Gallery overview

Exhibition "Panamarenko. Motors Pastilles" Gal. Ronny Van de Velde, Antwerp 1989
"Panamarenko. Expérimentations" Centre de Création Contemporaine, Tours 1989
"Panamarenko" Gal. Willy D'Huysser, Knokke 1990
"L'Art en Belgique. Flandre et Wallonie au XXe siècle. Un point de vue" Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris 1991, nr. 212
"Panamarenko, de retrospectieve" KMSK, Brussels 2006, exhibition cat., nr. 50 reprod.
"Panamarenko Universum" M HKA, Antwerp 2014-15, exhibition cat., p. 104-105 reprod. Literature "Artstudio" nr. 18, 1990, p. 131
"Panamarenko. A Book by Hans Theys" Published by Frank Van Haecke & Isy Brachot 1992, nr. 157 reprod.

Provenance Gal. Van de Loo, München
Simoens Gal., Antwerp




ALECHINSKY - FREEDOM AND HAPPINESS

"Would I start? Would I start with small lines, small crosses, small dots, with a big thing going from there to there, with a big spot that would watch me, with an idea? Would I start by stroking the canvas because I dream it’s already finished? No, I'm starting." (Alechinsky, Paris, September 1953)

And so Alechinsky starts this extraordinary work. He casually follows his feeling while he applies the acrylic to the canvas. The artist gives free rein to his hand: sometimes the lines are calm and elegant in warm ocher, sometimes he applies brusque, heavy brush strokes in bright blue and green. It is this same hand that tells Alechinsky’s fantastic stories and gives expression to the world as he experiences it. The result is a painting bursting with spontaneous energy. The gesture is explicitly present as an expressive tool, reminiscent of American abstract expressionism rather than of Cobra
The painting is a joyful color play evoking instant delight and cheerfulness. But coincidence and the subconscious also have an important role: the images veiled by the splendor of color are not at all unambiguous. Fortunately Alechinsky also loves to play with language, as illustrated by the poetic title which pushes us more or less in the direction of the painting’s story. Furthermore, we, as spectator, are challenged to use our own creativity and thus contribute to the creation of the final image. The image of the artist also becomes the image of the viewer.

"L’invention de la brouette" is the title of this oeuvre majeure – so to say in the words of the artist himself. Alechinsky does not make it easy for us as viewers. We can indeed see some wheels. Do the lines form a wheelbarrow? Does the mysterious head at the bottom represent the inventor? Maybe the artist wants to tell us about the invention of the wheel and he mingles title and image as a totum pro parte. Or maybe there is another approach that has to do with Alechinsky's trip to Lapland in 1974, where he makes this painting in the studio of his friend Bengt Lindström in Sundsvall (Sweden). The local stories and legends - which he loves so much - have certainly reached his ears and must have when creating this image. After all, it is up to the viewer and his imagination to complete the story.

Exhibition "Berrocal. Exposition de sculptures" Gal. Kriegel, Paris 1962 Literature "Berrocal" Denys Chevalier, Gal. Kriegel, Paris 1965, reprod.
"La Sculpture de Berrocal" Giuseppe Marchiori, La Connaissance, Brussels 1973, p. 52 reprod.
"Berrocal Catalogo General / Obras Recientes 1974" Miguel Berrocal, 1974, p. 68 reprod.
"Antologica Berrocal (1955-1984)" Ministero de Cultura, Madrid 1984, exhibition cat., p. 118 and p. 439 reprod.
"Retrospective Berrocal (1955-1985)" Centre Culturel de la Communauté Française Wallonie-Bruxelles, Brussels 1985, p. 26 reprod.
"Berrocal. 25 Ans de Sculptures editées 1964-1989" Miguel Berrocal, Artcurial, Paris 1989, p. 24 reprod.
"Berrocal" Jean Louis Ferrier, Éd. de la Différence, 1989, p. 129 reprod.
We would like to thank the Berrocal Foundation for their help when cataloging this work Provenance coll. Louis Bogaerts, Brussels ca. 1965-1995



For the majority of his iconographic works, Berrocal chose themes from the classical antiquity without losing sight of other sources of inspiration. His topics are male torsos, women figures, heads and portraits. In general it’s about the stylized, reconstructed, maimed parts of the human body. These anthropomorphic themes are apt to the most imaginative metamorphoses and have been a source of infinitive variation in art for thousands of years through the ages and for all art forms. If one studies objectively the artistic evolution of torsos, one can determine that after early baroque, during which the physical appearance is in contrast with the inner complexity and the abstraction, follows a more anatomical morphology “in which the organization of structures tend more towards the essence, the joints become more functional and the technical performances of the composition are concentrated on organic tensions” (Jean Dypréau, Brussels, 1983).

Exhibition "Arnaldo Pomodoro" Galerie Semiha Huber, Zürich 1996
"Arnaldo Pomodoro" Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco 1998
"Arnaldo Pomodoro" Venice Design Art Gallery, Venice 1998
"Arnaldo Pomodoro. Sculptures 1990-2000" Marlborough Monaco, Monte-Carlo 2001, cf. reprod.
"Arnaldo Pomodoro alla Torre Guevara di Ischia" Torre Guevara, Ischia 2003, cf. p. 33 reprod. Literature "Arnaldo Pomodoro. Catalogo ragionato della scultura. Tomo I+II" Flaminio Gualdoni, Ed. Skira, Milan 2007, cf. cat. nr. 933, p. 723 reprod.

Literature Mr. Gérard Galby has kindly confirmed the authenticity of this work Provenance Gal. Sabine Wachters, Knokke-Heist

Exhibition "Nevelson. Wood Sculptures and Collages" Wildenstein & Co., New York 1980
"Land of the Free. Home of the Brave" Crane Kalman Gal., London 2000 Provenance Pace Gal., New York
Crane Kalman Gal., London
private coll., Paris

Literature "Marten van Cleve 1524-1581. Kritischer Katalog der Gemälde und Zeichnungen" Klaus Ertz & Christa Nitze-Ertz, Luca Verlag, Lingen 2014, cf. cat. nr. 119 reprod. of a similar representation, property of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Orléans

Provenance Cabinet Turquin, Paris
auction Christie's, Amsterdam 20 & 21.11.2013, lot 17 (there as "Theobald Michau")

Exhibition "Exposition de l'oeuvre de Constantin Meunier" KUL, Louvain 1909, cf. nr. 14
"Constantin Meunier" Chicago 1913-14, cf. nr. 11
"Ausstellung Alter und Neuer Belgischer Kunst" Kunstmuseum und Kunsthalle, Bern 1926, cf. nr. 158
"Exposition Constantin Meunier" Gal. Breckpot, Brussels 1927, cf. nr. 3 Literature "Hommage à Constantin Meunier" Sura Levine & Françoise Urban, Gal. Maurice Tzwern, Brussels 1998 Ed. Pandora 1998, cf. cat. nr. 19 reprod.
"Constantin Meunier. Sa vie, son oeuvre" Micheline Jerome-Schotsmans, Olivier Bertrand Éditions, 2012, cf. nr. 112 reprod.

Literature This work is included in the online catalogue raisonné by Mr. Ronald Feltkamp as number 1919.030 This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné by Mr. Olivier Bertrand

Exhibition "Exposition d'oeuvres récentes de Théo Van Rysselberghe" Gal. Georges Giroux, Brussels 10-21.04.1926, nrs. 13 to 24 (12 works of this series were exhibited there)
"Retrospectieve Théo Van Rysselberghe" MSK, Ghent 1962, cat. nr. 159 (here with title "Fontaine aux statues") Literature "Théo Van Rysselberghe. Catalogue raisonné" Ronald Feltkamp, Les Éditions de l'amateur/ Éditions Racine, Brussels 2003, nr. P-061, p. 454 reprod.
"Mons & Coeur du Hainaut: Guide d'architecture moderne et contemporaine 1885-2015" Ed. Mardaga, Brussels 2015, p. 268-269 (ivm 'Le Pachy')
We thank Mr. Olivier Bertrand for the information he has kindly provided for this work and it will be included in the catalogue raisonné Provenance coll. Léon Guinotte (1870-1950), industrialist, lawyer and politician
coll. Max Boël - Anna Guinotte, Brussels
auction Palais Galliéra, Paris 15/06/1965, lot 157
auction Campo nr. 79, Antwerp 19/10/1969, lot 562




Théo Van Rysselberghe - A touch of Côte d'Azur in Mariemont

The south of Europe, in particular the Provence, had completely taken over Théo Van Rysselberghe’s artist's heart. He was enthused by the warm colours, the Mediterranean light and the enchanting environments. It is in this region that he will reside for a large part of his career. In 1917, when he was commissioned by the Brussels industrial and philanthropist Léon Guinotte (1870-1950) to paint 17 works for his villa Le Pachy in Mariemont, Van Rysselberghe was inspired by the poetry he found in the idyllic garden views of which the Côte d'Azur offers a great wealth. "Fontaine aux statues à Mazargues" proposes a view of the park and the water features around the Villa Magalone in Mazargues, Marseille. Le Corbusier will later build his famous "Cité Radieuse" on a part of this domain.

The series for Le Pachy was part of a larger-scale renovation project led by Théo's brother and Art Nouveau architect Octave Van Rysselberghe, who also designed Théo's villa in Saint-Clair. The paintings were realized between 1920 and 1924. Van Rysselberghe, being a brother of two architects and friend of Henry Van de Velde, had a desire to create grandly arranged, harmonious ensembles for domestic interiors, such as the Villa Nocard in Neuilly. Other artists of his generation, such as Edouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard, also connected to this trend. According to them, the fundamental task of the artist lies in various aspects of life and their talent is not just limited to an easel.

In those years Van Rysselberghe abandoned the rigorous pointillism, his palette yet without losing its intensity. The touch is freer and more varied, the colors are more nuanced and blend into one another. The delicate pink, green and blue shades shine in the Mediterranean light. The shadow of the afternoon sun, Van Rysselberghes beloved moment to paint, offers some cooling. The peaceful garden is disturbed only by the rippling of the water surface, which is suggested by ingeniously applied brush strokes. An ideal image where the residents of Le Pachy can dream away, or as Emile Verhaeren states:

«Cet art plonge non point dance le rêve ou l’extase mais dance une sorte de vie choisie qu'il montre sous ses aspects de santé et beauté. The bonheur frais y circule sans qu’on songe aux idylles des anciens poètes, ni au paradis classique. La donnée n’en est en rien littéraire. Ce ne sont que de belles chairs, heureuses de se déployer, nues et claires, parmi les caresses de l’eau et du soleil. »
("This art plunges not dream dance or ecstasy but dance a kind of chosen life which it shows in its aspects of health and beauty. Fresh happiness circulates without one thinking of the idylls of ancient poets or of classical paradise. The subject is in no way literary. These are only beautiful skins, happy to unfold, naked and clear, among the caresses of water and sun. ")

Literature "La sculpture belge 1830-1930" Marguerite Devigne, Brussels 1930, cf. reprod. 66
"George Minne" Leo van Puyvelde, Collection Les Contemporains, Brussels 1930, cf. nr. 85, reprod. 100-101
"La sculpture belge 1830-1930" Brussels 1930, reprod. 66 Provenance the artist's family
auction De Vuyst, 28 May 1988, nr. 298

Literature "Christian Dotremont. Les estampes - De prenten"
Samuel Vanhoegaerden Gallery, Knokke 2007,
cf. nr. 43 afb.

Exhibition "Guiette - Serpan - Arnal" Gal. Europe, Brussels 1956, cat. nr. 9 reprod. Literature "René Guiette" Manuela de Kerchove d'Ousselghem & Serge Goyens de Heusch, Antwerp 1991, nr. 896 reprod.

Literature "César. Catalogue Raisonné. Vol. I 1947-1964" Denyse Durand-Ruel, Éditions de la Différence, Paris 1994, cf. nr. 258 reprod. Provenance Gal. Sabine Wachters, Knokke-Heist

Provenance Gal. Sabine Wachters, Knokke-Heist

Provenance Gal. Willy D'Huyser, Brussels (acquired by the present owner)

Exhibition "Mimmo Rotella. Antologica" Palazzo Lafranchi, Pisa 2001, exhibition cat., p. 301 reprod.
"Mimmo Rotella Cinecittà" Frittelli arte contemporanea, Firenze 2006, exhibition cat., p. 72 & 188 reprod. Provenance private collection, Milano

Literature "Impliquons-nous. Dialogue pour le siècle. Edgar
Morin & Michelangelo Pistoletto" sous la
Direction de Philippe Cardinal & Harry Jancovici,
Ed. Actes Sud, Arles/Paris 2015,
cf. p. 18 kleurafb.

Provenance Guy Pieters Gal., Knokke, acquired by the present owner in 2011




Delvoye’s pathetic pretzel

"Instead of fighting popular culture, we should accept it and chew it."

As in many Flemish households, mother Delvoye also adorned hers with a crucifix. The artist modeled projects such as Pretzel after this simple and unpretentious object. He hauls the recognizable religious iconography of the Christ figure through a computer-controlled mangle to achieve a visually astonishing effect. The twisted and elongated bodies refer to a Gothic aesthetic, where images were also mannered to serve an architectural or decorative visual language.

Stretched out, twisted and distorted: the manipulation emphasizes the suffering of Christ. The loop of bodies forms a crown of thorns, symbol of pathos. Or one could see an ordinary ball of barbed wire. Or even the knot shaped pastry called pretzel. Through this grotesque transformation of a recognizable formal language, the artist provokes a shift from the domain of the sacred to that of the profane, and beyond, to that of the trivial.

He plays with the visible contradiction between the old and the contemporary, the beautiful and the repulsive. This also reminds of his “Saw blade” (lot 515), the saw painted with Delft motifs. Delvoye's creations are quirky and bizarre, but delightfully beautiful and fascinatingly poetic.

Provenance coll. Philippe Braem

Exhibition "James Ensor" The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv 1981, nr. 40
"James Ensor - Dipinti, Disegni, Incisioni" Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome 1981, nr. 20
"James Ensor" Kunsthaus, Zurich 1983, nr. 96
"James Ensor" KMSK, Antwerp 1983, nr. 103
"James Ensor" Museum of Modern Art, Kobe 1983-84, nr. 67
"James Ensor - Belgien um 1900" Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munchen 1989, nr. 42
"James Ensor" Musée du Petit Palais, Paris 1990, nr. 220
"Ensor" KMSK, Brussels 1999-2000, nr. 181 Literature "James Ensor. Leven en werk. Oeuvrecatalogus van de schilderijen" Xavier Tricot, Mercatorfonds, Brussels 2009, cat. nr. 606 reprod. Provenance coll. Augusta Boogaerts, Brussels
coll. Dr. Denonne, Brussels




Ensor and the ladies

As virtuoso an artist with pen and brush, as clumsy Ensor was in his contact with the opposite sex. “Faithless and heartless” he calls them, “a pond of hypocrisy and malice, cave of robbery and mortal sin, Pandora’s box”. The many muses that coloured his life and his work must have been quite special. There were, among others, Emma Lambotte (his patron), Mariette Rousseau (his platonic love) and Alice Frey (who boasted being his ‘only student’ and ‘more than just a friend’). And then there was Augusta Boogaerts (1870-1951).

Ensor and Augusta met at the end of the 1880’s. They would never marry, nor would they ever live together but they would have a lifelong friendship that significantly influenced the work of the artist, despite her occasionally unpleasant character. Ensor called her ‘the siren’. She was the one who composed his still lifes, who selected shelves and gadgets and who handled the sales of his works of art, even after his death.

The special relationship between the two is depicted in a enigmatic way in the portrait here at auction. In soft, bright colours, a fragile Augusta is represented. Ensor shows her in a loving way but her look is without emotion and mysterious. We cannot grasp the psyche of this woman. Augusta is not alone in the room. Behind her we can see the contours of the painting “Ensor et Leman discutant peinture”. In this work, the other woman, Mariette Rousseau, stands between a squabbling Ensor and Gerard Leman. A desperate mask floats above her. The various actors in this scene suggest that there’s more to it…

Exhibition "Léon Spilliaert - Onbekende werken" Casino, Knokke 2000, cat. nr. 107, p. 185 reprod.
"Léon Spilliaert. Florilège" Musée des Beax-Arts, Mons 2001, cat. nr. 21 Literature To be included in the catalogue raisonné in preparation by Mrs. Anne Adriaens-Pannier

Literature "George Minne en de kunst rond 1900" M.S.K., Ghent 1982, exhibition cat., cf. nr. 155 (similar copy)
"George Minne" Leo van Puyvelde, Collection Les Contemporains, Brussels 1930, cf. Pl. 51 (reproduction of another copy)

Exhibition "Beeldhouwers en schilders van dieren" Opbouwwerk Ijzerstreek vzw Vinkem-Beauvoorde, 1993

Exhibition "Ossip Zadkine" Gal. Schmit, Paris 1970, cf. nr. 49 reprod.
"Ossip Zadkine" Hirschl and Adler Galleries, New York 1971, cf. nr. 36 reprod.
"Ossip Zadkine" Gal. Conkright, Caracas 1972, cf. nr. 15 reprod.
"Ossip Zadkine" Artcurial, Paris 1979 Literature "Zadkine. Catalogue Raisonné des sculptures" Ionel Jianou, Éd. Arted, Paris 1979, cf. cat. nr. 475, Pl. 62 reprod.
"Ossip Zadkine. L'Oeuvre sculpté" Sylvain Lecombre, Éd. Paris-Musées 1994, cf. cat. nr. 319

Exhibition "Thierry De Cordier. Tekeningen (1983-1999)" SMAK, Ghent 1999, exhibition cat., p. 46 reprod. Literature "Thierry De Cordier. De wijnjaren/Fugues (1982-2002)" Ed. Ludion, Ghent 2002, p. 100 reprod. Provenance Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Provenance Gal. Ado, Bonheiden, acquired there by the present owner in 1985

Provenance private collection, New York

Provenance Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Exhibition Ghent 1945, nr. 54
London 1961, nr. 17
"Frits Van den Berghe" MSK, Ghent 1983, cat. nr. 141 reprod.
Museum Elsene 2012, p. 124 reprod. Literature "Frits Van den Berghe" Piet Boyens, with catalogue raisonné by Patrick Derom & Gilles Marquenie, Pandora, Antwerp 1999, cat. nr. 778 Provenance coll. Alex Salkin, New York
Grosvenor Galleries, London

Exhibition "Retrospectieve tentoonstelling Hippolyte Daeye" KMSK, Antwerp 1964, cat. nr. 52, reprod. 57 Literature "Hippolyte Daeye. Genese van een oeuvre" Bernadette De Visscher-D'Haeye, Gemeentekrediet 1989, nr. 109 reprod. Provenance coll. J. De Lange, Antwerp

Literature "George Grard. Monografie/Oeuvre-Catalogus" Stichting George Grard, Ed. Stichting Kunstboek 1995, cf. cat. nr. 105

Literature "Henri-Victor Wolvens" Georges Marlier, Ed. Arcade, Brussels 1967, cat. nr. 1001

Exhibition "Roger Somville" Brugsche Galerie, Brugge 1968-69
Neue Berliner Galerie, Berlin 1969, nr. 50