12/6/23 - Art market, Paris - The Paris art market is still buzzing in June. In addition to the sales of paintings, to which we will return later, Sotheby’s and Artcurial will be auctioning two collections, one of sculptures and the other of miniatures, two coherent ensembles patiently assembled over the years by enlightened connoisseurs.
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- 1. Jacques Ginepro Collection
Sale Sotheby’s Paris 8-14 June 2023
Photo: bbsg - See the image in its page
At Sotheby’s, an online sale ending on 14 June brings together 19th and 20th century French sculptures from the Monegasque collection of Jacques and Michèle Ginepro (ill. 1). This collection was the subject of an exhibition and catalogue entitled "Sculpture Passion" in Monaco in 1990. After Jacques Ginepro’s death, Sotheby’s sold a first selection of works belonging to him in 2022, the highlights of which were a plaster version of Jules Dalou’s Triumph of Silenus and a terracotta sketch by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux for La Danse.
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- 2. Jules Dalou (1838-1902)
The Bather before the Bath, c. 1928-1941
Model c. 1899
Sèvres biscuit - 50 cm
Sale Sotheby’s Paris 8-14 June 2023 - See the image in its page
This year, the auction house is auctioning a group of edition sculptures, made under the supervision of their author or by major foundrymen of the period. They illustrate the 19th-century craze, linked to the development of the bourgeoisie, for small, mass-produced decorative sculptures, a phenomenon amplified by new technical and commercial means. Art foundries such as Barbedienne, Valsuani, Hébrard and Rudier obviously played a leading role.
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- 3. Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875)
Ugolin and his Sons
Left, terracotta, 1874 - 46 cm
Right, first model, 1920-1939
Tinted plaster - 53 cm
Sale Sotheby’s Paris 8-14 June 2023
Photo: bbsg - See the image in its page
But while bronze was a favourite material for this type of production, it was not the only one. By Dalou, for example, we can see Baigneuse in Sèvres biscuit (ill. 2) or Nursing Mother in terracotta. Nevertheless, the artist was most famous for his monumental works, as the exhibition at the Petit Palais clearly showed (see l’article).
Among the small bronzes in the collection are works by some of the best-known sculptors of the period, including Carpeaux, who created Disarmed Love and Ugolin and his Sons, for whom plaster casts were also produced (ill. 3), Auguste Rodin, James Pradier and Paul Dubois.
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- 4. François Rude (1784-1855)
Hébé and the Eagle of Jupiter, c. 1880
Model c. 1855
Bronze - H. 76.5 cm
Sale Sotheby’s Paris 8-14 June 2023
Photo: Sotheby’s - See the image in its page
By François Rude, a small bronze showing Hebe and Jupiter’s Eagle is a reduction of the last work he executed before his death (ill. 4), a large marble sculpted between 1852 and 1857 that his pupil Paul Cabet was responsible for finishing. This allegory of eternal youth, on display at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, reflects the sculptor’s return to classicism. An exhibition in Dijon in 2012 did justice to his talent and that of his wife (see article).
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- 5. François Clouet (before 1520-1572)
Portrait of François II, King of France
Gouache and gold on vellum - 5.20 x 3.8 cm
Sale Artcurial Paris 14 June 2023 at 2.30 pm
Photo: Artcurial - See the image in its page
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- 6. Pierre-Adolphe Hall (1739-1793)
Portrait of Countess Helflinger, née O’Dunne, in a Landscape
Miniature on ivory - D. 6.5 cm
Sale Artcurial Paris 14 June 2023 at 2.30 pm
Photo: Artcurial - See the image in its page
At Artcurial a collection of miniatures brings together works that for the most part date from the second half of the 18th century and are executed on ivory. A notable exception is the portrait of François II by François Clouet, executed in gouache and gold on vellum (ill. 5). Two centuries later, another French king, Louis XVI, was portrayed in 1783 by Louis Marie Sicard, known as Sicardi.
These portraits were often the work of miniaturist painters who specialised in the genre. The Swede Pierre Adolphe Hall, for example, worked in France and Liège. He depicted Countess Helflinger, née O’Dunne, in a meticulously painted landscape; this miniature passed through the collection of Ernest Cognacq (ill. 6). Several works by Jean-Baptiste Isabey are also on offer. A number of portrait miniatures by artists better known for their easel paintings or pastels are also included, including works by Marguerite Gérard, Antoine Vestier and Rosalba Carriera.
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- 7. Anthelme-François Lagrenée (1774-1832)
Woman in a Black Dress and Blue Shawl Holding a Fan
Miniature on ivory - D. 7,6 cm
Sale Artcurial Paris 14 June 2023 at 2.30 pm
Photo: Artcurial - See the image in its page
Anthelme-François Lagrenée, son of Louis-Jean-François trained in Vincent’s studio, left for Russia and represented members of the court of Emperor Alexander, he also painted some history paintings. On his return to France, he devoted himself to miniature painting (ill. 7).
An exhibition at the Musée Cognacq Jay on "Objets de vertu" (see article) highlighted the preciousness of these small portraits, sometimes placed on boxes, snuffboxes or brooches. They played a key role in gallantry: thus the Duc de Nemours stole the portrait of the Princesse de Clèves. If he managed to steal it without any of the people in the room noticing - apart from the princess herself - it was a delicate miniature portrait that he had hidden in his pocket.