This section will be available this Autumn.
Stone Gallery
Woolly rhinoceros skull Approx. 50.000 years old 100 x 100 x 35 cm Origin: Siberia This woolly rhinoceros skull is approximately 50,000 years old, belonging to one of the most impressive mammals in the recent history of Northern Europe and Northern Asia. There were even people who lived alongside these giants between around 30,000 and 15,000 years ago! Stone gallery has previously conducted expeditions in various countries but recently acquired this skull through a swap with a local museum. Roy says, 'It is the best-preserved and most complete skull I’ve ever seen. Even the teeth are all original.' Researchers and students from Maastricht University have digitised mammoth and rhinoceros fossils from the Ice Age, including this skull. With this technique, it’s possible to bring these extinct species back to life in motion and conduct new studies. 'We’re investigating how strong the bone structure is. For this, we use Finite Element Analyses, a method commonly applied in the construction of buildings and bridges. The study explores the forces exerted on the bones, such as during chewing. This helps us predict how and what the animal ate, as well as how well it was adapted to its enormous size.' - Paleontologist Dr. Jesse Hennekam, Assistant Professor, Maastricht University -
Francis Janssens van der Maelen
Maurice Daurat (Bordeaux 1880-1969 Meulan-en-Yvelines) Art Deco table centrepiece Paris, circa 1927-1931 Sterling silver, Macassar ebony, marble H 42.5 x W 104 x D 20 cm This striking early 20th century French silver and alabaster centrepiece on a Macassar ebony base is a superb example of Art Deco design. Designed by Maurice Daurat in Paris, circa 1927-1931. Maurice Daurat was famous for his limited editions and large commissioned works. His style is characterised by geometrical, strict shaping, emphasising volume and material.
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.
Galerie Nicolas Bourriaud
emile gilioli
Emile Gilioli (Paris, 1911-1977) Obélisque, circa 1960 Marble sculpture H 88 x W 25.5 x D 24 cm Signed 'Gilioli' Unique piece Provenance: the artist's studio Literature: Pierre Descarges, La logique de Gilioli, XXe siècle, Juin 1970, n° 34, p. 70; Ionel Jianou, Hélène Lasalle, Gilioli, Paris, 1971
Harold t’Kint de Roodenbeke
Englebert Van Anderlecht (Brussels, 1918-1961) Rome 1, 1960 Oil on canvas 150 x 122 cm Signed, dated and titled on the reverse Inventory number 664 on the reverse Provenance: private collection, Brussels Literature: Serge Goyens de Heusch, Englebert Van Anderlecht, Mercator, 1998, ill. p. 207; Englebert Van Anderlecht, exhibition catalogue, MRBAB, Brussels, 1990, ill. n° 79 Exhibitions: Galerij M.A.S. Astene, march-april 1969; Museum van Deinze, Englebert Van Anderlecht, March-May 1990; MRBAB, Englebert Van Anderlecht, Brussels, 1990 In the shadow of war and its aftermath, Englebert Van Anderlecht began his career as an artist in the early 1940s, right in the midst of the global conflict. After this tragedy, the “young Belgian painting” movement brought together a group of artists in a state of euphoria. Their style was colorful and optimistic - a form of rebirth, a way to forget and move toward new horizons. By the late 1940s, there was a desire to recreate new rules - or rather, to affirm that there were no longer any rules. Creativity alone mattered and had to prevail over any form of academicism. Thus, Englebert Van Anderlecht turned toward abstraction at the end of the 1940s and definitively embraced it by the mid-1950s. His palette grew stronger, his tones deeper, and he adhered to a form of abstract expressionism. This style of painting reflected a worldwide desire for rupture and emancipation. In the United States, the tone was set by Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline, from gestural to abstract expressionism. In France, a new generation emerged with Nicolas de Staël, Pierre Soulages, Simon Hantaï, and Judith Reigl. Belgium was no exception, with Antoine Mortier and Englebert Van Anderlecht, the latter being the most committed to the path of free or abstract expressionism. “I believe it is essential that there be men who do not accept established rules, who do not believe that truth is forever what a few moral leaders have decided it to be, who see that life is not merely the sum of all discoveries made so far. In this, I see a promise of freedom. We believe that everything remains to be done, that our earth is young, that we are not old men sunk into routine, and that the marvelous still awaits us tomorrow.” - Text by Englebert Van Anderlecht, 1960 Within this context, the large and striking canvas, Rome I, belongs to the period of maturity and recognition of this artist, who died prematurely in 1961 at the age of 43. The brush or paintbrush seems to whirl across the canvas like a ballet. The tones are deep, intense, applied with palpable strength and energy, while the final result bursts forth across the space. The work then takes on its full dimension, filling the surface with unmatched power - one of the finest works by this essential figure of Belgian painting.
De Jonckheere
pieter brueghel the younger
Pieter Brueghel the Younger (Brussels 1564-1638 Antwerp) The Payment of the Tithe or the Village Lawyer, 1622 Oil on panel 78.9 x 123.2 cm Signed and dated: P. BREVGHEL, 1622 Provenance: private collection, Belgium; Galerie Legenhoek, Paris, 1991; private collection, France Literature: Ertz, Klaus, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere: Die Gemälde mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Lingen, Luca Verlag, Vol. I, 2000, p. 513, cat. E 507, repr.; Curie, Christina, Allart, Dominique, The Brue[H]el Phenomenon, Brussels, Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, vol. III, p. 1030-1031 This Payment of the Tithe, or The Village Lawyer, is marked by Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s verve, meticulous execution, and vibrant colours. The satirical subject mocks the profession of the lawyer responsible for collecting the heavy tax that the poorest peasants struggled to pay. The grotesque faces of the petitioners, as well as the lawyer’s prognathous jaw - associating him with the Spanish authorities then in power - fascinate through their caricatural force. This original composition by Pieter Brueghel the Younger stimulated the market of the time, generating strong demand. The success of this still-relevant satire has endured to the present day.
Galerie Mathivet
claudius linossier
Claudius Linossier (Lyon, 1893-1953) Vase, circa 1930 Copper dinanderie on a fire-patinated ground with red tones in the central section and black shading at the top and bottom, decorated with an inlaid silver frieze and silver triangles H 18 cm - ∅ 18 cm Signed 'Linossier'
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
Virginie Devillez Fine Art
rené magritte
René Magritte (Lessines 1898-1967 Brussels) Le Prince charmant, 1948 Gouache on paper 37 x 46 cm Signed lower left 'Magritte' Provenance: Willy van Hove-Cuche, Brussels; private collection; Galerie Motte, Geneva (auction 7 December 1973, lot 30); Margaret Krebs, Brussels; Christie’s, London (auction 27 June 1978, lot 145); Sotheby’s, London (auction 6 February 2001, lot 157); Beaux-Arts Auction, Brussels (auction 26 April 2005, lot 51); private collection, Belgium Literature: Ronny Van de Velde, René Magritte. Peintures et gouaches, Antwerp, 1994, ill. n. p.; David Sylvester (Ed.), René Magritte – Catalogue Raisonné. IV: Gouaches, Temperas, Watercolours and Papiers Collés 1918-1967, Menil-Foundation/Fonds Mercator, 1994, CR 261 (ill. p. 102); Esther Schlicht & Max Hollein (Éd.), René Magritte 1948. La période vache, Frankfurt, Schirn Kunsthalle, 2008-2009, ill. p. 45; Paris, Galerie du Faubourg, Magritte: peintures et gouaches, 1948, cat. n° 24 ( ? or CR 1260); Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, René Magritte: het mysterie van de werkelijkheid, 1967, cat. n° 97 (ill. p. 223); Stockholm, Moderna Museet, René Magritte, 1967, cat. n° 50; Paris, Fondation Dina Vierny – Musée Maillol, Magritte tout en papier, 2006, without cat. n° (ill. p. 160); Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Voici Magritte. Gouaches, collages, tekeningen, studies, schilderijen, 2006, without cat. n° (ill. p. 160); Paris, Centre Pompidou – Musée national d’Art moderne, Magritte. La Trahison des Images, 2016-2017, without cat. n° (ill. p. 152); Skärhamn, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Magritte. A Lab of Ideas. Works on paper, 2022, without cat. n° (ill. p. 135)
Galerie Florence de Voldère
frederik bouttats l'ancien
Frédérik Bouttats the Elder (Antwerp, 1590-1661) Earthly paradise Oil on canvas 55.5 x 83 cm A painter of landscapes, paradises, and animals, he was also an engraver. He joined the Antwerp Guild as early as 1612. He had two pupils, as well as his sons Frédérik the Younger and Jacob. Founder of a famous family of artists, he contributed, along with his followers, to the influence and richness of Flemish painting through brilliant works under the influence of Velvet Brueghel, Jan van Kessel, and Roelandt Savery. To the great delight of naturalists and humanist scholars, the Breughels and their painter friends such as the Bouttats multiplied the themes of the Earthly Paradise, celebrating the beauty and diversity of creation. Like the Bird Traps, these paradises met with great success, and different versions can now be seen in the world’s greatest museums.
Grusenmeyer-Woliner
Hariti, the Buddhist protectress of children Ancient region of Gandhara, Swat Valley, 3rd-4th century AD Grey schist stone H 125 cm Provenance: European private collection, before 1990 (by reputation); an important private collection, Japan, by 1990 Literature: I. Kurita. Gandharan Art, vol. II, Tokyo, 1990, p. 169, fig. 493; M. Akira. Gandharan Art and Bamiyan Site, Tokyo, 2006, p. 114, n° 86 Hariti, the Buddhist protectress of children Imbued with an aura of maternal guardianship, Hariti was originally a yakshi who devoured children to sustain her own large family. Converted by the Buddha into their protector, she is depicted in Graeco-Buddhist art of the ancient Gandhara region surrounded by children. Perhaps the most prominent female deity in Gandhara, Hariti embodies fertility, wealth, and maternal care. She assumes a commanding stance, offering protection to mothers and infants. Draped in a clinging tunic that reveals a robust, fecund body, she is accompanied by children at her feet and shoulders, while a fifth child once hung from her left breast, of which only fragments remain. Her distinctive headdress represents the fortified walls of a city, a motif also associated with Tyche/Fortuna, the Greco-Roman guardian of cities, thereby reflecting the syncretism of Buddhist and Greco-Roman iconography. A wealth-bestowing goddess, she is richly adorned with jewellery - a necklace, collar, substantial earrings, and a pair of coiled serpentine armlets, a favoured motif in Graeco-style ornamentation. The present large-scale figure is exceptionally rare in private hands and was published in the seminal Japanese study on Gandhara art, widely known within collectors’ circles as the Kurita, which adds significantly to its prestige and desirability.
Maisonjaune Studio
Piero Palange (Italy, 1931-1975) Werther Toffoloni (Udine 1930-2017) Pair of '536' armchairs Rattan, foam, mohair velvet H 70 cm - Ø 95 cm Palange studied industrial design at the University of the Arts in Milan and worked with several leading Italian design firms (Motina, Gervasoni, Germa). Toffoloni trained in architecture at the Univeristy of Rome, specialised in industrial design with a focus on ergonomics and functionality. These two Italian designers played an important role in shaping postwar industrial design.
Grusenmeyer-Woliner
flute stopper Wunear Biwat (Mundugumor), Yuat River, late 19th - early 20th century Papua New Guinea Wood, feathers, shell H. 64 cm ( 85 cm including the base) Provenance: Charles Ratton; Kamer Gallery, acquired in 1966 by Emiel Veranneman; Emiel Veranneman; Thence by descent Literature: Rotary Club Sint-Niklaas, Oude Kunst uit Afrika en Oceanie, Exhibition catalogue, Sint-Niklaas, May 5-20, 1979, n° 31; Veranneman Emiel, Visie & Passie, 2002, pp. 72-73 Exhibition: Oude Kunst uit Afrika en Oceanië, Ex-Libriscentrum, Sint-Niklaas, 5–20 May 1979, Rotary Club Sint-Niklaas
Barbara Bassi
Arman (Nice 1928-2005 New York) Musical instruments bracelet, circa 1990 Diamonds and 18 kt yellow gold Unique piece signed and dedicated by Arman 'Arman for Janadine' Sonia Delaunay (Ukraine, Hradyz'k 1885-1979 Paris) Flamenco, 1979 Silver metal and enamel Limited edition Provenance: private collection, USA Literature: Cover of catalogue 'Bijoux d'artistes de Calder à Koons' by Diane Venet (Flammarion), Musée d'Art Décoratif, Paris, 2018
Galerie Florence de Voldère
jacob grimmer
Jacob Grimmer (Antwerp, 1525-1590) Winter landscape Oil on panel 37.3 x 51 cm Provenance: Antonie Palamedes Stevens (1601-1673), painter and collector; private collection, Austria; sale Versailles, 1937; private collection, Paris; sale Galliera, Paris, 29 November 1973 n° 20,21,22,23; private collection, Brussels Literature: R. de Bertier, Jacob et Abel Grimmer, 1991, ill. pp. 104-108 Received as a master of the Guild in 1547, Jacob Grimmer is amongst the great pioneering painters in the history of Northern painting. A contemporary of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, he shared with him a passion for nature; like him, he painted from life, and his works are filled with realism and genuine emotion. It is through the recurring theme of the seasons in his work that Jacob Grimmer expresses his innovative vision of the landscape, where shifting atmospheric moods adapt to everyday and secular scenes.
Desmet Fine Arts
Pietra dura table top Coloured marble, alabaster and onyx Roman workshop, circa 1565-1600 H 6 x W 104.5 x D 83 cm Accompanied by Art Loss Register certificate: S00253658 Provenance: private collection, Lombardy (Italy) The pietra dura tabletop represents a symbiosis that evokes the rediscovery of the ancient world. The colored marbles used all originate from ancient Roman marble, brought to Rome from across the Roman Empire as early as the 3rd century BCE. In late 16th-century Rome, artists repurposed columns and all manner of these ancient Roman artifacts, reshaping them into sumptuous tabletops to decorate the grand palazzi. This work visualizes how 16th-century Rome sought to reclaim the identity and power of the great Roman Empire, and it must be fully understood within the context of the decoration of St. Peter’s Basilica, when Rome was once again regarded as the center of the world. The patterns are architecturally and geometrically designed to showcase the rarest marbles to their fullest effect. In this specific example, around 1800, the edge underwent restoration, during which the finest artists of the time added a black decorative band. Their aim was to frame what was already spectacular with a dignified restoration. Although created in the late 16th century, this piece radiates two millennia of superiority—politically, socially, artistically, and art historically.
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N. Vrouyr
mekhitar garabedian
Mekhitar Garabedian (Syria, Aleppo 1977) I copied this in a hurry and wrote in large letters (carpet) Pile: wool and silk, warp and weft: cotton 120 x 120 cm Provenance: handmade in Nepal For the design of this carpet, and the edges of the image in particular, Mekhitar Garabedian has reinterpreted Armenian medieval miniatures. The decorative patterns were the monks’ preferred place to improvise and deviate from the norm. By appropriating various visual and textual sources, Garabedian explores the fragility of heritage. Biography Deploying a variety of media such as drawing, video, photography and installation, many of Mekhitar Garabedian’s works draw from his experience as an immigrant and play on the humour and poetic qualities he finds between languages, cultures and histories. Just as his personal diasporic history is layered, his work echoes with a multiplicity of references to literature, music, philosophy and visual arts. Mekhitar Garabedian (°1977) was born in Aleppo and lives and works in Antwerp. In 2022, he was commissioned by Middelheimmuseum/Kunst in de Stad to create a public sculpture in the Antwerp Stadspark. Previously he had solo exhibitions at BOZAR in Brussels, S.M.A.K. in Ghent, Beursschouwburg in Brussels, BE-Part in Waregem and KIOSK in Ghent. In 2015 he was invited to present several works at the Venice Biennale in the Armenian pavilion, which was awarded with the Golden Lion. Garabedian participated in group exhibitions that were held at the New Museum in New York, Hamburger Kunsthalle, WIELS in Brussels, 5th Thessaloniki Biennial, Marta Herford, Villa Empain in Brussels, Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, Argos in Brussels, Haifa Biennial, BAM in Mons, M HKA in Antwerp, Drawing Room in London, Museum M in Leuven and Kunsthaus in Dresden, amongst many others.
