This section will be available this Autumn.
Galerie Jean-François Cazeau
Yayoi Kusama (Matsumoto 1929-2026 Tokyo) Uchu/Universe, 1994 Acrylic on canvas 91 x 73 cm Signed, titled and dated in Japanese on the reverse 'Yayoi Kusama 1994' This work is registered in the Archives of Yayoi Kusama Studio as n° 1518 Provenance: Ota Fine Art, Tokyo; private collection Sotheby’s London, 2022, lot 318; acquired by the current owner at Sotheby’s London; private collection, France
Galerie bei der Albertina ▪ Zetter
Johann Lötz Witwe, Klostermühle and Gustave Serrurier-Bovy (attributed to) Table Lamp, around 1900 Metal with hammered décor, square-shaped lampshade, twelve square-shaped glasses, in blue and violet, with melted splashes in silver-yellow, iricised, by Johann Lötz Witwe, Klostermühle, single light, electrification renewed H 55 cm, D 25 cm Gustave Serrurier-Bovy was one of the most acclaimed architects and designers of Belgian art nouveau, next to Victor Horta or Henry van de Velde. After a trip to London in 1884, he was strongly influenced by the British Arts and Crafts movement, as well as by William Morris and John Ruskin. His asymmetrical and organic furniture and lighting designs alternated between curvilinear, plant-inspired motifs and a highly functional, almost industrial simplicity that is considered a precursor to modern industrial design. As with objects designed by Josef Hoffmann or Adolf Loos, this lamp combines an architectural composition with functional finesse and a uniquely modern aesthetic. Around 1900 Lötz Witwe maintained an extensive international distribution network of sample warehouses - including one located directly in Brussels. While Serrurier-Bovy provided the structural designs (often made of wood or metal), Lötz Witwe contributed the brilliance of color and materials. This makes the lamp a good example for the international exchange happening in the design world from the late 19th century onwards and the extension of art nouveau ideas. Lamps in this style with the original glass inlays are extremely rare on the market. Works by Serrurier-Bovy are on display at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among other places.
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.
Epoque Fine Jewels
René Lalique (Ay 1860-1945 Paris) Art Nouveau dragonfly brooch Paris, circa 1903 18 k yellow gold, 'plique-à-jour' enamel and polychrome enamel, old mine cut diamonds, citrine and pearls 11.6 x 4.4 cm Signed Lalique Accompanied by its original fitted case marked R. Lalique, 40, Cours-la-Reine, Paris, monogrammed 'E.A.' An important Art Nouveau dragonfly brooch by René Lalique, in 18-karat gold, designed as two opposing dragonflies with delicate wings of translucent plique-à-jour enamel, accented with old mine-cut diamonds. At the centre, the dragonflies clasp a cushion-shaped orange citrine, their bodies and legs enhanced with polychrome enamel. Graduated pearls trace the extremities of the wings, lending the composition a graceful sense of movement and lightness, characteristic of Lalique’s jewellery at the height of the Art Nouveau period.
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.
Verdini Antiques
Enrico Podio (Active 1840-1890 between Rome and Venice) Micromosaic centre table, 1873 Polychrome micromosaic, patinated, cast and chased bronze H 100 x Ø 125 cm Signed and dated 'Enrico Podio fecit' and 'Venezia 1873' This exceptional table is one of the most ambitious expressions of nineteenth-century Venetian micromosaic. Its distinction lies in the rare combination of monumental scale, extraordinary technical refinement, documented authorship and a fully integrated sculptural bronze base. Micromosaic is more often associated with small cabinet objects. Here, Enrico Podio expands the technique to a table, transforming a traditionally intimate art into a commanding architectural statement. The head of Medusa is modelled through minute glass tesserae with subtle changes of flesh tone, shadow, hair and serpent scales. The optical blending approaches the effects of painting while remaining unmistakably mosaic. The inscriptions 'ENRICO PODIO FECIT' and 'VENEZIA 1873' give the work unusual documentary precision, securely identifying the maker, place and date and anchoring the table within the mature Venetian revival of mosaic art. The patinated, cast and chased bronze pedestal is conceived as an integral part of the design. Its classical heads, masks, architectural members and zoomorphic details create a powerful counterpoint to the brilliant colour of the micromosaic top. The synthesis of rarity, scale, technical mastery, documented authorship and visual impact places this table among the most impressive examples of nineteenth-century Italian decorative arts.
La Galerie URBAN
Maurice Denis (Granville 1870-1943 Saint-Germain-en-Laye) Bucolique d’Automne or L’Heureux Verger Pouldu, 1906 Oil on canvas 82 x 117 cm Signed and dated lower left 'MAVRICE DENIS 1906' This work is accompanied by the certificate of authenticity and it will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist under n° 906.0016 Provenance: Baron Eberhard von Bodenhausen, Berlin (acquired from the artist, 1906-1908); Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (1908-1919); Miss Edwards (1919); Brooklyn Museum, New York (1927); Galerie Philippe Reichenbach, Paris; Walter P. Chrysler Jr., New York (1960); Stuart Pivar, New York (2004-2021); private collection, Switzerland Exhibitions: Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, Grand Palais, 15 April-30 June 1906, p. 19, n° 389 (ill.); Fünfzehnten Ausstellung der Berliner Secession, Berlin, spring 1908, n° 46; Internationale Kunstschau, Vienna, Gebäude der Secession, May-October 1909, n° 15; Nus, Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, 17-28 May 1910, n° 30; Ausstellung Französischer Kunst des 18., 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, Leipzig, Leipziger Kunstverein, October-November 1910, n° 55; Internationale Kunstausstellung der Münchener Secession, Munich, Kgl. Kunstausstellungsgebäude am Königsplatz, 16 May-31 October 1911, n° 36; Exposition d'Art contemporain, Paris, Galerie Manzi-Joyant, 12-31 October 1912, n° 44; Ausstellung französischer Kunst, Zurich, Zürcher Kunsthaus, 16 February-26 March 1913, n° 93; A XIX. Szàzad nagy francia mesterei, Budapest, Ernst-Muzeum, September 1913, n° 78; Le Paysage du Midi, Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, 8-16 June 1914, n° 26; Exposition de peinture, série C, Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, 19-30 June 1916, n° 13; French Paintings 1789-1929 from the collection of Walter P. Chrysler Jr., Dayton Art Institute, 25 March-22 May 1960, p. 102, n° 94 (ill.)
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
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.
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
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
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.
LUDORFF
Serge Poliakoff (Moscow 1900-1969 Paris) Composition abstraite, circa 1956 Oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm Signed lower left The authenticity of this work is confirmed by Alexis Poliakoff and is registered in the Archives Serge Poliakoff, Paris, under n° 95604 Provenance: Etta & Otto Stangl collection, Munich (1971); on permanent loan to Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung, Munich (1971-2001); Stangl collection estate, Munich (2001-2003); Sotheby's, London (auction 6 Februrary 2003, lot 21); Galerie Bernard Cats, Brussels; Willy d'Huysser Gallery, Brussels (2003); private collection Belgium; Frans Jacob Fine Art, Amsterdam; Galerie Interart, Geneva (2016); Galerie Pascal Lansberg, Paris (2024); private collection Hesse Literature: Alexis Poliakoff, 'Serge Poliakoff-Catalogue Raisonné', vol. II, 1955-1958, Paris 2010, n° 56-63; Connaissance des Arts (Hg.), 'Connaissance des Arts', n° 609, October 2003, p. 137; Marchiori, Giuseppe (Hg.), 'Serge Poliakoff. témoignages et textes critiques, Les Presses de la Connaissance', Paris, 1976, p. 62 Exhibitions: 'Documenta III', 27 June-5 October 1964, Kassel; 'Serge Poliakoff-Rétrospective', traveling exhibition: Kestner-Gesellschaft, Städtische Kunsthalle Bremen, Museum am Ostwall, Overbeck-Gesellschaft, Haus der Städtische Kunstsammlungen Bonn, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Städtisches Museum Trier, 1963-1964; Kunstverein für das Rheinland, 'Serge Poliakoff', 14 November-14 December 1958, Düsseldorf; Kunstverein Hamburg, 'Serge Poliakoff', 12 April-18 May 1958, Hamburg; Moderne Galerie Otto Stangl, 'Serge Poliakoff', 9 August-20 September 1957, Munich
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
Harold t’Kint de Roodenbeke
Jane Graverol (Brussels 1905-1984 Fontainebleau) Femme Libérée, 1949 Oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm Signed and dated 'Jane Graverol 1949' Provenance: collection of his friend and artist Tom Gutt Literature: Xavier Canonne, Le surréalisme en Belgique: 1924-2000, Fonds Mercator, 2006; Le surréalisme en Belgique, Bozar Books, Fonds Mercator, 2024 Exhibitions: Le surréalisme en Belgique, Musée de Mons, March-August 2007; Histoire de ne pas rire, Bozar, Brussels, February-June 2024, ill. p. 221 Created in 1949, the year Jane Graverol met René Magritte, this work is an important example of the artist’s exploration of female identity and confinement. Graverol depicts herself inside a cage. The image reflects on women’s position in the mid-20th century, when social expectations strongly limited women’s independence. Yet, the open door suggests the possibility of emancipation and a desire to break away from prescribed roles. The painting was also repeatedly selected by the press to illustrate coverage of the Bozar exhibition. This artwork embodies something larger: the tension between the restrictions of an era and a woman’s desire to claim a space of her own. Full press references available on request.
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
Univers du Bronze
Auguste Rodin (Paris 1840-1917 Meudon) Saint John the Baptist preaching, cast in 1899 Bronze, richly dark brown patina H 19.6 x W 12.5 x D 5.3 cm Reduction n° 3 (1/10 of original size) Signed Rodin and marked 'Thiebaut frères, Fumière et Gavignot Successeurs' Edition of 4 (in this size) Provenance: Knoedler and Co collection; sale Sotheby’s New York (6 October 1989) Lifetime cast signed 'Rodin', old cast and edition by Thiébaut with the engraved mark 'Thiebaut frères, Fumière et Gavignot Successeurs' (purchase of the funds and Thiébaut rights by Fumière et Gavignot in 1898). This example is probably the first, maybe the second of an edition of 4 cast in 1899 (prime account from 4 February to 9 December 1899), stamped '200' under the base (sale price 200 frs?) and engraved '4' (number of casts?)
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
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
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
Dalton Somaré
Chokwe chair Angola, late 19th century Wood, metal, and leather H 68 x W 31 x D 38 cm Provenance: collection of Joyce and Donald Doyle, diamond mine directors for the Compagnie de la Forminière in the Belgian Congo in the 1920s. The majority of their collection was donated to the Princeton University Art Museum. Thence by descent to their daughter Suzanne "Sue" Miers, née Doyle (1922–2016), Africanist historian and professor at Ohio University. Thence by descent to her children Charles Miers and Caroline Farrington, New York Literature: Narrative Wisdom and African Arts (Exhibition catalogue), St. Louis Art Museum, 19 October-16 February, 2025, pp. 74, 75, 81 Exhibition: Narrative Wisdom and African Arts, St. Louis Art Museum, 19 October-16 February, 2025 This leather-seated chair belongs to a tradition of Chokwe seats of authority, commonly described as ngundja. Its refined decoration transforms a functional furnishing into a visual expression of chiefly prestige. Such seats formed part of a wider repertoire of objects associated with leadership, alongside ceremonial weapons, staffs and elaborately carved pipes. The combination of a backrest, a leather-covered seat and metal tacks reflects the adaptation of European furniture encountered through trade from the seventeenth century onward. Chokwe artists reworked these features within their own sculptural language, making the chair an expression of local political and spiritual values. At the centre of the back is a sculpted female face, which must be identified as Pwo. Pwo honours female ancestors and has particular significance within a society that traces descent through women. Her imagery also belongs to the wider world of masquerade and initiation. The lower stretchers carry small sculptural groups as musicians playing handheld drums and a slit drum, and a mounted pombeiro, or long-distance trader. It must be noted the unusual prominence of a female subject in these carved scenes. These scenes can be read within the broader Chokwe tradition of presenting ritual and everyday activities as aspects of the social world entrusted to a leader. Extremely sophisticated geometric carving and rows of metal studs enrich the back and supports, contrasting with the leather seat and the varied tones of the wood. The combination of carved figures, the monumentality of the composition and the rigour of the geometric decoration in high relief lend this sculpture the dignity and authority of a true throne.
Galerie Édouard Ambroselli
Artus Quellinus the Younger (Sint-Truiden 1625-1700 Antwerp) Virgin and Child, circa 1650-1665 Terracotta, stone H 81.2 x W 42.5 x D 34 cm Born into a dynasty of sculptors in the Southern Netherlands, Arthus Quellinus theYounger, became one of the leading artists of the region. He followed his cousin, Artus Quellinus the Elder, to work on the Amsterdam Town Hall, a landmark of European sculpture. Back in Antwerp, he ran a workshop that trained a successful generation of sculptors, and he exported his works across Europe. Our Virgin and Child, is a preparatory model for a larger statue. The Virgin’s elongated face and elaborate hairstyle, the Child’s plump belly and slender legs, and the crisp, flowing drapery are all hallmarks of the artist’s refined style. The throne is decorated with cherub heads and volutes that differ on each side, a way of offering the patron a choice between two decorative solutions. Spontaneous and intimate, this terracotta gives us the intimacy of a working model, a glimpse of the sculptor’s creative process.
Galerie Raf Van Severen
Rik Wouters (Mechelen 1882-1916 Amsterdam) Portrait of Rik Wouters, Chemise Blanche, 1912 Oil on canvas mounted on panel 51.5 x 61.5 cm Annotated at the back: Nr 99 Portrait de Rik Wouters par lui même toile collée sur panneau; Mme V: Rik Wouters; Portret van Rik Dhr Mevr. De Carnière Provenance: previous collection of Nel Wouters; Leten collection, Ghent; private collection, Brussels Literature: Roger Avermaete, Rik Wouters, Editions Arcade, Brussels, 1965
LUDORFF
Gerhard Richter (Dresden, 1932) Fuji 839-108, 1996 Oil on alucobond 29 x 37 cm Signed and numbered '839-108' on the reverse Certificate of authenticity issued by Hubertus Butin, Berlin 2010 Provenance: Galerie Hubertus Melsheimer, Cologne (2011); Galerie Ludorff, Dusseldorf (2013); private collection, Hesse (on permanent loan to the Mönchehaus Museum Goslar) Literature: Galerie Ludorff, 'Neuerwerbungen Frühjahr 2024', Dusseldorf 2024, p. 100; Galerie Ludorff, 'Gerhard Richter', Dusseldorf 2013, p. 51; Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (ed.), 'Gerhard Richter mit dem Catalogue Raisonné 1993-2004', Dusseldorf 2005, n° 839-108; Hubertus Butin/Stefan Gronert, 'Gerhard Richter. Editionen 1965-2004. Catalogue Raisonné', Ostfildern-Ruit 2004, n° 89 Exhibitions: Galerie Ludorff, 'Neuerwerbungen Frühjahr 2024', Dusseldorf 2024; Galerie Ludorff, 'Gerhard Richter. Abstrakte Bilder', Dusseldorf 2013 Gerhard Richter has been exploring abstraction in depth since the late 1960s. In the late 1990s, he developed the ‘Fuji’ series. As part of this series, Richter no longer applies paint to canvas, but to Alucobond, an aluminium composite panel. This highly durable panel with a smooth surface allows for the creation of particularly delicate colour structures. Richter applies the three colours that form the basis of the painting - a vibrant red, a rich green and a warm yellow-orange - to the substrate in three horizontal bands. Using a squeegee, a painting tool resembling a narrow plastic strip, the artist applies the white oil paint and draws it across the coloured surface in thin layers from the top to the bottom edge of the picture. The white paint blends with the tones of the background. This technique creates a highly complex, delicate structure on the panel, characterised by great painterly subtlety. Viewed from top to bottom, red, green and white alternate with one another. The orange, also used by Richter, is now only partially visible in the right-hand half of the composition. As the application of paint with a squeegee can only be controlled to a limited extent, the principle of chance comes into play. The title ‘Fuji’ allows for interpretation on two different levels, namely, ‘[…] the conical volcano on the island of Honshu, which, as Japan’s sacred mountain, is the country’s national symbol, and the Japanese film and photography manufacturer of the same name, whose products are also widely available in Germany. As a photographer, Richter sometimes uses Fuji film; furthermore, in 1991 he spent two weeks travelling through Japan, during which he saw the famous mountain. Some of the paintings, with their streaky, at times almost graphic structural elements, do indeed bear a distant resemblance to old-master Japanese or Chinese landscape depictions.' The background to the creation of the ‘Fuji’ paintings lies in the approach made to the artist by Helmut Friedel, director of the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus. Richter’s ‘Atlas’ - a collection of photographs, sketches, documents and reference materials by the artist - was to be acquired for the Lenbachhaus collection. To finance the purchase, Richter agreed to paint a series of oil paintings for the museum. The proceeds from the sale of these ‘Fuji’ paintings played a key role in enabling the museum to acquire the ‘Atlas’ collection of documents. Much like the works in the ‘Green-Blue-Red’ series, the appearance of each individual painting in the ‘Fuji Edition’ varies considerably, as they were painted in portrait rather than landscape format. Furthermore, the varying degrees to which the base colours had dried by the time the white layer was applied result in the colours blending in ever-changing ways. Whilst some ‘Fujis’, with their extremely delicate colour blends, invite the viewer to discover their detailed textures, others, in stark contrast, exude a particularly strong sense of self-assurance. Although the ‘Fujis’ comprise a series of 110 works conceived along the same lines, each one is unique and wonderfully illustrates the principle of Gerhard Richter’s abstract painting, which treads the fine line between conceptual work and the principle of chance.
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.