototypes, hand-woven in limited numbers and displayed in the comfortable homes of art lovers. He painted around a hundred tapestry cartoons, woven in various workshops. Furthermore, he played a pioneering role by inviting other artists to try their hand at this art form, including Léger, Jean Arp, Agam, Atlan, Dewasne and Josef Albers. This textile experimentation was the result of Vasarely's encounter with François Tabard, an Aubusson tapestry entrepreneur, and Denise René, an avant-garde gallery owner. According to the artist, kinetic art, often described as cold, is compatible with tapestry insofar as it results from a "technique that allows for flat areas to retain warmth. There is none of the monotony of flat areas applied with a brush to a surface." With Tabard, Vasarely developed a systematic method of creating cartoons, allowing infinite chromatic combinations to be obtained. Denise René was the publisher of these tapestries (1952-1970). From 1966 onwards, the national tapestry manufacturers of the Gobelins and Beauvais wove Vasarely's designs. Shortly afterwards, another industrialist from Aubusson, Olivier Pinton, began weaving Vasarely's designs. More than thirty cartoons were finely woven, including WA-4, created around 1970.
Virginie Devillez Fine Art
pierre-louis flouquet
Pierre-Louis Flouquet (Paris 1900-1967 Brussels) Féminités, circa 1923-1925 Oil on canvas 125 x 87 cm Signed lower right 'flouquet' Provenance: Galerie Patrick Derom, Brussels; private collection, Brussels; private collection, Brussels (by descent to the present owner) Literature: Serge Goyens de Heusch, Pierre-Louis Flouquet. 1900-1967, Brussels, Fondation pour l’Art belge, 1993, (ill. p. 56) Exhibitions: Brussels, Galerie Patrick Derom, The Avant-garde of the 1920s in Belgium, 1992, cat. n° 12 (ill.); Drogenbos, FeliXart Museum, L’Équerre / 7 Arts 1923, scenographic reconstruction of the fair stand of the publishing house L’Équerre, 2008-2011, no catalogue published Born in Paris, Pierre-Louis Flouquet was nine years old when his family moved to Brussels. Mainly self-taught, he received a brief artistic education at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where he met, among others, Victor Servranckx and René Magritte. The latter soon shared a studio with Flouquet, who began producing geometric works that represented a true synthesis of Cubism and Futurism. Throughout the 1920s, Flouquet exhibited frequently on the international stage - in Paris, Madrid, New York, Chicago, Buenos Aires, and Berlin, at the Galerie Der Sturm. For the gallery’s eponymous magazine, Flouquet even designed a large number of covers. During this period, he developed an art that evolved primarily through distinct series: Paysage plastique, Féminités, Composition, Formes, and Construction. The large-scale painting Féminités belongs to the series of the same name, begun in 1922, which explores geometric variations on the morphology of the female body. The rigor and purity that Flouquet infused into these anthropomorphic stylizations - further emphasized by his distinctive sense of composition - reveal his fascination with the formal perfection of the new technological creations of the modern age. Yet, in Flouquet’s work, as in that of Fernand Léger, such faith in mechanical forms does not lead to a total rejection of figuration, but rather to a search for plastic correspondences between the human and the machine. The composition Féminités is particularly harmonious, achieving a balance between line and color, enhanced by a marble-like background that lends warmth to the work.
Axel Vervoordt
Jef Verheyen (Belgium, Itegem 1932-1984 Apt, France) Untitled Matt lacquer on round board 100 x 100 cm - Ø 80 cm Provenance: private collection, Belgium; collection Axel Vervoordt, 2003; private collection, Belgium Exhibition: Jef Verheyen, Lux est Lex, Wijnegem, 2004, cat. n° 60, ill. p. 93
Douwes Fine Art b.v.
rembrandt van rijn
Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606-1669 Amsterdam) Self-Portrait in a Cap, Wide-Eyed and Open-Mouthed, 1630 Etching and drypoint on laid paper 5.4 x 4.6 cm Signed in monogram and dated lower centre: RHL 1630 Plate not in existence – with Nowell-Usticke (1967): RRR – a very rare little plate Provenance: private collection, Germany; private collection, The Netherlands Literature: Bartsch 320; Hind 32; The New Hollstein Dutch n° 69: Second state (of II) This is a small masterpiece of Rembrandt's early etchings. The expression of this physiognomic study made by his etching needle could not be more livelike as the facial expression (perhaps "astonishment") is in perfect harmony with the round shape of the face. Rembrandt knows exactly how to hit every tonal gradation with fine, arching strokes. Of all the self-portraits in which Rembrandt depicts emotions, this one is probably the most engaging. He looks startled here, with pursed lips and wide-open eyes. You see him slightly from below, so that he seems to be recoiling. The etching is clearly executed and clever, with the contours of the shoulders and the cap fading into the edges. During his lifetime, Rembrandt's extraordinary skills as a printmaker were the main source of his international fame. Unlike his oil paintings, prints travelled light and were relatively cheap. For this reason, they soon became very popular with collectors not only within but also beyond the borders of the Netherlands. Rembrandt's etchings are remarkable for their high number of self-portraits (over 30 out of about 290). These are particularly collectible, perhaps due to the smaller number of states as well as the artist's compelling and powerful presence. Unlike his stately religious scenes, or regal, posed portraits of others, which exhibit his careful and calculating brilliance as an etcher, Rembrandt's self-portraits reveal him as an artist and a man. In them he assumes the role of the experimenting artist, approaching the most difficult of subjects - himself. These self-portraits are often described as ethereal and wistful for their notable contrasting areas of high and low etched space. A very fine impression of this famous small portrait in the second (final) state, printing clearly, just beginning to show a little wear on the tip of the nose, with narrow margins.
