Works from an outstanding collector will come up at Christie’s An Exceptional Eye sale in Paris on December 10 and 11. The very private collector grew up in the French coungtryside and his interest in insects and minerals began at a very early age. As an adult, he would go on to collect wonders of the world including butterflies from Indonesia, fossils, meteorites, and an exceptional dinosaur skeleton. Classes in art and culture followed.
For more than ten years he successfully indulged in the antiquarian profession but his adventurous soul pushed him towards new horizons. This aesthete and scholar was deeply moved by the quality of a marble panel by Léon Indenbaum or a cabinet by Gaston-Etienne Le Bourgeois, both realised for Jacques Doucet in 1913. He was also interested in works by the German expressionists, from August Macke to Egon Schiele, as well as the delicacy of Eileen Gray’s creations.
Cécile Verdier, President of Christie’s France said: “It is an absolute joy for Christie’s to present this wonderful collection revealing the very private world of this discreet collector. A passionate character with a keen interest in all cultures, he wove very personal threads between the arts, in accordance with his specific tastes and his culture”.
Jean-Louis Gaillemin, art historian remarked: “The bold presence of a rhinoceros skeleton in the middle of the living room has the effect of shattering the conventional and the customary; this staging, which fosters a surprising and powerful discourse between the objects, reveals the taste and interests of the master of the house”.
UPDATE: The auction achieved a total of €12,502,438. The top lot was August Macke’s painting Badende Frauen (recto); Pierrot mit Tänzerpaar (verso) which was sold for €2,770,000, exceeding its high estimate.
