This section will be available this Autumn.
Univers du Bronze
Emile-Antoine Bourdelle (France, 1861-1929) Beethoven à la colonne aux yeux fermés (1901) Studio plaster as 'à bon creux' H 62.4 x W 32 x D 28.3 cm Signed in relief 'Bourdelle' in the mould. Artist example detailled on the front in autograph writing '"Moi, je suis Bacchus... le nectar délicieux, Beethoven", dedicated on the base on the left " A Mlle Henriette Charasson, très sympathiquement, E.A.Bourdelle", example reworked by him (with letters from the sculptor to the patron). Cast in 1910
Finch & Co
Ivory crucifix figure of Christ South Netherlandish, circa 1690-1700 Rosewood cross, carved ivory, silver halo, giltwood Small chips to fabric of hanging Perizonium, old smooth creamy patina H 109 x W 41.5 x D 22 cm (cross) H 40 x W 24 x D 6 cm (Christ) Belgium CITES: 2025/BE00989/CE Provenance: Finch and Co, circa 2005; English private collection; Irish collection Comparative reference: a similar example in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum inv. n° A.73-1920 A finely carved ivory figure of Christ mounted on a rosewood cross, adorned with a silver halo and a sacred motto. The cross is embellished with giltwood details and set on its original scallop-shaped rosewood base. At Christ’s feet rests an ivory skull and crossbones, symbolising Golgotha. His legs remain uncrossed, with hands and feet affixed by iron nails. In this image of the Passion, Christ is shown alive, his eyes open looking upwards to his right, his teeth visible with his mouth open in his call to God. Imagery based on the Passion of Christ became increasingly popular from the 13th century. The mix of emotions which well up in the devout upon looking at such a human image, a blend of guilt and gratitude, sorrow and sympathy, is a very powerful combination. The Carthusian monk, Ludolph of Saxony (died 1378) expressed this attraction, without seeking to explain it, in his ‘Life of Christ’: ‘I know not for sure…. how it is that you are sweeter in the heart of one who loves you in the form of flesh than as the word…. It is sweeter to view you as dying before the Jews on the tree, than as holding sway over the angels in Heaven, to see you as a man bearing every aspect of human nature to the end, than as God manifesting divine nature, to see you as the dying Redeemer than as the invisible Creator.’
Galerie de la Présidence
Nicolas de Staël (Saint Petersbourg 1913-1955 Antibes) Composition, 1949 Oil on canvas 38 x 46 cm Signed lower left Provenance: Henriette Gomès collection, Paris; private collection, Paris; private collection, Luxembourg Literature: J-P Jouffroy, Nicolas de Staël, p. 161; Jacques Dubourg and Françoise de Staël, Nicolas de Staël, Catalogue Raisonné des peintures, ed. Le temps, Paris, n° 195, p. 121; Françoise de Staël, Nicolas de Staël, Catalogue Raisonné des peintures, ed. Ides et Calendres, Switzerland, n° 189, p. 259; Françoise de Staël, Nicolas de Staël, Catalogue Raisonné des peintures, ed. Ides et Calendres, Switzerland, revised and expanded by Marie du Bouchet and Gustave de Staël, n° 189, p. 209 Exhibition: Nicolas de Staël, Musée Réattu, Arles, June-September 1958, n° 18 The year 1949 was a crucial period for Nicolas de Staël: he continued to explore and refine his style, marking an important transition towards painting that would become more fluid and expressive. Among his notable works this year is this 'Composition', which reflects his continued use of thick layers of paint and his extensive play with materials, moving from impasto to knife painting. For Nicolas de Staël, although abstract his paintings are 'images of life', his coloured masses generate vibrations. Lastly, this painting has always been kept in private hands until now, and was never presented at auctions.
Galerie BA - Berthet Aittouarès
mark tobey
Mark Tobey (USA, Centerville 1890-1976 Basel, Switzerland) Landscape, 1967 Tempera on paper 26.5 x 48.6 cm Signed and dated lower back, stamp on the back Certificate of authenticity by the Committee Mark Tobey dated 8 February 2007 Provenance: François Gaudard, pianist and friend of Mark Tobey
Galerie AB - Agnès Aittouarès
jean-paul riopelle
Jean-Paul Riopelle (Montréal 1923-2002 Saint-Antoine-de-l'Isle-aux-Grues) Composition, 1964 Gouache on paper 46 x 67 cm Signed and dated lower right Provenance: French-Canadian private collection; private collection, Paris Literature: Pierre Schneider, Riopelle. Signes mêlés, Maeght éditeur, Paris, 1972, no. 124, p. 119; Catalogue of the exhibition 'Les Très riches heures de Jean Paul Riopelle', Musée Le Chafaud, Percée, 2000, reproduced on p. 23; Yseult Riopelle, Jean-Paul Riopelle. Catalogue raisonné, volume 3, Hibou Éditeurs, Montreal, 2004, p. 302, reproduced in colour under reference 1964.010P.1964 Exhibitions: Riopelle. Mixed Signs, Maeght Gallery, 1972; The Very Rich Hours of Jean Paul Riopelle, Le Chafaud Museum, Percée, 2000
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.
Mearini Fine Art
Capital with column from a Ciborio or Pergula Rome, late 8th-early 9th century White marble H 41 x Ø 20 cm Provenance: formerly in the collection of Elda Francia Gasparrini in Rome Literature: U. Broccoli, Marmi tardo antichi di una collezione privata a Roma, LV 1979, pp. 183-199, ill. p. 193 fig. 10
Chambre professionnelle belge de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne (CLAM)
Heinrich Eggestein (Rosheim 1415/1420-1488) [Strassburg, not after 24 May 1466] […]. Biblia Latina 2 vols. Royal folio, with contemporary Augsburg binding Fifth edition of the Latin Bible and the first published by Heinrich Eggestein Librairie Lardanchet, Antiquarian bookseller
Laurent Schaubroeck
George Nakashima (USA, Washington 1905-1990 Pennsylvenia) Cushion chair with arms, 1960s Black American cherry, upholstery 77.5 x 74.3 x 86.4 cm Produced by George Nakashima Studio Includes a digital copy of the order card Provenance: Craighead family Produced by the Nakashima Studio in the 1960s, this lounge chair exemplifies George Nakashima’s refined craftsmanship and harmony between form and material. Its spindled back recalls Windsor traditions, while the tapered legs and clean geometry express his modern sensibility. Upholstered in white linen, the chair combines warmth and elegance, standing as a rare and timeless piece from one of the most influential American designers of the 20th century.
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
Galerie BG Arts
jean dunand
Jean Dunand (Lancy 1877-1942 Paris) Cobra vase, circa 1913 Patinated and hammered copper, patinated bronze, wrought iron and lacquered wood base H 28.5 cm Signed Provenance: property of Bernard Laurent, France Literature: Art et Décoration, July 1914-December 1919, p. 121
Finch & Co
Turned standing cup and cover on knopped foot Germany, late Renaissance, first half 17th century Rhinoceros horn and ivory, old smooth patina, age cracks to foot H 33 cm - Ø 11 cm Belgium CITES: 2025/BE01678/CE Provenance: Finch and Co, item n° 77, catalogue n° 20, summer 2013; private collection Comparative literature: a cup and cover of similar shape engraved with the inscription ‘the exalted Roman Emperor Rudolf II’s goblet which protects against poison – the unconquerable Emperor’s hand shaped this ingenious goblet’ D 406.766 / 339 Royal Danish Kunstkammer, Copenhagen, National Museum A fine and large late Renaissance turned standing cup and cover on knopped foot of impressive size The Milanese master instructor of turning Giovanni Ambrogio Maggiore visited Bavaria on various occasions between 1574 and 1593 to teach the Duke Wilhelm this newly invented form of art, creating marvellous objects from natural substances. Maggiore also trained the artist Georg Wecker who went on to become Dresden’s ‘court turner for life’ to the elector Augustus of Saxony in 1578. Regarded at the time as a form of advanced mechanical technology, the art of turning in ivory, ebony and rhinoceros horn became a princely pastime for ‘Drechselnder souverän’. Rhinoceros horn objects were regarded as items of great rarity and prestige in Renaissance Europe, but they had been seen as objects of great value with inherent magical properties for well over one thousand years before this time in China, and by the early 17th century Chinese cups and vessels of carved rhino horn were being exported to Europe to meet the demand for exotic curiosities for the cabinets of wealthy collectors.
Gilden's Art Gallery
Gino Severini (Italy, Cortona 1883-1966 Paris, France) The dancer, 1959 Tempera painting on wove paper 39.5 x 28.5 cm Signed lower right 'G. Severini' and dedicated in pencil ‘al caro vecchio amico Raffaele Carrieri, affectuoso riccordi di Gino Severini’ [to a dear old friend Raffaelle Carrieri, with affectionate memories, Gino Severini] in the lower right corner The work comes with a photo-certificate of authenticity by Romana Severini Brunori dated 13 May 2025 Provenance: the celebrated poet Raffaele Carrieri (1905-1984); private collection, Milan
Galerie Flak
Hemba ancestor figure Singiti (commemorative portrait of a chief) Democratic Republic of Congo-Upper Congo River 19th century or early 20th century Carved wood H 86.5 cm Provenance: Mia van Bussel collection, Amsterdam; Kevin Conru collection, Brussels; Adrian Schlag collection, Brussels; Guilhem Montagut collection, Barcelona Literature: Lexikon der Afrikanischen Kunst, Karl-Ferdinand Schaedler, Munich, 1994, p. 242
Almine Rech
tom wesselmann
Tom Wesselmann (USA, Ohio 1931-2004 New York) 'Smoker Study (For Smoker #11)', 1972 Oil on canvas 29.2 x 29.2 cm 46.4 x 46.4 x 3.8 cm (framed) Examined by the WPI's Wesselmann committee on 13 December 2023, for inclusion in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné Provenance: estate of the artist Courtesy of the Estate of Tom Wesselmann and Almine Rech / Photo: Thomas Barratt Smoker Study (For Smoker #11), 1972 belongs to Tom Wesselmann’s Smoker series, which the artist began in 1967. Born out of a desire to isolate and further investigate the representation of lips and the act of smoking, the Smoker series also found its origin in advertising, and stands as testament to the major role Wesselmann occupied in the birth and development of the Pop aesthetic. Today, Wesselmann’s Smoker paintings are among his most renowned works. The series began with Smoker, 1 (Mouth, 12), 1967, which is now held in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Wesselmann found photography to be a useful medium to capture his models in poses he would later translate to larger scale works. On one occasion, his friend Peggy Sarno lit a cigarette during a modeling session. Wesselmann took some photographs of her as she inhaled, still posing in a reclined position. This moment inspired the Smoker series, which is characterised by the presence of vivid red lips juxtaposed with curling white smoke. Smoker Study (For Smoker #11) is both bold and intimate, capturing a single moment of pleasure in a complex and ambitious composition indicative of the artist’s experimentation with subject, form, and color. In mid-century America, cigarette advertisements were incredibly elaborate, among the most sophisticated forms of marketing. As well as standing as an example of Wesselmann’s fascination with popular culture and the female body, Smoker Study (For Smoker #11) also demonstrates the artist’s mastery of oil paint, attention to detail, and sophisticated compositional style. In the 1960s, Wesselmann had been developing his Great American Nudes series when he was inspired to focus on specific details of female figures. In an almost fetishistic act, he started isolating elements of the female figure, creating smaller preparatory pieces as well as larger scale works depicting hands, breasts, and lips. Out of this approach his Mouth paintings and Smoker Series, works such as Smoker Study (For Smoker #11) were born. Tom Wesselmann (1931–2004) was one of the leading American Pop artists of the mid-20th Century. Departing from Abstract Expressionism, he explored classical representations of the nude, still life, and landscape, while incorporating everyday objects and advertising ephemera. Wesselmann was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 23, 1931. He attended Hiram College in Ohio from 1949 to 1951 before entering the University of Cincinnati. In 1953, his studies were interrupted by a two-year enlistment in the army, during which time he began drawing cartoons. He returned to the university in 1954 and received a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1956. During this time, he decided to pursue a career in cartooning and enrolled at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. After graduation he moved to New York City, where he was accepted into the Cooper Union and where his focus shifted dramatically to fine art.
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
