Sotheby's to Offer The Robert Lebel Collection of Old Master & 19th Century Drawings |
 |
 |
| Sunday, 07 December 2008 01:34 |
|
Robert Lebel (1901-86) was a highly independent and atypical figure, difficult if not impossible to classify. He was at the same time essayist, novelist, art historian, erudite collector, Marcel Duchamp's first biographer, a friend of André Breton, and close to Max Ernst and Jacques Lacan. During his years in exile in New York during World War II, he assiduously frequented Breton, Matta, Ernst, Tanguy and the great ethnologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. Together they discovered Amerindian art, especially Eskimo art, then little-known. Back in France Robert Lebel worked as an expert in Old Master paintings for several prominent auctioneers, notably Maurice Rheims. The heart of the collection consists of Italian drawings, and includes several Renaissance masterpieces. The most eagerly awaited of these is likely to be a Study for the Madonna with the Long Neck by Francesco Mazzola, more commonly known as Parmigianino (1503-40). This is a preparatory drawing for the famous painting in Florence's Uffizi Gallery (estimate €500,000-700,000). Parmigianino, who was influenced by both Corregio and Raphaël, was a born draughtsman whose works have always been especially popular in France. This Madonna Study, now appearing on the market for the first time, is unquestionably one of the finest versions and is sure to catch the eye of leading collectors from around the world.  The Northern School, meanwhile, is represented by an elegant Mannerist drawing by Hendrick Goltzius: Venus Appeals to Cupid to Make Pluto Fall in Love (est. €60,000/80,000). The collection's 19th century drawings are fewer in number but of remarkable quality. Among some splendid works from the first half of the century are a Study of Female Heads from Jacques-Louis David's Brussels period (est. €10,000-15,000); a powerful Female Profile in watercolour by Eugène Delacroix (est. €20,000-30,000), along with his Studies of Figures after Goya: Priest & Monk Blessing the Crowd / Rose Study (est. €10,000/15,000). Fine drawings and watercolours by S. Redmond Granville, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and Galien-Laloue add to the ensemble's appeal. Other rare works include a Figure Study by Raphaël's assistant Perino del Vaga (est. €50,000/70,000); Pellegrino Tibaldi's Project for a Frieze for the Castel Sant'Angelo (est. €50,000/70,000); and a design for the decoration of the Sala Paolina in the Vatican by the great Florentine artist Giorgio Vasari (est. €80,000/120,000). All these artists are united by the importance they attached to the art of drawing in their artistic creation. The collection's other strong-point is its array of classical French drawings by artists such as Claude Vignon, with Cleopatra (est. €40,000-60,000); Gabriel de Saint-Aubin; the great Nicolas Poussin, with a moving study of figures around a bed, from the Frédéric Reiset and Chennevières Collections (est. €80,000-120,000); and a Poetic Landscape by Claude Gellée, better known as Claude Lorrain (est. €8,000-12,000). Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
Related Articles :
