By Nicolas claich
Published on 23 Jan 21 at 10:17
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The auction house record of Caen (Calvados) will be beaten on Saturday January 23, 2021, on the occasion of the sale of an oil on canvas by Pierre Soulages soberly titled “Painting 81 X 60 cm, December 3, 1956”. “The price is the most important of our career”, announces Me Solène Lainé, one of the company’s two auctioneers Caen Auctions with his partner Me Jean Rivola. The starting estimate – between 800,000 and 1 M € – does not even take into account the particular trajectory of this painting (see box). Before the three fateful hammer blows, the items on sale often tell amazing stories. Solène Lainé is amazed:
This is what makes the beauty of this job. We do around ten inventories per week and each time we can find incredible pieces!
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“This canvas is the friendship between Soulages and Senghor”
“Painting 81X60 cm, December 3, 1956”. The title could not be simpler, but the canvas offered for sale this Saturday, January 23, 2021 conceals a much more complex story. “It marks the beginning of the friendship between Soulages and Léopold Sedar Senghor”, insists Me Solène Lainé. The former Senegalese president, who moved to Verson with his wife Colette in the early 1980s, had chosen and acquired this painting during a visit to the studio of the artist famous for his work on the black color. Senghor was one of the great admirers of Soulages, whom he had met at the end of the 1950s. His works reminded him of Negro-African paintings and sculptures. Léopold Sedar Senghor even devoted a retrospective to Soulages in 1974 at the Dakar Museum of Contemporary Art. “Pierre Soulages is a pure painter, that is to say a poet”, he then said in his speech.
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We take a look back at some of Caen’s most emblematic auctions, in a wide variety of fields.
The Schwimmwagen of the Second World War. In a region marked by the D-Day landings, Caen Enchères logically specialized in “Militaria”, sales of military objects. In 2018, a German amphibious vehicle, baptized Schwimmwagen (the car that swims) was sold to a collector, for 148,000 euros. “Beyond its provenance, it was the ingenuity of this vehicle that was striking”. Sale price: 148,000 euros.
Ready Cash’s daughter. Horse racing is another local specialty. The Caen racecourse regularly hosts sales of yearling trotters. Jalisca Ellis, daughter of Ready Cash, was sold for 48,000 euros. “It’s a clientele, and therefore an atmosphere, different from our usual sales. It’s very pleasant, ”underlines Solène Lainé. Sale price: 48,000 euros.
The Book of Hours of the XVe century. Twice a year, Me Rivola offers sales of old books. In 2019, a collection was sold for 50,000 euros. It included in particular a “book of hours” of the XVe century. Me Lainé explains:
It is a prayer book, in vellum skin, adorned with magnificent illuminations. We found this collection in a small pavilion in Hérouville Saint-Clair. The owner collected old books and archaeological pieces. She wanted to sell part of it to finance her health establishment …
Sale price: 50,000 euros.
–The armchair of the Duke of Orleans. Art furniture is another specialty of Caen Enchères. In 2017, a Louis XVI period armchair that belonged to the Duke of Orléans was sold for 11,500 euros. “At the end of the 18th century, we appreciated the turqueries and chinoiseries, details the auctioneer. It was called a Turkish armchair ”. Sale price: 11,500 euros.
The oak panel of the XVe century. Also in 2017, an oak panel from the XVe century painted by illuminator Simon Marmion sold for 11,000 euros. “It was a fragment of a devotional painting, representing King Solomon,” says Solène Lainé. The painter being from Picardy, the work was pre-empted by the State, on behalf of the Amiens museum. “To the chagrin of the successful bidder,” blows Me Oldest boy. The representative of the museum signals himself when the auctioneer lowers his hammer for the third time! Sale price: 11,000 euros.
Camille Claudel’s bronze. Every Monday afternoon, the Caen auction house opens its doors to the public, for free estimates. Solène Lainé says:
One day, a couple came to have three bronzes of no great value estimated. They had a fourth in the car, which they dared not show us, because an antique dealer had already reported to them as fake. After checking with an expert, this bronze turned out to be a real one … Camille Claudel. An extremely rare piece.
“Perseus and the Gorgon” presents a typical patina of a founder who produced very few proofs for the famous sculptor. Sale price: 273,000 euros.
–The pigeon lamp and the “new realistic” resin breast. In 2019, Caen auctioneers were contacted by Domaines, the state body that intervenes when an estate is vacant. Direction Deauville, to carry out the inventory of a small apartment of 50 m2 . “It was about the accommodation of the second husband of Jeannine Restany, a famous Parisian gallery owner who, with her first husband Pierre, exhibited extensively the artists of the” new realists “movement in the 1960s: César, Yves Klein…” In the mess of the Deauville apartment, Solène Lainé discovers “an incredible collection: you had to pay attention to each object”. Among these, an astonishing “pigeon lamp” by François-Xavier Lalanne, placed on a pedestal table. It will be sold for 28,000 euros. A little further, Solène Lainé comes across … a resin breast. “A work by Alina Szapoczinow, an extremely sought-after artist from this movement”. Selling price: 28,000 and 24,200 euros.
–The 3.9 carat diamond ring. Recently, the auction house on avenue de Trouville has hosted jewelry sales, at the rate of three events per year. In 2018, a collection of gold coins and ingots was sold for a total of 850,000 euros. “In September 2020, we sold a ring adorned with a diamond of 3.90 carats, sold for 20,000 euros”. Sale price: 20,000 euros.
The 1985 Musigny bottle. In its desire for diversification, Caen Enchères now offers wine sales. In 2019, a bottle of Musigny 1985, a grand cru from Burgundy, sold for € 7,600. Here again, its story is amazing:
A Calvados collector kept a thousand bottles in his cellar. It was hidden under his living room, and it was accessed by a hatch that opened with a latch located in a cupboard!
A real Ali Baba’s cave for lovers of fine wines. “He thought he wouldn’t have time to drink it all, so he decided to sell part of his collection.” Sale price: 7,600 euros.
Convenient. Saturday 23 January 2021, from 2 p.m. Caen auction house (13, rue de Trouville. Information: 02.31.86.08.13. Sale also on the Internet platforms Interenchères and Drouot Digital.
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