Paris - Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

This drawing by Léon Bonnat, the greatest portrait painter of the Third Republic, shows a woman of indeterminate age, caught in a melancholic pose. 1. Léo...

Arriving in Rome in June 1735 as a resident at the Royal Academy, Pierre was unable to attend the Winter Carnival festivities of 1735, which he nevertheless immortalised in an engrav...

Frédéric Millet (1786-1859) Portrait of a gentleman, 1849 signed and dated lower right Watercolor on paper 36 x 27,5 cm framed : 44 x 35 cm Frédéric Millet is rightly renowned fo...

Requiem is a unique oil on canvas painting by contemporary artist Franco Salas Borquez, dimensions are 73 × 116 cm (28.7 × 45.7 in). This painting is sold with a black shadowbox fram...

This vigorous drawing has long been attributed to Polidoro da Caravaggio: The Abduction of the Sabine Women is one of the scenes that Polidoro depicted between 1525 and 1527 on the façade of the Milesi Palazzo in Rome. However, the proximity to another drawing inspired by this same façade, kept at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and to other drawings inspired by Polidoro kept at the Musée du Louvre, leads us to propose an attribution to Biagio Pupini, a Bolognese artist whose life remains barely known, despite the abundant number of drawings attributed to him. 1. Biagio Pupini, a Bolognese artist in the light of the Roman Renaissance The early life of Biagio Pupini, an important figure of the first half of the Cinquecento in Bologna - Vasari mentions him several times - is still poorly known. Neither his date of birth (probably around 1490-1495) nor his training are known. He is said to have been a pupil of Francesco Francia (1450 - 1517) and his name appears for the first time in 1511 in a contract with the painter Bagnacavallo (c. 1484 - 1542) for the frescoes of a church in Faenza. He then collaborated with Girolamo da Carpi, at San Michele in Bosco and at the villa of Belriguardo. He must have gone to Rome for the first time with Bagnacavallo between 1511 and 1519. There he discovered the art of Raphael, with whom he might have worked, and that of Polidoro da Caravaggio. This first visit, and those that followed, were the occasion for an intense study of ancient and modern art, as illustrated by his abundant graphic production. Polidoro da Caravaggio had a particular influence on the technique adopted by Pupini. Executed on coloured paper, his drawings generally combine pen, brown ink and wash with abundant highlights of white gouache, as in the drawing presented here. 2. The Abduction of the Sabine Women Our drawing is an adaptation of a fresco painted between 1525 and 1527 by Polidoro da Caravaggio on the façade of the Milesi Palace in Rome. These painted façades were very famous from the moment they were painted and inspired many artists during their stay in Rome. These frescoes are now very deteriorated and difficult to see, as the palace is in a rather narrow street. The episode of the abduction of the Sabine women (which appears in the centre of the photo above) is a historical theme that goes back to the origins of Rome and is recounted both by Titus Livius (Ab Urbe condita I,13), by Ovid (Fasti III, 199-228) and by Plutarch (II, Romulus 14-19). After killing his twin brother Romus, Romulus populates the city of Rome by opening it up to refugees and brigands and finds himself with an excess of men. Because of their reputation, none of the inhabitants of the neighbouring cities want to give them their daughters in marriage. The Romans then decide to invite their Sabine neighbours to a great feast during which they slaughter the Sabines and kidnap their daughters. The engraving made by Giovanni Battista Gallestruzzi (1618 - 1677) around 1656-1658 gives us a good understanding of the Polidoro fresco, allowing us to see how Biagio Pupini reworked the scene to extract this dynamic group. With a remarkable economy of means, Biagio Pupini takes over the left-hand side of the fresco and depicts in a very dense space two main groups, each consisting of a Roman and a Sabine, completed by a group of three soldiers in the background (which seems to differ quite significantly from Polidoro's composition). The balance of the drawing is based on a very strongly structured composition. The drawing is organised around a median vertical axis, which runs along both the elbow of the kidnapped Sabine on the left and the foot of her captor, and the two main diagonals, reinforced by four secondary diagonals. This diamond-shaped structure creates an extremely dynamic space, in which centripetal movements (the legs of the Sabine on the right, the arm of the soldier on the back at the top right) and centrifugal movements (the arm of the kidnapper on the left and the legs of the Sabine he is carrying away, the arm of the Sabine on the right) oppose each other, giving the drawing the appearance of a whirlpool around a central point of support situated slightly to the left of the navel of the kidnapper on the right. 3. Polidoro da Caravaggio, and the decorations of Roman palaces Polidoro da Caravaggio was a paradoxical artist who entered Raphael's (1483 - 1520) workshop at a very young age, when he oversaw the Lodges in the Vatican. Most of his Roman work, which was the peak of his career, has disappeared, as he specialised in facade painting, and yet these paintings, which are eminently visible in urban spaces, have influenced generations of artists who copied them abundantly during their visits to Rome. Polidoro Caldara was born in Caravaggio around 1495-1500 (the birthplace of Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, who was born there in 1571), some forty kilometres east of Milan. According to Vasari, he arrived as a mason on the Vatican's construction site and joined Raphael's workshop around 1517 (at the age of eighteen according to Vasari). This integration would have allowed Polidoro to work not only on the frescoes of the Lodges, but also on some of the frescoes of the Chambers, as well as on the flat of Cardinal Bibiena in the Vatican. After Raphael's death in 1520, Polidoro worked first with Perin del Vaga before joining forces with Maturino of Florence (1490 - 1528), whom he had also known in Raphael's workshop. Together they specialised in the painting of palace façades. They were to produce some forty façades decorated with grisaille paintings imitating antique bas-reliefs. The Sack of Rome in 1527, during which his friend Maturino was killed, led Polidoro to flee first to Naples (where he had already stayed in 1523), then to Messina. It was while he was preparing his return to the peninsula that he was murdered by one of his assistants, Tonno Calabrese, in 1543. In his Vite, Vasari celebrated Polidoro as the greatest façade decorator of his time, noting that "there is no flat, palace, garden or villa in Rome that does not contain a work by Polidoro". Polidoro's facade decorations, most of which have disappeared as they were displayed in the open air, constitute the most important lost chapter of Roman art of the Cinquecento. The few surviving drawings of the painter can, however, give an idea of the original appearance of his murals and show that he was an artist of remarkable and highly original genius. 4. The façade of the Milesi Palace Giovanni Antonio Milesi, who commissioned this palace, located not far from the Tiber, north of Piazza Navona, was a native of the Bergamo area, like Polidoro, with whom he maintained close friendly ties. Executed in the last years before the Sack of Rome, around 1526-1527, the decoration of Palazzo Milesi is considered Polidoro's greatest decorative success. An engraving by Ernesto Maccari made at the end of the nineteenth century allows us to understand the general balance of this façade, which was still well preserved at the time. The frescoes were not entirely monochrome, but alternated elements in chiaroscuro simulating marble bas-reliefs and those in ochre simulating bronze and gold vases...

Eugenie O'KIN, Eugenie JUBIN known as, Landscape Pencil and etching on paper Studio sale stamp on verso 46 x 28 cm original frame 65 x 46 cm Provenance: artist's studio sale, Paris,...

Pierre COMBET-DESCOMBES (1885-1966) Female Nude from behind, 1928 Charcoal on paper Signed with the stamp lower right Dated "26 sept 28" and annotated lower left Size of the work : 4...

Raphaël DELORME (1886-1962) Study Watercolor and pencil on paper 21 x 31 cm frame 30 x 40 cm Trace of fold in the bottom Born in 1885 in Bordeaux, Raphaël Delorme is one of the majo...

Attributed to Francesco PENNI (1488 – 1528) Study for a fresco Pen and brown ink, brown wash heightened with white on prepared paper 14 x 12 cm On the mount, handwriting inscriptio...

Adolfo de HERRA Active around 1900 student of Gustave Moreau Woman with dragon, Saint Marguerite? Watercolor Signed lower right 64 x 44 cm framed (47 x 26,5 cm sheet) Very good cond...

This stunning Baroque study depicts a regatta boat, a type of vessel developed in eighteenth-century Venice for the regattas organized by the Serenissima during visits by royalty and...

Attributed to LAURENT HUBERT (Active circa 1749 - 1780) Diana and her Nymphs bathing Red and black chalk heightened with white 49,5 x 33,5 cm Provenance: Private collection, France...

Paul-Emile lecomte (1877-1950) Landscape of a valley between Cannes and Grasse (South of France) Signed lower right watercolor on paper 25.8 x 33.9 cm in a vintage frame : 33 x 41.4 ...

Italian School Around 1700 Beheading scene in front of an enthroned king, probably a martyr scene Black pencil 21.5 x 28 cm 29.5 x 39 cm Provenance: Fryszman collection, sale on 01...

Chalk pastel on paper Christian Frederiksen is a Georgian artist born in 1989 who lives and works in Calgary, Canada. He loves to experiment with new ways of creating imagery by col...

Chalk pastel on illustration board Christian Frederiksen is a Georgian artist born in 1989 who lives and works in Calgary, Canada. He loves to experiment with new ways of creating i...

Chalk pastel on paper Christian Frederiksen is a Georgian artist born in 1989 who lives and works in Calgary, Canada. He loves to experiment with new ways of creating imagery by col...

Watercolour on paper Christian Frederiksen is a Georgian artist born in 1989 who lives and works in Calgary, Canada. He loves to experiment with new ways of creating imagery by coll...

Acrylic on illustration board Christian Frederiksen is a Georgian artist born in 1989 who lives and works in Calgary, Canada. He loves to experiment with new ways of creating imager...

French school 19th century, Court scene in front of a palace watercolor on paper 16.4 x 13.3 cm In good condition, some foxings Framed : 30 x 26.5 cm This enigmatic yet charming s...

French School 19th Century, Portrait of a young soldier, dated 1830, Pencil and heightenings of white and red 26 x 19.7 cm oval view examined outside the frame, in good condition I...

20th century French school Colonnade in ruins, watercolor on paper 37 x 26 cm Framed in a highly original way between two sheets of Plexiglas (a small, barely visible spot on the bl...

François-Maurice Roganeau (1883-1973) Portrait of a young man, 1947 signed and dated lower left Titled Guy Ernoult (name of the sitter) on the upper part 27 x 22 cm in a beautiful f...

Attributed to HUBERT ROBERT (Paris 1733 - 1808) Dancing couple (recto) Various sketches (verso) Red chalk and charcoal on the reverse numbered in pencil “4229” circa 1770 34 x 21 c...

André MANTELET MARTEL (1876-1953) View Of The Pantheon, Descartes street, Paris Ve area, 1926 Charcoal on paper Signed, dated and located lower left 60 x 44 cm Provenance; former Jac...

Auguste DURAND-ROSE (1887-1962) Sleeping female nude Charcoal on paper Signed "A Durand-Rosé" lower right 48 x 62 cm Sold in an original frame : 66 x 80 cm (foxing on the mat and ...

Emile Rene MENARD (1862-1930) Study of a female nude and a male head Charcoal on paper Signed with stamp lower left 21 x 26.5 cm Good condition, tiny crease lower center Sold witho...

Mathieu (Matei) ROSIANU (1897-1969) Two men's heads, circa 1930 Ink on paper 7 x 9 cm Born in Bucharest in 1897 to an officer in the Romanian National Guard and a mother of French ...

Henri Harpignies (1819-1916) A Landscape in winter, 1888 Signed and dated "88" lower left Watercolor on paper 19 x 27 cm Framed : 33.5 x 43 cm In good and fresh condition, slighlt...

Philippe Hiquily (1925 – 2013) is a French artist and designer known for biomorphic furniture and sculptures. He was able to combine modernist design, insect physiognomy, and human s...

This powerful pen and brown ink wash drawing is a study for an altarpiece depicting The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew. Signed and dated 1604, it was painted at the end of his life b...

Mathieu (Matei) ROSIANU (1897-1969) Man with coin Pencil on paper Workshop stamp on reverse 8 x 5,5 inch Born in Bucharest in 1897 to an officer in the Romanian National Guard and ...

Maurice Asselin (1882-1947) A Seascape, Brittany, signed lower right watercolor on paper 19.7 x 25.2 cm Framed : 35 x 40.5 cm Maurice Asselin was particularly attached to Britta...

Jules Cheret (1836-1932) La Confidence (The confidence) 1909 signed and dated in the lower right Charcoal and heightenings of white chalk 22.7 x 22.7 cm Framed under glass : 33.8 x...

Jules Cheret (1836-1932) A couple, 1909 signed and dated in the lower right Charcoal and heightenings of white chalk 23 x 23 cm Framed under glass : 33.8 x 33.8 cm This work is hi...

German School 19th Century, Portrait of a boy, pencil on paper 25.7 x 16 cm (view) Framed : 41.8 x 31.5 cm The style and execution are v...

This widely referenced pair of paintings is one of Francesco Conti’s most successful productions. Francesco Conti is one of the finest painters of 18th-century Florence. In the shimmering colors typical of his best work, he represents two opposite characters from the Bible: the virtuous Judith, whose courage saves her people by cutting off the head of the invader Holofernes, and the depraved Salome, who under the influence of her mother becomes responsible for the beheading of the prophet John the Baptist. The artist's talent lies in his ability to treat these two macabre subjects with a light touch, presenting us with two attractive women who seem to twirl with glee amidst the severed heads... 1. Francesco Conti, the “Florentine Tiepolo” Francesco Conti is a major painter of the Florentine school of the 18th century; he can even probably be considered, along with Giovanni Domenico Ferretti (1692-1768), as one of the two main painters of the second quarter of the Florentine 18th century. Born in Florence in 1682, Francesco Conti began his apprenticeship in the workshop of Simone Pignoni (1611 - 1698), a disciple of Francesco Furini; he was also influenced by the Venetian Sebastiano Ricci. A protégé of Marquis Riccardi, he accompanied him to Rome between 1699 and 1705, where he frequented Carlo Maratta's studio. He settled permanently in Florence in 1705. Painted exclusively on canvas, the majority of his work consists of religious subjects, altarpieces or private devotional works. It is likely that Conti himself was a devout churchgoer, as evidenced by his affiliation, in the third decade of the eighteenth century, to the Society of the Disciples of Saint-John-the-Baptist, and his entry, at the end of his life, into the fraternity of the Venerable Society of the Holy Trinity. In Florence, Conti worked for the Grand Duchy's major patrons, including the last Medici - in particular Giangastone and Annamaria Luisa, Electress Palatine - and confirmed his role as a reference painter under the Lorraine Regency, as master of the Public Drawing School, which was closely linked to the institute responsible for the manufacture of semi-precious stone mosaics, then located in the Uffizi complex. Matteo Marangoni, an art critic of the early 20th century, praised his "brushwork full of elegance and true spirit of the 18th century", pointing out that Conti was "probably one of the best colorists" of the Florentine school of his time. These two characteristics led the art historian Paolo dal Poggetto to nickname him the "Florentine Tiepolo". 2. Judith and Salome, two biblical characters opposing each other These two paintings form a pair presenting two biblical episodes, which have in common the depiction of a "heroine" carrying the severed head of a man. While the Salome episode might at first appear to be an echo of the Old Testament story of Judith, each character is the exact opposite of the other. Judith, whose story is told in the Book of Judith, is a beautiful young widow from Bethulia who, accompanied by her maid, went into the camp of the invading Assyrians and won the confidence of Holofernes, the general commanding the enemy army. Invited to a great feast on the fourth evening, she took advantage of Holofernes' drunkenness to cut off his head. “She went up to the bedpost near Holofernes’ head, and took down his sword that hung there. She came close to his bed, took hold of the hair of his head, and said, “Give me strength today, O Lord God of Israel!” Then she struck his neck twice with all her might, and cut off his head. Next she rolled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the posts. Soon afterward she went out and gave Holofernes’ head to her maid, who placed it in her food bag...

This intensely expressive figure is a preparatory study for "Arab Market on the Tocria Plain", a painting exhibited at the 1865 Salon and now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lille. 1...

Jacques GAMELIN Carcassone 1738-1803 Study after the triton of the Triumph of Galatea by Raphaël 1768 Black stone and light white chalk on blue paper Signed and dated lower right 41...

Jean MARTIN (1911-1996) Female nude, circa 1940 Pencil on paper Signed on the left 25 x 38 cm frame : 40 x 50 cm A self-taught painter born in Lyon in 1911, Jean Martin developed a ...

Albert Paul Guilmet (1879-1922) Portrait of a man, signed upper left charcoal on paper 26.5 x 33,8 cm Framed : 43.5 x 52 cm Little is known about Abert Paul Guilmet, apart from th...

Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (1859-1938) A zither player carbon pencil on thin paper 8.5 x 3.3 cm In good condition Framed : 35 x 24 cm Provenance: Estate of the artist and by Inher...

Ernest Lessieux (1848 - 1925) The sea in calm weather, signed lower left watercolor on paper 16.5 x 24 cm Framed : 35 x 41 cm This rather atypical work is a remarkable addition to...

French school circa 1880 Portrait of a boy holding a book graphite and white gouache on paper 39.5 x 32 cm oval view in good condition, slightly yellowed with age In its original ova...

Alena NADVORNIKOVA (née en 1942) Zoomorphic composition, 1979 India ink on paper Signed and dated "1979" lower left 50 x 32 cm Frame : 60 x 40 cm A Czech artist born in 1942 in Lipn...

Alena NADVORNIKOVA (née en 1942) Dva svety (Two Worlds), 1979 India ink on paper Titled "Dva svety", signed and dated "79" lower left 50 x 32 cm Frame : 60 x 40 cm A Czech artist bo...

Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (1859-1938) Study for "Le Cocher" carbon pencil on thin paper 14.5 x 13 cm In good condition Framed : 36.7 x 31 cm Provenance: Estate of the artist and...

Marc DAUTRY (1930-2008) Woman’s head, 1959 ? Pencil on paper Signed and dated "1959" ? lower left 14 x 10.5 cm Frame (antique glass) : 36 x 30 cm Born in Nime (south of France), Mar...

Mixed media, acrylic and ink on paper Nino Devdariani is a Georgian artist born in 1970 who lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. Her inspiration is the perception of positive and ne...

Mixed media, acrylic and ink on paper Nino Devdariani is a Georgian artist born in 1970 who lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. Her inspiration is the perception of positive and ne...

Mixed media, acrylic and ink on paper Nino Devdariani is a Georgian artist born in 1970 who lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. Her inspiration is the perception of positive and ne...

Jules-Eugène Lenepveu (1819-1898) Portrait of a man in profile signed on the lower right Pencil and heightenings of white gouache on paper 19.5 x 13 cm Framed : 29 x 22.7 cm Jules...

Alfred DEHODENCQ (1822-1982) Study of a hand; preparatory to the painting Jewish Bride in Morocco, 1867 Pencil on paper Dimensions of work: 15.5 x 17.5 cm Frame size : 30 x 30 cm A...

Ink on paper, with frame Nina Narimanishvili is a Georgian artist born in 1999 who lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. Nina has been painting since childhood and over time her int...

Mathieu (Matei) ROSIANU (1897-1969) Surrealist composition, ca. 1935 Pencil on paper Studio stamp on verso 5 x 5,5 inch. Frame : 12 x 12 inch (30 x 30 cm) Born in Bucharest in 1897...

Gouache on paper Francine Ledieu is a French artist born in 1931 who lives and works in Paris, France. In the 50s, she was a student of Maurice Rocher who specialized in Sacred art. In the ’80s, Francine was a student of Jean Bertholle from the Saint Roch Academy. The artist had personal exhibitions at Maison Mansart from 1989 to 1993 and at Étienne de Causans Gallery in 1997. In 1998 & 2009 she exhibited at La Petite Galerie. Francien Ledieu had three exhibitions at La Capitale Gallery in 2001, 2004, and 2007. She also showed her paintings at L’Oeil du Huit in 2011, 2013, 2016 & 2019. She participated in many group exhibitions as at Strasbourg Contemporary Art Fair in 2005. She exhibited also at Réalités Nouvelles...

Mathieu (Matei) ROSIANU (1897-1969) Surrealist composition, ca. 1935 Pencil on paper Studio stamp on verso 6,7 x 5,5 inch. Frame : 12 x 12 inch. Born in Bucharest in 1897 to an offi...

Rudolf SCHLICHTER (1890-1955) Seated man ; head studies India ink on paper Signed "R. Schlichter" at the bottom right 59 x 46 cm Missing at the top l...