Do you see geometric shapes moving? Are you dizzy? Don’t worry; you simply look at a work by Vasarely, founder of the optical Art, major artist of the 20th century. Back to the secrets of this magician of abstraction and its place in the art market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victor Vasarely was born in Hungary in 1906. He arrived in Paris in 1931, already aware to abstraction and technical progress. His artistic research led him to become interested in the movement, with artists such as Alexander Calder, Julio Le Parc, Soto or Tinguely. These so-called kinetic artists seek to create the illusion of motion in a stationary work. The kinetic art then intersects many different practices, both motorized works as works altered by the intervention of the wind or water.

 

 

Vasarely develops in the 1950s a geometric abstract art based on visual ambiguity. In this optical art, or Op' art, the viewer is the engine of the work. The reliability of our vision is challenged through optical illusions. Vasarely uses uniform color units that will be repeated align to form geometric shapes that can be manipulated. It then emerges from the work a vibrating sensation, an illusion of relief or depth disorienting the viewer.

 

 

Vasarely died in 1997 and is successful in his lifetime. And for fifteen years, the psychedelic 1960s, playful and decorative, knows a renewed interest.

 

Defender of a democratic and accessible art, Vasarely favored multiple such as screen printing and lithography. There are now in abundance on the market at reasonable prices. Authentic print is trading between £200 and £800. Original works, such as drawings or paintings, less frequent, are negotiated between £2,000 and £8,000 for the former and up to £200,000 for the latter. Finally Vasarely experimented with various materials, collage, ceramics and tapestry works sought demanding collectors.

 

The art of Vasarely is a breakthrough and a fundamental art movement in the birth of contemporary art. The extent and variety of its production today can meet the wishful thinking of the artist; make it accessible to the greatest number.

 

Anaïs Couteau

 

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Chest, document holder, cabinet of curiosity, writing desk, the Bargueno was THE furniture all in one to own in Spain during the Renaissance. But no need to be conquistador or missionary to enjoy this highly decorative piece of furniture that now operates a noticed return.

 

 

 

 

 

Spain, 16th century. The empire was at its peak, the Muslims were defeated and Spain is sovereign in its territory. A piece of furniture will become characteristic of the Spanish Prosperity: Bargueño. It will emerge as the preferred piece of furniture of the nobility and the burgeoning bourgeoisie. Portable and secure it was used for storing in a beautiful green wood, archives, curiosity or liturgical object

 

 

From the outside, the Bargueño is an entire impregnable fortress. It comes in the form of a chest of solid wood fitted with handles and placed on independent feet or a table. The exterior decoration is typical: perforated iron plates on red velvet background adorn the locks and handles. Open the piece of furniture reveals a harmonious composition of small drawers, doors and secret compartments. The interior of a Bargueño is a masterpiece using materials like ivory, gold metal or carved wood...

 

 

The decoration of a Bargueño is sometimes influenced by Islamic art and the style Mudejar . The Bargueño is then decorated with geometric compositions made with small pieces of wood, ivory, mother of pearl or bone.

 

The Bargueño fell into obscurity in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is now once again become popular. Prices start around £1000 for a simple and late Bargueño. For £4 to £6,000, it is perfectly possible to acquire a more refined Bargueño which will have preserved its delicate decorations. More rarely, a complex Bargueño with its original decor can exceed £15 to £20,000.

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The Orient is undoubtedly one of the subjects attracted painters from the late eighteenth with artists such as Liotard. But it was with the conquest of Algeria that many artists painted North Africa until the mid twentieth century. Those are the Orientalist painters.

 

Popular with artists, Orientalism has been since its beginnings among collectors and Orientalist paintings are still highly successful in auctions. 

 

Alongside the big names such as Delacroix, Fromentin, Dinet, Majorelle or Washington for which market quotations exceed the tens of thousands, there are many lesser-known artists of great talent that can be afford between £1,000 and £10,000.

 

The sale of Philocale auctioneer on April 11 offered a wide range; let's look at three of them, Victor Huguet, Alexis Auguste Delahogue and Paul Leroy.

 

Victor Huguet (1835-1902)

 

Student of one of the great masters of the Orientalist Eugène Fromentin, he made a first visit to Egypt at the age of 17.

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It's small, sometimes funny, scary or touching, it is collected and there are thousands of different. No, this is not the latest trendy toy for your children, but the netsuke, a small 100 years old Japanese sculpture with charm, popular in the auction house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The traditional Japanese dress, the kimono has no pockets. To carry the common objects of everyday life, men used small bags or boxes attached to the belt by a cord. To block this string an object generalizes from the 17th century, the netsuke. The most popular form of this netsuke is a small sculpture carved on all sides, with two holes for passing the string.

 

 

The netsuke, of wood, ivory or porcelain, ceramic or shell, is going to become a preferred medium of the imaginary of Japanese artists. Deities, naturalistic or fantastic bestiary, expressive characters of everyday life or the theater, the topics are endless and will reflect the richness of Japanese culture.

 

In the 19th century, during the Meiji era, the kimono is abandoned in favor of a more European fashion. The netsuke loses its utilitarian function to become purely decorative. The Empire of the Rising Sun opens to the West. Paris is fascinated, and is enthusiastic about this exotic culture and particularly these mini-sculptures character. Some as the Goncourt brothers begin collections. The Japanese netsuke production will further turn to export.

 

 

The many netsukes exposed nowadays auction houses are inherited from this taste for Japanese culture that was born in the late 19th century. All are not equal and it is important to ensure the authenticity of the object. The quality of the sculpture, condition and the subject can vary the price from £100 to more than £6,000. In 2005, a netsuke representing Shoki the giant fighting against demons was sold for over £100,000!

 

Anaïs Couteau

 

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Saturday, April 11, Philocale auction house sold a collection of modern paintings and furniture and objets d'art with the collaboration of our specialists. The star of the day was undoubtedly the lot 147, an oil on canvas by Toshimitsu Imaï, sold for 81,000 Euros, hammer price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lot 147

 

Entitled "Soleil noir", our painting is signed and located in Paris. It was purchased by the seller to the Argos gallery in the 60s and measures 130 cm by 161 cm. Despite an accident and some uprisings, fans around the world were present whether by phone or internet for bidding. Estimated between 8,000 and 12,000 EUR, bid strated at 10,000 Euros with a tough battle up to 36 000. From there, two telephones came into competition with a final bid of 81,000 Euros, the world record for the Japanese artist Toshimitsu Imaï.

 

 

Toshimitsu Imaï

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On Saturday 11th April, Philocale auctioneer in Orleans (France) will auction Orientalist and Modern paintings, antiques furniture and works of art and design. Discover the four coups de cœur of our specialists.

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No man has known in modern history a similar glory than Napoleon 1st. Nearly 200 years after his death, the Emperor of the French still enjoys a passionate fan club. Any shirt or curl unleashed passions and drives up auction. Personal effects can snatch million at auctions. Back in an active market, international and very promising.

 

 

 

 

 

Driven by his art of war and conquering ambition, Napoleon Bonaparte became general at 24, master of the country at 30, emperor at 35 and almost master of the world at 40. Gifted with a certain art of staging, Napoleon gave his triumphs and failures epic dimension. The French politician best known abroad is now the record holder any market category of historical memories.

 

 

The man and the period fascinates: the market is its reflection. Cane, snuffbox, engagement ring or plate, the personal effects of the Emperor are today valuable relics that turn heads collectors. Last deed of arms, one of the legendary felt hats of the Emperor sold for € 1.5 million in November. This highly symbolic hat in the collective imagination has quintupled its estimate. The world record for a souvenir of the Emperor is held by the sword worn by Bonaparte First Consul at the Battle of Marengo sold in 2007 for € 4.8 million.

 

 

As an alternative to provide the 20 Bonaparte hats still in circulation, the history enthusiast can fall back on autographed documents of the Emperor. The letters signed by Napoleon are relatively numerous. They are accessible for approximately € 1,000 to € 1,500. Fully handwritten letters of Bonaparte are much rarer, the statesman used to dictate most of his writings. On the market they trade tens or even hundreds thousand Euros!

 

 

On the art market, Napoleon Bonaparte envelope his relatives of his aura as Aiglon his son or Josephine de Beauharnais his first wife and his troops whose equipment is also quite sought after and at more reasonable prices. Weapons, uniforms, medals or correspondence are particularly successful. The price varies depending on the grade of the military and rarity of the item. There are sometimes more unusual items like cannonballs from a battlefield, musical instruments or business card cases.

 

Napoleon and his memories have not stopped talking about them. This year marks the bicentennial of Waterloo and in 2021 the one of his death. This rich period will not fail to put a particular focus on Napoleon's reign of years and to attract the interest of collectors and even create new passions!

 

Anaïs Couteau

 

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