The Van Herck collection - Terracottas from the 17th and 18th century @ the Bonnefantenmuseum

Michael Rysbrack (1684 – 1770), Self-portrait (detail), terracotta, 60,5 x 50 x 26 cm. Circa 1730. Foto King Boudewijn Foundation, coll. Charles Van Herck, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium,  © P. de Formanoir

MAASTRICHT.- There are over 50 terracotta statues on display in the exhibition The Van Herck collection - Terracottas from the 17th and 18th century in the Bonnefantenmuseum. The statues were part of the impressive collection of the Antwerp art connoisseur and collector Charles Van Herck (1884 – 1955). A small selection of his collection, which his relatives placed in the custody of the King Boudewijn Foundation in Brussels, is usually on display in the Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. As the museum is currently undergoing renovation, this summer the Bonnefantenmuseum is exhibiting a larger selection from this collection and making it accessible once again to a wide public. The exhibition is on view from July 3 through October 9 2011.

Van Herck
Charles Van Herck came from a family of antique dealers, and on graduating as an architect from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, in 1902, he followed in the footsteps of his forefathers. Besides being a dealer, he also acted as an expert at auctions, made inventories of estates, and did research into his great passion: the life and work of Antwerp sculptors from the 17th and 18th century. Through this interest, Charles Van Herck developed a great aesthetic preference for drawings and terracottas by these sculptors, putting together an exceptional collection of drawings and terracottas by these Antwerp artists.

Bozzetti & Modelli
In his private collection, Van Herck was able to amass many bozzetti and modelli, which are forms of modelling that give excellent insight into the creative process of the sculptor. The bozzetti often served as a way of recording an artist's idea by working it roughly and quickly in clay. The modelli, on the other hand, were more advanced and detailed versions of the original idea and were often used to obtain the approval of the patron. The modelli were often kept in the sculptors' ateliers for longer than the bozetti, because they were more detailed and could therefore be used as study material later on, whereas the bozzetti were regarded merely as quick sketches and were destroyed after they had served their purpose. Nowadays, the modelli, in particular, are regarded as works of art in their own right, and this happened occasionally in the 17th and 18th century as well, as shown by the signatures on some of the modelli from the collection.

The highlights of the exhibition include a signed self-portrait of the Antwerp-London sculptor Michael Rysbrack, dating from around 1730. The artist regards the world self-confidently and the soft fabrics of his coat and shirt have been made to look very lifelike in the hard-baked terracotta.

Of a whole other order, but no less impressive is the Modello made by Artus Quellinus the Elder, around 1650, for a marble relief in the Royal Palace (previously the town hall) in Amsterdam. The representation of Apollo and Python is still part of a series of depictions of gods from antiquity.

The terracottas are both religious and secular in nature, and stories are represented from the Bible as well as from antiquity, though not all the statues are narrative. There are also portraits of Hercules, Beethoven and Rossini, as well as the aforementioned self-portrait by Rysbrack.

 

Michael Rysbrack (1684 – 1770), Self-portrait, terracotta, 60,5 x 50 x 26 cm. Circa 1730. Foto King Boudewijn Foundation, coll. Charles Van Herck, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium, © P. de Formanoir

Walter Pompe, Angels' head, terracotta, 16 x 13 cm. 1742. Foto King Boudewijn Foundation, coll. Charles Van Herck, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium, © P. de Formanoir

Jacques Bergé, The Crucifixion of Peter, terracotta, 35 x 56 cm. 1733. Foto King Boudewijn Foundation, coll. Charles Van Herck, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium, © P. de Formanoir Jacques Bergé, The Crucifixion of Peter, terracotta, 35 x 56 cm. 1733. Foto King Boudewijn Foundation, coll. Charles Van Herck, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium, © P. de Formanoir

Walter Pompe (1703 – 1777), Our Lady with the Child on her lap, terracotta, 31 x 14 x 16 cm. Foto King Boudewijn Foundation, coll. Charles Van Herck, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium, © P. de Formanoir

Artus Quellinus the Elder (1609 – 1668), Apollo and Python, terracotta, 62,5 x 34 cm. Foto King Boudewijn Foundation, coll. Charles Van Herck, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium, © P. de Formanoir

Laurent Delvaux (1696 – 1778), Christian Faith, terracotta, 27,5 x 11 x 7 cm. Foto King Boudewijn Foundation, coll. Charles Van Herck, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium, © P. de Formanoir

Two Saint Sebastian, 17th & 18th century @ Nagel Auktionen

Saint Sebastian. 2nd half of 17th century. Photo Nagel Auktionen

Oak wood, carved with a slightly flattened back. Polychromy missing, Later plinth. H. 87 cm. Damaged. Estimate 1200 €

Saint Sebastian. South German, early 18th century. Photo Nagel Auktionen

Limewood, carved in full round. Later polychromy. H. 106 cm. Damages. Estimate 1000€

Nagel Auktionen. June 9th 2011. www.auction.de

Eve, Allemagne début du XVIe siècle

Eve, Allemagne, début du XVIe siècle. Photo Hôtel des Ventes Victor Hugo

Statuette de femme nue, coiffée d'un chignon fait de tresses, la main droite tenant la pomme, debout sur un socle rond en forme de rocher. Très belle finesse de sculpture. Tilleul sculpté, belle patine de couleur miel. Rebouchages, collage au bas des jambes. Avant-bras gauche rapporté à la fabrication. H : 59 cm. Estimation : 6 000 / 9 000 €

A rapprocher de la Fortuna (tilleul, H : 56 cm) conservée dans les collections du musée Bode de Berlin (Augsbourg vers 1520-25, reproduite dans Skulpturensammlung im Bode-Museum, Prestel Verlag, 2006, page 57 - vignette en noir et blanc).

Ce type de statuette servait de modello pour un grand bronze destiné à orner une fontaine.

Hôtel des Ventes Victor Hugo - 21000 Dijon. Vente aux enchères du Dimanche 15 mai 2011. 122, avenue Victor Hugo - 21000 Dijon.   Tel. 03 80 560 560

«Saint-Sébastien». Fin XVIe - début XVIIe siècle.

«Saint-Sébastien». Fin XVIe - début XVIIe siècle. Photo Salle des ventes Pillet

Statue en bois sculpté. Accidents et manques. Haut. 165 cm. Estimation : 2 000 / 2 500 €

Salle des ventes Pillet - 27480 Lyons-la-Forêt. Vente aux enchères du Dimanche 8 mai 2011.  1, rue de la Libération - 27480 Lyons-la-Forêt. Tel.  02 32 49 60 64

"Beauty and Power: Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the Peter Marino Collection" @ Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Antonio Montauti, Diana the Huntress, Bronze, 1720-1740.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN.- An important international exhibition, “Beauty and Power: Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the Peter Marino Collection” opens at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) February 6 and runs through May 15. Additionally, the MIA is presenting “Lost Wax, Found Sculpture,” an exhibition that explains the technique of making bronze sculpture according to the historically popular technique of lost-wax casting.

Corneille van Clève (1646-1732), Bacchus and Ariadne (detail). Model, c. 1703-04. Bronze, early 18th century

“Beauty and Power” is selected from Marino’s unparalleled private collection of 16th- to 18th- century Italian and French bronzes, and contains many pieces never publicly displayed before the show debuted in early 2010 at the Wallace Collection in London. It comes to the MIA from its only other U.S. venue, the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.

Follower of Hubert Gerhard (c.1540-1620), perhaps Caspar Gras (1585-1674), River God. Southern Germany or Innsbruck, c.1600-30. Bronze

“The MIA is fortunate to be able to show more about thirty bronzes statuettes from Mr. Marino’s exemplary collection that spans the golden age of the art form,” said Eike Schmidt, the James Ford Bell curator of Decorative Art and Sculpture at the MIA. “For three-and-a-half months we are the beneficiaries of his two-decade quest to assemble one of the strongest compilations of Renaissance and Baroque small bronzes in the nation.”

Michel Anguier (1612/14-1686), Ceres. Model, c.1652. Cast, perhaps c.1700. Bronze

Schmidt said “Beauty and Power” coincides with and complements three other important MIA exhibitions from the same time period: “Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Paintings: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland,” “Venice on Paper,” and “The Mourners: Tomb Sculptures form the Court of Burgundy.”

Attributed to Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725), Daphne, Florence, c.1700. Bronze

“Hosting four concurrent exhibitions from the same era gives our visitors a rare and very rich overview of the best art being created in the heart of Renaissance Europe,” said Schmidt.

Bronze statuettes became a serious art form in Renaissance Italy when interest in ancient Rome and Roman bronze-casting was revived, often using themes inspired by Greek and Roman mythology. Bronze has always been valued for its surface and molten qualities, which create complex and satisfying sculptural forms full of sensuality and emotion.

Lorenzo Vaccaro (1655-1706), Vase with the Stories of Marcus Curtius and Lucius Albinius, Italian, perhaps Naples, c. 1670-1700. Bronze

Created on a scale that made them easy to collect and display, these bronzes were in demand, and sculptors across Europe created them to showcase their abilities. Included in the show are such works as the powerfully violent Samson and the Philistine (c. 1550–60), attributed to Baccio Bandinelli; the atypical depiction of an at-peace Diana (c. 1720–40) by Antonio Montauti; and Corneille van Cleve’s masterpiece Bacchus and Ariadne (c. 1703–4), showing the romantic encounter between the abandoned goddess and her rescuer. It also includes Florentine sculptor Giovanni Battista Foggini’s heroic David and Goliath (c. 1722), Ferdinando Tacca’s touching Hercules and Iole (c. 1640–50), and Robert Le Lorrain’s symbolically portrayed Andromeda (c. 1695–1700).

Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725), Apollo and Marsyas, Florence, c.1710-1720. Bronze

Peter Marino
Peter Marino is a leading international architect based in New York City. Andy Warhol and Yves St. Laurent were early clients when he founded his practice in 1978. His recent endeavors include architectural designs in several cities around the world for such fashion industry icons as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior. An avid art collector, Marino also designed the installation for “Art and Industry: Contemporary Porcelain from Sèvres” at the American Craft Museum in 1999 and, in 2010, “Les Lalanne” at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

Buste de Saint Pierre. Allemagne du Sud, début du XVIe siècle, circa 1520 Buste de Saint Pierre. Allemagne du Sud, début du XVIe

Buste de Saint Pierre. Allemagne du Sud, début du XVIe siècle, circa 1520. Courtesy Klaas Muller

Bois tilleuil sculpté avec sa polychromie d’époque. H (avec socle): 60,5 cm.  Prix sur demande

Provenance: collection privé

Bust of Saint Peter. Sculpted lime-wood with original polychrome layers. South German school, circa 1520. Total H 60.5 cm
Provenance: private collection

Klaas Muller a ouvert sa galerie en 2000 au Sablon à Bruxelles, après des études d’histoire de l’art à Gand. La galerie est spécialisée en peintures, dessins et sculptures du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle avec une prédilection pour les maîtres italiens, hollandais et flamands.

Klaas Muller @ BRAFA (Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair), Stand N°32. 21-30 january 2011

Minimenstraat 32. B-1000 Brussels, Belgique. M +32 (0)478 38 18 29 - muller.antiques@skynet.be

Buste de Saint Pierre. Allemagne du Sud, début du XVIe siècle, circa 1520. Courtesy Klaas Muller

Bois tilleuil sculpté avec sa polychromie d’époque. H (avec socle): 60,5 cm.  Prix sur demande

Provenance: collection privé

Bust of Saint Peter. Sculpted lime-wood with original polychrome layers. South German school, circa 1520. Total H 60.5 cm
Provenance: private collection

Klaas Muller a ouvert sa galerie en 2000 au Sablon à Bruxelles, après des études d’histoire de l’art à Gand. La galerie est spécialisée en peintures, dessins et sculptures du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle avec une prédilection pour les maîtres italiens, hollandais et flamands.

Klaas Muller @ BRAFA (Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair), Stand N°32. 21-30 january 2011

Minimenstraat 32. B-1000 Brussels, Belgique. M +32 (0)478 38 18 29 - muller.antiques@skynet.be

Pair of side panels for an altar. Second half of the 17th century.

Pair of side panels for an altar. Second half of the 17th century. Courtesy De Pauw - Müller

Adorned with winged angelheads. Oak. Certainly work of an important Antwerp sculptor. H 240 x W 39 cm - Price on application

En tant que fille aînée d'une famille d'antiquaires réputés, Hedwige Müller crée en 1968 la firme 'Müller' à Alost. Celle-ci deviendra plus tard la sprl De Pauw-Müller à Gand. Elle est membre de la Chambre Royale des Antiquaires et des Négociants en Œuvres d'art de Belgique et participe chaque année à la 'Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair' (BRAFA). Ses clients sont les bienvenus lors des portes ouvertes organisées annuellement à Gand le dernier week-end de novembre et le premier week-end de décembre. Depuis quelques années, elle travaille avec sa fille Inge De Pauw.

De Pauw - Müller @ @ BRAFA (Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair), Stand N° 18. 21-30 january 2011

Jakobijnenstraat 2. B-9000 Ghent, Belgique. T +32 (0)9 224 36 35 - M +32 (0)475 36 26 52 - M +32 (0)474 25 54 01. www.depauwmuller.be - info@depauwmuller.be

“Silène endormi à côté d’un âne recalcitrant”. Flandres, deuxième moitié du XVIIe siècle

“Silène endormi à côté d’un âne recalcitrant”. Flandres, deuxième moitié du XVIIe siècle  © BRAFA 2010

Des putti et des satyres essaient de maîtriser la bête. Modèle réduit d’un relief en marbre de François du Quesnoy (Bruxelles 1597-1643 Livourne). H 54 x L 69 cm - Prix sur demande.

Silenus sleeping while putti and satyrs try to control his stubborn donkey. Marble medallion. Reduced model of a marble relief by Frans du Quesnoy (Brussels 1597-1643 Livorno). Flanders, second half of 17th century. H 54 x W 69 cm - Price on application

En tant que fille aînée d'une famille d'antiquaires réputés, Hedwige Müller crée en 1968 la firme 'Müller' à Alost. Celle-ci deviendra plus tard la sprl De Pauw-Müller à Gand. Elle est membre de la Chambre Royale des Antiquaires et des Négociants en Œuvres d'art de Belgique et participe chaque année à la 'Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair' (BRAFA). Ses clients sont les bienvenus lors des portes ouvertes organisées annuellement à Gand le dernier week-end de novembre et le premier week-end de décembre. Depuis quelques années, elle travaille avec sa fille Inge De Pauw.

De Pauw - Müller @ @ BRAFA (Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair), Stand N° 18

Jakobijnenstraat 2. B-9000 Ghent, Belgique. T +32 (0)9 224 36 35 - M +32 (0)475 36 26 52 - M +32 (0)474 25 54 01. www.depauwmuller.be - info@depauwmuller.be

Enfant endormi. Lyon, France, fin XVIIe-début XVIIIe siècle

Enfant endormi. Lyon, France, fin XVIIe-début XVIIIe siècle © BRAFA 2010

Marbre. Inscription LUGD sur la base pour Lugdunum, Lyon en latin. Prix sur demande.

Sleeping child. Marble. Inscription LUGD on base for Lugdunum, Lyon in Latin. Lyon, France, late 17th-early 18th century. H 38 x W 85 cm - Price on application

En tant que fille aînée d’une famille d’antiquaires réputés, Hedwige Müller crée en 1968 la firme ‘Müller’ à Alost. Celle-ci deviendra plus tard la sprl De Pauw-Müller à Gand. Elle est membre de la Chambre Royale des Antiquaires et des Négociants en Œuvres d’art de Belgique et participe chaque année à la ‘Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair’ (BRAFA). Ses clients sont les bienvenus lors des portes ouvertes organisées annuellement à Gand le dernier week-end de novembre et le premier week-end de décembre. Depuis quelques années, elle travaille avec sa fille Inge De Pauw.

De Pauw - Müller @ @ BRAFA (Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair), Stand N° 18

Jakobijnenstraat 2. B-9000 Ghent, Belgique. T +32 (0)9 224 36 35 - M +32 (0)475 36 26 52 - M +32 (0)474 25 54 01. www.depauwmuller.be - info@depauwmuller.be

Saint Sébastien en pierre calcaire sculptée en ronde bosse. Bourgogne, vers 1500.

Saint Sébastien en pierre calcaire sculptée en ronde bosse. Bourgogne, vers 1500.

Le martyr, les bras liés au tronc darbre apparaît dans une attitude détendue. Le visage impassible. H. 92 cm. Restaurations. Estimation sur demande.

Collection Henriet,

A rapprocher du Saint Sébastien de Sau mur en Auxois. .

VENTE AUX ENCHèRES LE DIMANCHE 23 JANVIER à LOUVIERS PAR SVV JEAN EMMANUEL PRUNIER - Email : info@prunierauction.com