“Work on Paper” Drawings During the Salon du Dessin

Following the success of our March 2017 inaugural Works on Paper sale during which a striking brush and ink drawing by Henri Matisse was sold for 1M€, Sotheby’s Paris is proud to present a second sale devoted to drawings during the Salon du Dessin, on March 22.

Our “Oeuvres sur papier” sale spans a wide range of periods and art movements and will appeal to a large spectrum of international collectors. One section features works by the enigmatic Aloys Zoïtl, sketchbook drawings and watercolours from Delacroix’s Moroccan journal, and a fascinating ensemble of over 30 rediscovered sketches by Rodin. Major pastels by Degas from prestigious private collections are included, Femme au peignoir rouge se coiffant, purchased by the ancestors of the present owner at the Degas Studio sale in 1918 and Le Jockey from the collection of Philippe Bemberg, as well as highly important gouaches by Marc Chagall, Le Bouquet aux amoureux dans la fenêtre and La Chèvre Jaune.

The sale continues with a characteristically mysterious gouache by Magritte Le Civilisateur featuring the artist’s favourite pet and about which he declared: “The nature from which originate the loveliest inspirations of man is represented here in the forms of a forest in the shape of a castle and of a dog”. James Ensor, another celebrated Belgian artist, is present with three rare and significant drawings.  One also finds a work by Picasso, superb in its black and white simplicity, Trois mains au gobelet which dates from the summer of 1921 during which the artist extensively studied the theme of women at a fountain.

The range of works offered in this sale reaches thus from the great 19th century classics to the modern masters and offers a wide range of estimates sure to delight seasoned as well as new collectors.