PARIS.- On September 23rd, 2025, alongside FAB Paris, Artcurial will host the auction of the collection from La Malouinière du Bos, an elegant 18th-century residence nestled on the banks of the River Rance, near Saint-Malo. Around 280 lots - including Old Master paintings, sculptures, furniture, and silverware – reflect thirty years of discerning passion. For over thirty years, the current owners have carefully restored both the interior and exterior of the Malouinière, showcasing their refined taste and incorporating treasures mainly acquired at public auctions. This sale reflects their desire to undertake major renovation work, after which they look forward to breathing new life into the house, redecorating and refurnishing it with the same elegance and attention to detail.

Reflecting a marked appreciation for French artists of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Old Master paintings collection includes several exceptional works. Among them, an Allegory of Poetry by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, destined for the 1774 Salon of the Académie de Saint-Luc, stands out for its delicate brushwork and luminous palette. The painting features a refined portrayal of a young woman, her graceful back subtly revealed as she gazes upward in a moment of inspiration.

Equally striking is Une jeune espiègle painted by François-Hubert Drouais, exhibited at the 1771 Salon (no. 61). T This tender evocation of the lightness of childhood, a theme cherished by 18th-century French painters from Antoine Watteau to Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

The fertile period of the early 17th century is further represented by two remarkable paintings. An oil on canvas attributed to Paul La Tarte depicts a lively market scene, illustrating the influence of the Caravaggesque movement on painters from the Lorraine region. Meanwhile, a Magdalene with the Crucifix (French School, 17th century, workshop of Georges de La Tour) offers valuable insight into a lost original by Georges de La Tour and serves as an important stylistic milestone in the study of his series of Magdalene paintings.

Italian painting will also be prominently featured, with a large history painting by Andrea Casali depicting Moses Saved from the Water, and Madonna in busto by Sassoferrato. Among the works on paper, a charming portrait of Louise Vernet, born Pujol, delicately rendered in black chalk and watercolor by her father-in-law, Carle Vernet will also be offered for sale.

The selection of furniture reflects a sophisticated blend of the finest French craftsmanship of the 18th century and a distinct appreciation for English cabinetmaking of the same period. Noteworthy pieces include a set of four fauteuils à la reine stamped by Claude Chevigny, an elegant pair of monumental Louis XIV giltwood girandole chandeliers, and a restrained George III mechanical architect’s desk attributed to Gillows.

La Malouinière du Bos, built between 1715 and 1717, likely by architect Bullet de Chamblain for Pierre Le Fer de la Saudre and his wife, a member of the renowned Magon shipowners' family, embodies all the defining features of the grand malouinières of the 18th century. Its classical façade, constructed in finely dressed Chausey granite, is marked by a harmonious and majestic symmetry, animated by a slightly projecting central pavilion. Noble and imposing, the residence overlooks a vast jardin à la française that unfolds toward a bend in the Rance River. All the essential elements of a traditional malouinière are fully preserved at Le Bos: an intact enclosing wall, a chapel, extensive outbuildings, and a landscaped park adorned with sculptures and architectural ornaments.

Built for the greatest shipowners of Saint-Malo, who amassed their fortunes through trade with the East and privateering wars, these pleasure residences served as austere yet majestic settings for their treasures. Jean Bart, Duguay-Trouin, and Surcouf conjure the romantic world of corsairs, where speed, cunning, and flair often triumphed over sheer firepower and heavy artillery.For three centuries, the scent of salt, the sun, and the wind have breathed life into Le Bos. The thunder of cannon fire is recalled by an early 19th-century naval gun brought back from the Far East, inscribed in Chinese characters with the evocative phrase To Split the Mountain. The clash of boarding and the ring of iron are revived through a group of ceremonial and boarding weapons, their mysterious past hinting at remote isles and marvelous forgotten treasures.

The esprit malouin, a spirit resolutely turned toward the open sea and the discovery of the world, is evoked through a selection of scientific instruments designed to measure space and time. Among them, a mid-19th-century English pair of globes, one terrestrial, the other celestial and a Scottish telescope by Thomas Morton from the same period.

The memory of long voyages is suggested by a group of Chinese porcelain plates from the East India Company, as well as by striking imagery such as Eugène Isabey’s During the Storm (1849), where the air, saturated with iodine, conveys the unleashed fury of the elements. In gentle contrast, the painter Arthur David McCormick offers a full-length portrait of a serene sailor, reading a letter, perhaps a romantic one on the quay, moments before setting sail aboard the Invincible.