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Argento Gallery
Jacob Fransz. van der Merck ('s-Gravendeel circa 1610-1664 Leiden) Portrait of a man with a skullcap, 1646 Oil on panel 72.5 x 56.5 cm Signed and dated upper right Provenance: private collection; Chorley’s Auctioneers, Cotswolds, 26 November 2025, lot 993 A portrait of an older man with a grey moustache, goatee and a skullcap. The painting is identified as a work by Jacob van der Merck on the basis of its style and signature. It closely resembles his signed male portraits from 1642-1648, painted during the period when he was principally based in The Hague.
Vagabond Antiques
After the antique, Chiurazzi Foundry (Attributed to) Naples, second half of the 19th century Bronze head of a man (possibly Dionysus) Bronze on original Rosso Antico marble socle H 70 cm Provenance: private collection at Château De Pesselières, France Literature: Fonderia Chiurazzi, Napoli, catalogue n° 1 'Dionisio o Platone-Bronzo da Ercolano 1741' A finely cast bronze by the Chiurazzi Foundry, Naples, after the celebrated antique excavated at Herculaneum in 1741 and now preserved in the Museo Nazionale di Napoli (inv. 5618). The model is recorded in the Chiurazzi Foundry catalogue as 'n° 1 - Dionisio o Platone - Bronzo da Ercolano 1741', indicating both the foundry’s internal model number and the Naples museum inventory of the original. The figure’s soft modelling, elaborate curls and bound taenia are characteristic of Hellenistic representations of Dionysus, though early scholars, struck by the introspective expression, also proposed identifications with Plato or other philosophers. Modern scholarship accepts the Dionysian attribution. Chiurazzi held exclusive rights to reproduce works from the Naples collections, issuing casts directly from museum models for export to collectors and institutions across Europe and America. This example, with its even dark patination and original Rosso Antico marble socle, reflects the exceptional quality for which the foundry became renowned.
Herwig Simons Fine Arts
Blue John urn, late 18th century Square base with alabaster and Ashford marble, pedestal clad in Blue John, foot partially clad in blackened brass, ovoid bowl with transverse fluting in Blue John H 40 cm Engraved on the base with inventory n° 890126-0821 and inscribed Hedvig Piper (1746-1812) Born Hedvig Katharina Ekeblad, she married Count Carl Gustaf Piper in 1769 and she held senior positions at the Swedish Royal Court, including chief Lady-in-waiting from 1795-1805
Galerie Alexis Bordes
Constant Montald (Ghent 1862-1944 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert) View of Houses in Spring, 1917 Gouache on paper laid down on cardboard 70 x 88.5 cm Signed and dated lower right 'C. Montald 17' Provenance: private collection, Belgium (acquired at public auction in 1993); private collection, France
Stern Pissarro Gallery
Glenn Brown (Hexham, 1966) Drawing 2 (after Delacroix/Raphaël), 2019 Acrylic on polyester film laid down on cardboard 109.2 x 94 cm Signed and dated lower right 'Glenn Brown 2019' The work bears the artist's signed label on the reverse Provenance: Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin; private collection, Belgium; acquired from the above Exhibitions: Paris, Musée national Eugène Delacroix, Glenn Brown, 10 October-9 December 2019; Berlin, Galerie Max Hetzler, And Thus We Existed, 30 October 2020-23 January 2021, n° 6, pp. 40-41, 43-44, 125, 152 (ill., p. 41, detail ill., p. 43, exhibition view ill., pp. 44, 125)
Galerie Taménaga
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Limoges 1841-1919 Cagnes-surMer) Paysage de Cagnes, 1900 Oil on canvas 24 x 54 cm Signed with initials lower left 'AR' This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the work of Pierre-Auguste Renoir currently in preparation by the Wildenstein Plattner Institute Provenance: Ambroise Vollard, Paris; private collection, Japan Literature: Ambroise Vollard, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Tableaux, pastels et dessins, Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, San Francisco, 1989, n° 612, 1185 and 1330, ill. pp. 155, 258 and 279
W. Apolloni - Laocoon Gallery
Leoncillo Leonardi (Spoleto 1915-1968 Rome) Plate with abstract design, circa 1950 Glazed ceramic Ø 28 cm Signed below on the edge 'Leoncillo' Literature: E. Mascelloni (text by), M. F. Apolloni and M. Cardarelli (edited by), Leoncillo. Le Ceramiche, De Luca Editori d’Arte, Rome 2018 Exhibition: Leoncillo: Earth, Fire and Colours. A retrospective exhibition 1939-1955, 2026-2027
Klaas Muller
Jan Boeckhorst (Münster 1604-1668 Antwerp) Henri IV at the Battle of Ivry, 17th century Pen and brown ink, watercolour and gouache, heightened with whith and red wash on paper 20 x 29.1 cm The gallery is grateful to Stijn Alsteens of the Fondation Custodia for his attribution of the drawing to Jan Boeckhorst. In 1622, Maria de' Medici signed a contract with Rubens for two series of twenty-four paintings. The first series depicted her own life story, the other the heroic deeds of her husband: Henri IV. As was his custom, Rubens worked on this commission together with some of his pupils and assistants. The successful king had been assassinated 12 years earlier whilst riding through Paris in an open carriage. He had brought an end to the fierce civil war between Protestants and Catholics and did not shy away from doing the heavy lifting on the battlefield himself. What was intended to be a tribute to one of France’s bravest leaders turned out to be a damp squib. Due to turmoil at court, the series about the famous battle near Paris remained unfinished. This dynamic and finely worked drawing captures the dramatic moment of the Battle of Ivry (1590), where King Henri IV led his forces to a decisive victory during the French Wars of Religion. Executed in pen and brown ink and enriched with watercolour and gouache, the composition is animated by vigorous movement and strong contrasts of light and shadow. The artist heightens the scene with touches of white and red wash, emphasising the glint of armour, the energy of the horses, and the intensity of the clash. The central figure of Henri IV, mounted and illuminated, commands the composition, surrounded by swirling troops and fallen adversaries. Ethereal figures above the battlefield introduce a sense of divine favour, a motif often associated with royal propaganda of the period. Despite its relatively intimate scale, the sheet conveys remarkable grandeur and narrative force, making it a compelling example of late 16th‑ to early 17th‑century battle imagery.
Galerie Berès
Fernand Léger (Argentan 1881-1955 Gif-sur-Yvette) 'Composition pour les Illuminations d'Arthur Rimbaud', 1949 Gouache and ink on paper 33 x 24 cm Monogrammed and dated lower right 'F.L.49' Certificate of authenticity by the Comité Fernand Léger Certificate of authenticity by Irus Hansma Provenance: private collection, Paris
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
Artimo Fine Art
Émile Jespers (Deurne 1862-1918 Antwerp) Reclining female nude on a wave, circa 1907 Model created in 1907 Carrara marble H 36 x W 70 cm Signed on the base 'E. Jespers' This refined Carrara marble depicts a reclining female nude stretched across a dynamically carved rocky form evocative of a breaking wave. Resting on her forearms, her head gently raised and turned towards the viewer, the figure follows a long, sinuous movement from the shoulders through the waist and hips to the crossed legs. Jespers exploits the contrasting treatment of the marble to reinforce the composition. The smooth, highly polished surface of the female body emerges from the vigorously worked base, whose rougher texture and irregular contours suggest the movement of water. The sweeping silhouette of the figure follows the rhythm of the wave beneath her, closely associating the female body with the natural element. The composition belongs to the Symbolist and Art Nouveau exploration of the relationship between the female figure and nature that developed in Belgian sculpture around the turn of the twentieth century. It may notably be considered in relation to Charles Van der Stappen’s La Mer of 1902, conceived for Victor Horta’s Hôtel Solvay in Brussels, in which the female figure is similarly associated with the imagery of the sea. The plaster model is documented in 1907 through signed and dated versions of the composition, described as a reclining female nude and, more explicitly, as a nude woman reclining on a wave. The present Carrara marble corresponds closely in composition and dimensions to this documented example.
