Gallery overview

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

Literature "George Minne" Leo van Puyvelde, Collection Les Contemporains, Brussels 1930, cf. nr. 23 Pl21
"George Minne en de kunst rond 1900" MvSK, Ghent 1982, exhibition cat., cf. nr. 59, p. 132-133
"George Minne: Das Frühwerk und seine Rezeption in Deutschland und Österreich bis zum Ersten Weltkrieg" Inga Rossi-Schrimpf, Verlag und Datenbank für Geisteswissenschaften, Weimar 2012, cf. cat. nr. P17, p. 370-371 (reprod. of another copy)

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…

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

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.

Exhibition "Pol Bury. Sculptures" Lefebre Gallery, New York 1970
"Pol Bury" Gal. Moos Ltd., Toronto 1971
"Pol Bury" Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover 1971-72; National Gallery, Berlin 1972; Städtische Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf 1972; Palais des Beaux-Arts Charleroi 1972; Centre national d'art contemporain, Paris 1972-73
"Pol Bury Sculptures and Graphics" Lefebre Gallery New York 1973 Literature "Pol Bury" Kestnergesellschaft, Hannover 1971, nr. 61
"Cnacnarchives 7. Pol Bury" André Balthazar & Daniel Abadie, Ivry 1972, p. 6 reprod.
"Pol Bury. 2014 références bibliographiques en 4 volumes" Viviane Baras-Flament, Brussels 1974, p. XXXII
"Pol Bury" Eugène Ionesco & André Balthazar, Cosmos Monographies, Brussels 1976, p. 194 reprod.
"Pol Bury. Les horribles mouvements de l'immobilité. Recueil de textes écrits depuis 1959" Gal. Carmen Martinez, Paris 1977, p. 115 reprod.
"Le mouvement Réel chez Pol Bury de 1953 à 1977" Pascal Depaepe, Liège 1985, p. 122 reprod.
"Pol Bury. Catalogue raisonné" Rosemarie Pahlke, Gemeentekrediet, Brussels 1994, cat. nr. 69-13
Included in the Pol Bury online catalogue raisonné as nr. S156 Provenance Gal. Maeght, Paris
Gal. 1900-2000, Paris

Provenance Gal. GKM, Malmö

Literature "Amédée Cortier. De abstracte werken 1961-1975" Eric Pil, Ludion/Cera 2007, nr. 259 bis, p. 176 reprod.
"Amédée Cortier" Ronny Van de Velde 2018, p. 94-95 reprod.

Exhibition "Berrocal. Exposition de sculptures" Gal. Kriegel, Paris 1962 Literature "Cimaise" Art et architceture actuels, present day art and architecture, Paris 1962, p. 80 reprod.
"Berrocal" Annette Michelson, Gal. Kriegel, Paris 1962, exhibition cat., reprod.
"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 assistence with the cataloging of this lot. 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).

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. ")

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

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

Exhibition Gal. Le Centaure, Brussels (according to transmission) Provenance coll. Sam Salz

Provenance coll. Harriet Brady, Chicago
Kovler Galleries, Chicago

Literature "Van natuur naar abstractie" Gal. Ronny Van de Velde, Knokke 2016, p. 288-289 reprod. Provenance Galleria Tucci Russo, Torre Pellice (It.)

Exhibition "Luc Peire" Gal. Lucas, Gandía 1980
"Luc Peire" Gal. Lucas, Valencia 1981, nr. 36 Literature "De ateliers van Luc Peire" Jenny Peire-Verbruggen & Marc Peire, Ludion, Ghent/Amsterdam, April 2001, p. 81
"Luc Peire. Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings" Marc Peire & Els Soetaert, m.m.v. Jaak Fontier, Stichting/Fondation Jenny & Luc Peire, Knokke-Heist en Lannoo, Tielt 2005, nr. 1282 reprod.

Provenance auction Gal. De Vuyst, 7 October 2000, lot nr. 402

Provenance Berengo Fine Arts, Murano, acquired there by the present owner

Provenance Redfern Gal., London

Exhibition "Arnaldo Pomodoro" Gal. Pierre, Stockholm 1968 Literature "Arnaldo Pomodoro. Catalogo ragionato della scultura" Flaminio Gualdoni, Ed. Skira, Milan 2007, nr. 335 reprod.
"Auditorium" Rome, March 1965 reprod.
"Avanti!" Fagiolo Dell'Arco, Rome 2 March 1965 reprod. Provenance private coll., Venice

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. Marika Malacorda, Geneva
auction Christie's, Paris 27 May 2009, lot 169
auction Christie's, London 15 September 2017, lot 102

Provenance Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Provenance acquired directly from Mrs. Huguette Chale by the current owner's family

Provenance coll. Philippe Braem

Literature "Jan Fabre. Kijkdozen en denkmodellen 1977-2005" Vision Publishers 2006, p. 144-147 reprod.

Exhibition "Mario Merz" Guggenheim Museum, New York 1989, cat. nr. 87 reprod. Provenance Gal. Ippolito Simonis, Toronto
coll. Tucci, Torino
coll. Alfonso Artiaco, Pozzuolo
coll. Baronian-Francey, Brussels




Mario Merz, medicine student, poet, graphic artist and informal painter, caught the eye of the art critic and curator Germano Celand in 1967. He invited him to participate in an exhibition in the Bertesca Gallery in Genua. Herewith, Merz stood at the cradle of the movement that will carry the name Arte Povera, where also Luciane Fabro, Richard Long and Michelangelo Pistoletto were active members.

In line with this movement, Merz payed attention to the organic world, contrary to the trend of industrialization and capitalism. The row of Fibonacci is an ordering element in his work. This formula is based on a mathematic progression, where every number equals the sum of the two previous ones. It shows how constant growth behaves in a spatial and temporal structure. In his art Merz handles organic forms, derived from the fauna and flora, like snail houses, snakes and foliage. Thanks to the reference to Fibonacci, his installations and paintings, objects with an inherent static nature, become focus points from which a dynamic energy emanates.

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