Null A GROUP OF FRAMED ENGRAVINGS AND PRINTS TO INCLUDE SOME AFTER GEORGE CRUIKS…

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A GROUP OF FRAMED ENGRAVINGS AND PRINTS TO INCLUDE SOME AFTER GEORGE CRUIKSHANK (22), Framed and glazed. Largest frame 45cm x 35cm

186

A GROUP OF FRAMED ENGRAVINGS AND PRINTS TO INCLUDE SOME AFTER GEORGE CRUIKSHANK (22), Framed and glazed. Largest frame 45cm x 35cm

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Estim. 2 000 - 3 000 GBP

BALDUS, Édouard The Louvre. 1149 orig. photos pasted on 462 plates, 1 engraving and 2 plans. Collected in 9 slipcases. The photographs are salted paper prints from negatives on paper (for small formats: details of sculptures) or collodion glass (for large formats: pavilions of the Nouveau Louvre), between 1855 and 1857.The construction of the new Louvre was the subject of a formidable photographic operation commissioned by the Minister of State, Achille Fould, and Lefuel. In May 1854, on the oral instructions of the Minister, Lefuel asked Baldus (1813-1882), photographer of the history of the Louvre, to preserve an image of the extraordinary construction site of the new Louvre, thanks to the new medium of photography. Lefuel's aim was to build up a photographic archive of the key moments in the construction of the new Louvre. Baldus photographed every stage in the construction of the new Louvre. This is the series of "vues du dimanche" or "épreuves du dimanche". Every Sunday, Baldus photographed the various pavilions and wings of the Louvre under construction from several vantage points, from the demolition of the old structures to the raising of the storeys and the installation of statues on the facades. Today, thanks to these photographs, we can follow the construction of the new buildings step by step. For the various stages of the Louvre's construction, Baldus produced high-quality photos with meticulous framing, and shots that give the impression of space, volume and monumentality. Qualities that few photographers of the time were able to achieve. Baldus avoided the picturesque, and his plates are considered by specialists to be the pinnacle of the art. In 1855, Baldus received a new commission. It was to photograph all the statues and decorations on the façades of the Louvre. This work is a unique source of information on the statues executed during this period of sculptural splendor. All the statues were photographed, not only those we see today, but also those that were proposed to Lefuel and rejected, those that were abandoned, those that were destroyed or moved. All the statues were photographed between 1855 and 1868, with the exception of two statues by Préault, War and Peace (no doubt due to the author's speed of execution). The photographs of the statues and decorations were taken by Baldus, refusing any artistic effects and focusing on the most rigorous restitution of the statuary (all photos are taken rigorously facing the work, without any distortion due to perspective). The statues are photographed at the plaster model stage, when they are made available by the sculptors on Swan Island. Each photograph is accompanied by a commentary indicating the author, the name of the work or, failing that, the type of work (pediment, crowning group, etc.), the place of installation and the year of execution. These photographs and indications constitute an invaluable collection for researchers and historians. This exceptional collection represents several thousand photos, around five thousand in all. These photos were widely used as a reference for the restoration of the Illustrious Men and Geniuses with Attributes, between 1990 and 1993. These photos are also essential for keeping track of all the artists who contributed to the Louvre's decoration, especially those who are among the least well known. By the time he received the commission for the Louvre, Baldus was already well known as an architectural photographer. He had been chosen by the Monuments Historiques commission to photograph France's historic monuments as part of the heliographic mission launched in 1851 (along with three other photographers, Henri Le Secq, Gustave Le Gray and O. Mestral). In 1855, he was commissioned to photograph the landscapes crossed by the railway line from Paris to Boulogne. He produced a similar report in 1859, for the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée line. In 1856, he was also commissioned by the Minister of the Interior to immortalize the landscapes of the Rhône after the 1856 floods. After 1868, and until his death (in 1889), Baldus was content to exploit his photographic holdings, publishing his pictures in the form of albums and taking part in international events (Paris, Brussels, London...).

Estim. 1 400 - 1 600 GBP

JAUME PLENSA (Barcelona, 1955). "Le visage volé", 2021 Etching, copy 24/50. Signed and justified by hand. Measurements: 21 x 15 cm (print); 41 x 32 cm (frame). Jaume Plensa studied at the School of La Llotja and the Superior of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, both in Barcelona. He excelled in sculpture, drawing and engraving. His work focuses on the relationship between man and his environment, often questioning the role of art in society and the position of the artist. He currently lives in Paris, and has recently been awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Plensa began his career working with wrought iron mixed with polyester. Between 1983 and 1984 he began to mold iron with the casting technique, and developed a sculptural concept based on zoomorphic elements. His work evolved gradually, and he is now considered a precursor of Spanish neo-expressionism. In the nineties he introduced modifications in his work, both materially and formally, and began to use different materials such as scrap metal, polyester and resins. During these years he elaborated series of walls, doors and architectural constructions, seeking to give space an absolute protagonism. Between 1999 and 2003 Plensa became one of the pillars of world scenography, reinterpreting with "La Fura dels Baus" four classical operas by Falla, Debussy, Berlioz and Mozart, and alone a contemporary theatrical production, "La pareti della solitudine", by Ben Jelloun. He has had solo and group exhibitions all over the world, including a retrospective at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in 2000. In June 2008 he inaugurated in London, at the BBC headquarters, his work "Breathing", a monument dedicated to journalists killed in the exercise of their profession. Throughout his career he has received numerous distinctions, such as the Medal of the Knights of Arts and Letters in 1993, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture or the National Prize for Plastic Arts in 1997, from the Generalitat of Catalonia. Considered one of the leading representatives of the new Spanish art of expressionist tendency, his work is present in the best national and international galleries and art fairs, as well as in the main museums of Europe and the United States, such as the MOMA in New York, the Kemper in Kansas, the Museo Patio Herreriano in Valladolid, the Palazzo Forti in Verona, the MACBA or the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid.

Estim. 10 000 - 12 000 GBP

MANOLO VALDÉS (Valencia, 1942). "Eva III", 1993. Etching and collage on paper. Copy 4/51. Signed and justified in pencil at the bottom. Measurements: 165 x 65,5 cm., 183 x 84 cm. (frame). In this engraving intervened by the artist, the figure of Eva is shown, inspired by the painting of the same title, made in 1507 by Durero, which belongs to the Collection of the Prado Museum. Valdés rescues this figure from the Old Testament, bringing her body to contemporaneity, reducing it to an aesthetic language of synthetic and schematic forms, which preserve the devotional and iconographic expression of the religious figure, who maintains her nimbus of sanctity and her modest posture. Valdés dispenses with the iconic apple and instead introduces the image of a flower, which he places over the sex of the protagonist. This reference also alludes to the work of Dürer, who made numerous drawings inspired by flora and fauna, but the image of the flower also adds a conceptual and metaphorical reading to the piece, which in a veiled way conveys the idea of birth. Manolo Valdés introduced in Spain a form of artistic expression that combines political and social commitment with humor and irony. He began his training in 1957, when he entered the San Carlos School of Fine Arts in Valencia. However, two years later he abandoned his studies to devote himself fully to painting. In 1964 he founded the artistic group Equipo Crónica, together with Juan Antonio Toledo and Rafael Solbes, in which he remained until the latter's death in 1981, despite the fact that Toledo had left the group two years after its foundation. Since then he has settled in New York, where he currently resides and where he has continued to experiment with new forms of expression, including sculpture. Among the numerous awards Manolo Valdés has received are the Lissone and Biella of Milan (1965), the silver medal of the II International Biennial of Engravings of Tokyo (1979), the prize of the Bridgestone Art Museum in Lisbon (1979), the National Prize of Plastic Arts (1983), the medal of the International Festival of Plastic Artists of Baghdad (1986), the Decoration of the Order of Andres Bello in Venezuela (1993), the award of the National Council of Monaco (1997), the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts (1998), the Award of the Spanish Association of Art Critics (2000) and the Best Print Artist Award (2002), among others. With Equipo Crónica, Valdés used figuration as a vehicle of expression for his approaches, for his criticisms of art, society and politics, but prioritizing above any other content the pure act of painting. From the thematic point of view, Valdés is inspired by the art of the great masters of painting: Goya, Velázquez, El Greco, Ribera or Zurbarán, and he never hides his models, but rather emphasizes them, even in the titles of his works. Formally, he creates a large format work in which lights and colors express tactile values, due to the treatment given to the materials. His work forces the viewer to delve into memory and search for significant images from the history of art. Valdés is represented in some of the most outstanding museums around the world, such as the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Metropolitan, the MoMA and the Guggenheim in New York, the Georges Pompidou Center and the Fons National d'Arts Plastiques in Paris, the Kusnthalle in Hamburg, the Kunstmuseum in Berlin and the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao, among many others.

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