This section will be available this Autumn.
Univers du Bronze
Antonin Mercié (Toulouse 1845-1916 Paris) Gloria Victis, circa 1880-1912 Bronze with richly shaded brown patina and gilt highlights H 187 x W 112 x D 91 cm Reduction n° 1 (3/5 from the original) Signed 'A.Mercié' and bears the founder's mark 'F. Barbedienne Fondeur' Presented as chief-model with assembly and mounting pins parts, like the one described in the Barbedienne catalogue raisonné (Rionnet, 2016): 'En janvier 1912, le sculpteur autorise l’éditeur à monter en épreuve et à mettre en vente le modèle n°1' (In January 1912, the sculptor authorised the publisher to produce a proof and put Model n° 1 on the market). A second example in this size is currently on display at the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse.
Douwes Fine Art b.v.
Andreas Schelfhout (The Hague, 1787-1870) A wooded winter landscape with figures on and along a frozen river, 1856 Oil on panel 37 x 50 cm Signed and dated lower right 'A. Schelfhout '56' Provenance: private collection, United Kingdom; MacConnal Mason, 2003, sold at TEFAF; private collection, The Netherlands; thence by descent
Harold t’Kint de Roodenbeke
René Magritte (Lessines 1898-1967 Brussels) Lilith Original pencil drawing 14.6 x 9.8 cm Signed upper right Provenance: private collection, Paris Literature: Les Lèvres nues, 'Le cache sexe des anges', 1978, ill. p. 9; René Magritte, 'A lab of ideas', 8 may-4 september 2022, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skarhamn, Sweden, n° 164, ill. p. 123; Xavier Canonne, René Magritte, La ligne de vie, 15 November 2025-22 February 2026, KMSKA, Antwerp, Belgium, ill. p. 103. Exhibitions: René Magritte, 'A lab of ideas', 8 May-4 September 2022, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skarhamn, Sweden, n° 164, ill. p. 123; 'René Magritte, La ligne de vie', 15 November 2025-22 February 2026, KMSKA, Antwerp, Belgium, ill. p. 103 Lilith is a complex mythological figure, often regarded in Jewish tradition as Adam’s first wife before Eve, created from the same earth as him. Refusing to submit, she left Eden to become, according to myth, a demoness or succubus of the night, a symbol of rebellion, female independence and the storm. This composition is reminiscent of ‘The Rape – Le viol’, the famous drawing used to illustrate the cover of André Breton’s publication What is Surrealism?
Stéphane Renard Fine Art
Maerten de Vos (Antwerp, 1532-1603) The Four Elements: Air, Earth, Water and Fire, 1579 Pen and brown ink wash on laid paper 10 x 13.8 cm (each drawing) The drawings of Earth, Water and Fire are signed and dated 1579 Provenance: private collection, Lyon, France These four previously unpublished drawings were used around 1585 to produce the series of four engravings by Johannes Sadeler (Hollstein 529-532). The success of this publication led, a few years later, to the production of a second, smaller series by Raphael Sadeler, Johannes’s brother (Hollstein Dutch and Flemish, Maerten de Vos, XLIV-XLVI, 1360-1364).
Jan Muller Antiques
Juriaen Jacobs (Hamburg 1624-1685 Leeuwarden) A mother and her children, 1659 Oil on canvas 151 x 113 cm Signed an dated 'J. Jacobs 1659' Inventoried on the RKD n° 216993 Provenance: Warberg collection, Oslo, 1948; Braunschweigh, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum n° 809 (1983) Literature: Henrik Lungagnini, 'Der Hamburger Maler Juriaen Jacobsz. 1624–1685: Leben und Werk' (PhD diss., 1970), pp. 232-33
Galerie Oscar De Vos
Rik Wouters (Mechelen 1882-1916 Amsterdam) Rik with a patch, 1916 Brush drawing with Chinese ink on paper 40 x 29 cm Provenance: Nel Wouters, Overijse; Marcel Mabille, Brussels Literature: Avermaete, Rik Wouters, 1962, pp. 145, 242; De Pesseroey & Langui, Honderd zelfportretten, 1976, pp. 46-47; Van den Bussche et.al., Rik Wouters (1882-1916), pp. 20, 234; Hautekeete, Simon & De Nijn, Rik Wouters, De menselijke figuur, 1999, n° 74b, p. 100; Damman et.al., Ik of een ander. Zelfportretten van Belgische kunstenaars, 2003, pp. 148-149 Exhibitions: Palais des Beaux-Arts, Exposition Rik Wouters, 1935, Brussels; Gemeentemuseum & Museum Boijmans, exhibition Rik Wouters, 1946, Den Haag & Rotterdam; Feestzaal, Retrospectieve Rik Wouters, 1946, Mechelen; KMSKA, Rik Wouters, 1947, Antwerp; Seconda Rassegna Internazionale di Scultura all'aperto, 1953, Varese; 1957, Antwerp, KMSKA, Retrospectieve Rik Wouters; Musée National d'Art Moderne, Rétrospective Rik Wouters, 1957, Paris; Smithsonian Institution, National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service, Belgian Drawings: From Ensor to Delvaux (Le dessin belge), n° 61; 1999, Mechelen, CC Antoon Spinoy, Rik Wouters. De Menselijke figuur, n° 74b
Dr. Nöth kunsthandel
Armand Guillaumin (Paris 1841-1927 Orly) Bords de l'Orge à Epinay, 1890 Oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm Signed lower right Certificate of authenticity from the Comité Guillaumin This work will be included in the second volume of the forthcoming catalogue raisonné currently in preparation Provenance: Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris; Clara de Plessis Whelan, New York; Sale Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 7 November 1946, lot 65; Mr. Jussaume, Buenos Aires; Mr. Foret, Buenos Aires; private collection, France (acquired from the above in 1956); Christie's London 7 February 2001, lot 127; private collection, Texas
Epoque Fine Jewels
René Lalique (Ay 1860-1945 Paris) Art Nouveau dragonfly brooch Paris, circa 1903 18k 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 18k 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.
Galerie Lowet de Wotrenge
Nicolaas Struyck (Amsterdam, 1686-1769) Insect studies Bodycolour, watercolour and pencil on laid paper 44.5 x 28.2 cm Provenance: 'Verschyden Uyt-lansche Insecten, getekeent na het cabinet van Hn. Seba, J. ten Kate, & C, versamelt door N. Strüyck, Junior', 1719 (an album of drawings by Struyck, disassembled in the 19th century); private collection, Belgium
Galerie Hurtebize
Maurice Utrillo (Paris 1883-1955 Dax) Commune de Maixe (Meurthe-et-Moselle), 1924 Oil on canvas 98.4 x 131.3 cm Signed and dated lower left Certificate of authenticity inued by Hélène Bruneau, President of the Utrillo-Valadon Committee Provenance: private collection, France Literature: P. Pétridès, L’Œuvre complet de Maurice Utrillo, Paris, 1974, vol V, p. 238, n° 2720 (ill. p. 239)
Mearini Fine Art
Corinthian capital (variation on a Roman type from the 3rd-4th century) Central-southern Italy, late 12th-early 13th century Greek marble H 52 x W 50 x D 50 cm In this unusual variation of the Corinthian capital, three tiers of acanthus leaves, finely detailed with visible drill holes, extend to the top of the kalathos. This type of capital was already being exported to Aquileia (Udine) in antiquity. The city was destroyed by Attila in 452 and temporarily abandoned following the arrival of the Lombards in 568, as evidenced by a fragmentary example dating from the 3rd-4th century, now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum.
Douwes Fine Art b.v.
Kees van Dongen (Rotterdam 1877-1968 Monte Carlo) La Rotonde, circa 1949 Unique watercolour over litho on paper 24 x 21.5 cm Signed lower right 'van Dongen.' Provenance: Kloppart collection; private collection, The Netherlands Literature: Roland Dorgelès, ‘Au beaux-temps de la Butte’, Paris, 1949
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?) Rodin began work on his Saint John the Baptist in 1878, while conceiving La Porte de l’Enfer, the monumental project from which some of his most celebrated sculptures would emerge, including Le Penseur, Le Baiser and Ugolino. The inspiration came from his encounter with an Italian model, César Pignatelli, known as Bevilacqua, whose powerful physique and expressive features immediately struck the sculptor. Rodin recognised in him the image of Saint John the Baptist: a man of nature, a visionary and a prophet. This encounter marked the beginning of a collaboration lasting over twenty years, during which Pignatelli became one of Rodin’s favourite models. The original plaster was conceived larger than life, exceeding two metres in height, and exhibited at the Salon in 1880. The following year, the bronze version was presented and subsequently acquired by the French State. In 1898, Rodin signed an edition contract with Fumières et Cie, leading to the production of three reduced versions measuring 80, 50 and 20 cm. The present Saint John the Baptist belongs to the rarest, third-scale version, of which only four examples were produced: two in 1899 and two in 1903. Its simple engraved foundry inscription, rather than a stamp, suggests that it may be the earliest cast. Through the exceptional finesse of its modelling and chiselling, the sculpture recalls the splendour of Renaissance bronzes. Depicted nude and stripped of his traditional attributes, Saint John embodies the prophet’s asceticism. His raised finger evokes his preaching in the desert, while Rodin’s powerful interpretation and striking musculature give the figure an unprecedented expressive force. A seminal work of modern sculpture, Saint John the Baptist profoundly influenced later generations of artists, notably Alberto Giacometti, whose studio contained numerous books, postcards and photographs documenting his fascination with Rodin’s masterpiece.
Dalton Somaré
Slit drum, nedundu Uele Region, Northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo Early 20th century Wood with dark brown patina 52 x 122 cm Provenance: collection Monsieur H., (Agricultural Engineer), France, collected in situ before 1950; thence by descent; private collection, France; Sotheby’s, Paris, Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie, 21 June 2017; private collection, New York
Douwes Fine Art b.v.
Jeronimus van Diest (The Hague, 1631-1684) Herring busses under the protection of 'Men of War', circa 1652-1654 Oil on canvas 105.5 x 161 cm Monogrammed ‘I VD’ on the barrel bottom right Provenance: Baron van Dedem collection, The Netherlands; M. Wolff Gallery, Amsterdam, before 1940; private collection, The Netherlands; Hoogsteder Gallery, The Hague, 1991; Inder Rieden collection, since 1991 Literature: Gerlinde de Beer, 'The Golden Age of Dutch Marine Painting-The Inder Rieden Collection', edited by Charles Dumas, Primavera Pers, Leiden 2019, Catalogue II, n° 43, pp. 682-694; Charles Dumas, Gerlinde de Beer, 'In de ban van de zee-De Gouden Eeuw van de Nederlandse marineschilderkunst', De Inder Rieden Collectie, Museum Bredius, 2019, Wilco, Amersfoort, The Netherlands, n° 60, ill. in colour; E. Buijsen, in: Buijsen/Ekkart/Dumas 1998, p. 121, fig. 3 in colour Exhibitions: De Inder Rieden Collectie, Museum Bredius, 2019, n° 60, ill. in colour
