PARIS - An exceptional auction of original works of art by Georges Braque will be held by la Société de Ventes Millon & Associés at Hôtel Drouot, 9 rue Drouot, Paris, on Sunday 19 November 2006.  The sale will comprise some 70 works including sculpture, jewellery, ceramics and carpets from the collection of Monsieur Armand Israël, owner and protector of the artist’s rights and successor of the celebrated jeweller Baron de Loewenfeld.  A proportion of the proceeds of the sale will be donated to the French autistic charity, Autistes sans frontiers.

Georges Braques (1882-1963) was one of the most important revolutionary and influential artists of the 20^th century who, after working with the Fauves, developed Cubism together with Picasso and was a master of the still life.  The works for sale date from his highly successful collaboration with the lapidary and gem cutter Baron Heger de Loewenfeld during his last years, 1961 to 1963. Armand Israël, who published a number of books on Braque, worked for Loewenfeld for over 30 years.

Braque had longed to translate the major themes of his paintings into three-dimensional art objects so that his artistic ideas could be tangible as well as visible.  His collaboration with Baron de Loewenfeld resulted in the ‘Metamorphoses’ (from the theme of gods and goddesses from Greek mythology) of Braque’s oeuvre and the production of 113 wonderful jewels that at the request of André Malraux, then Minister of Culture, were exhibited to wide acclaim at the Musée du Louvre in March 1963.  Loewenfeld worked tirelessly to realise Braque’s vision.  He chose stones as if he were selecting paints from a palette to ease the artistic flow from one medium to another.  Braque disliked shiny surfaces and would often mix sand with his paints.  Loewenfeld was able to manipulate fused gold onto the plain gold surface to produce a granular effect to the texture of these jewels.

It was not only jewels that were created by Braque and Loewenfeld but also remarkable sculptures.  Among the most interesting of these in the sale is ‘Néoglaucos’ a unique silver gilt sculpture in the form of a fish, 140 by 50 cm, with a flowing tail, the head and most of the body encrusted with 50 kg of amethysts and with a 100 carat beryl eye, estimated to sell for €300,000-500,000.

The largest and perhaps the most remarkable piece in the sale is ‘Hermes’, a brass sculpture, also cast by Landowski, measuring 155 by 80 by 60 cm and considered by many to be one of the most beautiful modern sculptures of the 20^th century because of its purity of form. It is estimated to fetch €300,000-400,000.

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