24 - Christian Bérard (1902-1949) | French

Christian Bérard (1902-1949) | French Two Caricature Sketches, c. 1930's Ink on Paper Signed: One sheet inscribed ‘Bérard – caricature d’ami’ in pencil; the other unsigned. Dimensions: Framed, glazed: 15.5 × 15.5 cm (6.1 × 6.1 in) and 20 × 20 cm (7.9 × 7.9 in) (each sketch in its own navy frame, under glass) Artwork: Two sketches, framed 15.5 × 15.5 cm (6.1 × 6.1 in) and 20 × 20 cm (7.9 × 7.9 in) Provenance: Private Collection, Alicante, Spain. Condition: Pencil and ink, and brown ink, on two small sheets of paper with torn edges, mounted and framed under glass in two blue wooden frames; the sheets lightly toned, one with a small spot at the corner; not examined out of the frames. Please contact us to request a detailed Condition Report. Conditions of Sale: All lots are sold as is, in the condition described. The condition summary is given as a courtesy; a full condition report is available on request before the sale. Attributions are governed by our Terms and Conditions. All enquiries must be made before bidding; no further information can be provided after the sale. By placing a bid you confirm that you have read and accept our Terms and Conditions in full, as set out in the terms of this sale. Shipping: Aurora & Athena coordinates professional, insured shipping for every purchase through vetted logistics partners: packing, transport, insurance and the export paperwork are arranged on the buyer's behalf and charged at the provider's cost. Buyers are equally welcome to collect in Barcelona or to appoint a carrier of their own. Lots are released once the total purchase price has been received. For shipments outside the EU an export licence may be required and Spanish export duties may apply to certain higher-value works; these are the buyer's responsibility. No export tax applies within the EU. Full shipping and export information is available on request. -- Two scraps of paper of the kind Christian Bérard covered wherever he sat, on tablecloths, menus and the backs of letters: on the first, in pencil and ink, two faces in profile, a hanging lamp and a window frame, inscribed by a contemporary hand ‘Bérard, caricature d’ami’; on the second, in brown ink, the profile of a bald man with a long nose and a thin smile, a single unbroken line from forehead to collar. Each is set in a grey mount within a blue frame. Bérard (1902–1949), ‘Bébé’ to the Paris of Cocteau, Jouvet and Dior, was the most gifted draughtsman of his circle, and his caricatures of friends, dashed off at dinner and carried away by waiters and guests, are a genre of their own; these two small sheets, bought together in Spain, are examples of that private, affectionate wit.