Artcurial to offer the Fernand Lafarge Collection
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, December 3, 2024


Artcurial to offer the Fernand Lafarge Collection
Aristide Maillol, Buste de femme ou Tête de Flore bronze, sand-cast iron with dark mahogany brown patina. Height: 38 cm. Estimate: €30,000 - 40,000.



PARIS.- On Wednesday 27th March, Artcurial will host a monumental auction devoted to Old Master & 19th Century Art, during their annual event concurring with the Salon du Dessin. A section of the sale will be devoted to the dispersion of Fernand Lafarge Collection, a tribute to sculpture.

Spanning five continents and 2000 years of history, the entire set is composed of 60 pieces from some of the greatest sculptors: Clodion, Jean-Antoine Houdon, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Aristide Maillol. Ranging from the Haute Époque to Bourdelle, from archaeology to tribal art, thi passionnés s set is both encyclopaedic and pedagogical. This will also be the occasion for enthusiasts and collectors to discover how a family from Amiens became enamoured with sculpture, from generation to generation.

Joseph and Fernand Lafarge, collectors from the city of Amiens
The story of the Lafarge family is one of a successful French entrepreneurial business dynasty. In 1764, Jean Lafarge, freshly arrived from his native Cantal builds a modest umbrella factory in Amiens. The family business develops over the nineteenth century: dozens of branches are opened across Northern France. In the early twentieth century, leather goods supplant umbrellas and the Lafarge business, actively developed by Joseph Lafarge, opens new shops until Joseph’s death in 1962. He launches the collection, acquiring several sculpted and painted pieces by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875).

In 1962, his three sons take over the business, one of them being Fernand Lafarge. While chairing the first conglomerate merging France’s leading leather good companies, Fernand Lafarge considerably increases his collection until his death in 2013. Living with his family in their hotel particulier nestled at the foot of the Amiens cathedral, his artistic taste was undoubtedly nurtured by the secular building’s ornamental sculptures, as they were by the archaeological pieces bequeathed by the painter Albert Maignan (1845-1908) to the Museum of Picardy that he visited religiously.

Figures of the Middle Ages
Fernand Lafarge thus becomes enamoured with medieval sculpture, leaving a powerful impression on his collection. Among the set presented by Artcurial, a relief of Christ’s arrest, a sober and sincere carved stone Pietà from the 16th century (estimate: €15,000 - 20,000) or an impressive limestone Virgin with child from the Champagne region, circa 1525-1530, intact with its original polychrome (estimate: €80,000 - 120,000).

However, Fernand Lafarge did not merely collect statues of the Haute Époque. He also acquired a rare picture from a 15th century French painter, exhibited at the now legendary Primitifs Francais Louvre exhibition in 1904: La Résurrection de Lazare, avec un donateur. Dated from the latter half of the 15th century, it illustrates Christ resurrecting Lazarus, following his death a few days prior. Martha and Mary, sisters of the deceased, are present as well as the Virgin and the apostles. It is not surprising that this piece in particular enthralled Fernand Lafarge, the sculpture enthusiast: the strength of the figures and the carefully drawn drapery folds echo the coats of the stone and wood saints which adorned the churches of the period (estimate: €300,000 - 500,000).

Sculptors from the Period of Enlightenment and of 19th century
The collection, acting as a time capsule, will pause to pay tribute to the eighteenth century with two Clodion terra cottas (1738-1814) illustrating the early and latter days of the artist, represented by Cérès (estimate: €60,000 - 90,000) and an exceptional Lévrier which caused quite a stir amongst historians investigating Jean-Antoine Houdon (17411828) (estimate: €30,000 - 50,000).

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875) deeply marked the family, especially Fernand Lafarge who surrounded himself with significant works by the artist. The contemplation of La Mort de Carpeaux painted by Albert Maignan and exhibited at the Museum of Picardy undoubtedly pushed Fernand Lafarge to add on to the collection of Carpeaux sculptures inherited from his father. Among them, the bronze chef-model of Ugolin, famous tyrant of Pisa, locked in a tower with his children, condemned to starve to death (estimate: €100,000 - 150,000). Artcurial will also present the painted version of Ugolin in grisaille on panel, bringing further dimension to this emblematic figure in Carpeaux’s career. (estimate: €40,000 - 60,000).

Modern Art and Primitive Arts
Modern Art will be represented by several bronzes including a small gold-nuanced model, Baigneuse Accroupie by Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929) (estimate: €15,000 - 20,000) and a Buste d’une femme or Tête de Flore of Aristide Maillol (1861-1944), estimated €30,000 - 40,000.

Antiquity and primitive arts were also of interest to this family of assiduous collectors. A Vénus pudique anadyomène, in green patina bronze circa 2nd or 3rd century illustrates Roman art (estimate: €8,000- 12,000) while a sculpted wood Femme assise sur un socle en pyramide from Solomon Islands, probably from the 19th century will highlight Oceanic art (estimate €15,000- 20,000). African and pre-Columbian arts will also hold an important place in this collection with pieces such as Personnage assis in ceramics from the classical period of the Veracruz culture, 450-650 BCE. from the Mexico Gulf coast (estimate €10,000- 15,000).










Today's News

February 8, 2019

'Fake' still life in US museum confirmed as real Van Gogh

Artcurial to offer the Fernand Lafarge Collection

Christie's announces highlights included in The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale

German auction house pulls 26 'Hitler paintings' on forgery fears

Frost Art Museum at FIU opens 'Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre: To Survive on This Shore'

Exhibition at Die Neue Sammlung - The Design Museum marks the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus

To divinity and beyond: Questions over Ukraine space church's future

Marian Goodman Gallery appoints Philipp Kaiser as Chief Executive Director of Artists and Programs

Galerie Lelong & Co. now represents Barthélémy Toguo

Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir's 'Shoplifter' brings joy and playfulness to Kiasma

300 rare artists' postcards go on show at the British Museum

David Bomford, Conservation Chair, and Zahira Véliz Bomford, Senior Paintings Conservator, to retire

'Jordan Casteel: Returning the Gaze' features new works that showcase the power of contemporary portraiture

The International Center of Photography announces 2019 Infinity Award winners

Galerie Thierry Bigaignon opens exhibition of Catherine Balet's new series 'Moods in a Room'

Exhibition of landscape paintings by American artist Tula Telfair opens at Forum Gallery

Berlin filmfest rolls out red carpet for women trailblazers

The battle for Hmong heritage in Vietnam

Cape Ann Museum appoints Oliver Barker as new Director

PEER presents new paintings by Jadé Fadojutimi in her first solo exhibition in a UK institution

MATRIX 181 at the Wadsworth Atheneum features the paintings of Emily Mae Smith

Original exhibition examines the representation of fluid identity

Matthew Marks presents works by David Weiss made between the late 1960s and the early 1980s




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful