VENERDÌ 19 GIUGNO 2026 
Alongside these major works, the auction brings together a range of 20th-century artists. A view of Venice by Paul Aïzpiri (est. €8,000–10,000) will be offered alongside Jeune femme allongée by Antoniucci Volti, a sensuous bronze cast by Valsuani (est. €6,000–8,000). A section devoted to the “spirit of Montmartre” will also include works by I.G. Gazi, Lucien Genin and Gen Paul, evoking the artistic and popular life of Paris through lively squares, views of Sacré-Cœur and scenes of the Moulin Rouge.
The sale will further give special prominence to Georges Lepape (1887–1971) through an important group of drawings and watercolours spanning more than three decades. Best known for his collaborations with Paul Poiret, La Gazette du Bon Ton and Vogue, Lepape is represented here through a more intimate body of work. Executed between 1901 and 1936, these sketchbook sheets capture dancers, bathers, animals, motorcars and scenes observed in Montmartre, on French beaches and during visits to New York. Far removed from the polished illustrations that established his reputation, they reveal an acute sense of observation and a sustained interest in silhouette, movement and everyday life, offering a rare insight into one of the great draughtsmen of the 20th century.
Degas, Bonnard and the Great Names of Modern Art
B lanchet & Associés will devote its 19 June sale to Modern Paintings and Contemporary Art, bringing together a selection of Impressionist, modern and figurative works from several private collections.
The auction will be notably distinguished by a major sculpture by Edgar Degas and a charming painting by Pierre Bonnard, alongside works by Paul Aïzpiri, Antoniucci Volti, Gen Paul, and a substantial group of drawings and watercolours by Georges Lepape, one of the leading figures of 20th-century illustration and decorative arts.
Among the highlights is Danseuse, arabesque ouverte sur la jambe droite, bras droit à terre by Edgar Degas, a model conceived between 1882 and 1895 and cast in bronze by the Hébrard foundry between 1921 and 1931 (est. €200,000–300,000). For Degas, dance was a true laboratory of movement. Observed both in the Paris Opéra foyer and in rehearsal studios, ballerinas allowed him to study muscular tension, controlled imbalance and the architecture of the body in motion. In this arabesque, the figure appears suspended in a fleeting instant, where one gesture has just ended and another is about to begin. The body extends from a minimal point of support, creating a taut diagonal that gives the sculpture a powerful sense of imminent movement. The work belongs to the celebrated group of posthumous bronzes issued by Hébrard from 1919 onwards after the wax figures discovered in the artist’s studio. Bearing the mark HER D, this cast was listed as “unlocated” in the catalogue raisonné by Anne Pingeot and Joseph Czestochowski and has remained in the same family since 1952.
Among the highlights is Danseuse, arabesque ouverte sur la jambe droite, bras droit à terre by Edgar Degas, a model conceived between 1882 and 1895 and cast in bronze by the Hébrard foundry between 1921 and 1931 (est. €200,000–300,000). For Degas, dance was a true laboratory of movement. Observed both in the Paris Opéra foyer and in rehearsal studios, ballerinas allowed him to study muscular tension, controlled imbalance and the architecture of the body in motion. In this arabesque, the figure appears suspended in a fleeting instant, where one gesture has just ended and another is about to begin. The body extends from a minimal point of support, creating a taut diagonal that gives the sculpture a powerful sense of imminent movement. The work belongs to the celebrated group of posthumous bronzes issued by Hébrard from 1919 onwards after the wax figures discovered in the artist’s studio. Bearing the mark HER D, this cast was listed as “unlocated” in the catalogue raisonné by Anne Pingeot and Joseph Czestochowski and has remained in the same family since 1952.
The sale will also feature Pierre Bonnard’s Au café, an oil on paper laid down on panel executed around 1901 (est. €200,000–300,000). Having passed through several Parisian private collections, the work belongs to the period in which Bonnard developed an intimate visual world of everyday scenes bathed in subtle light and framed through compositions influenced by both photography and Japanese prints. In this café scene, the artist privileges atmosphere and colour sensation over narrative, foreshadowing the qualities that would make his contribution to modern painting so distinctive.
Alongside these major works, the auction brings together a range of 20th-century artists. A view of Venice by Paul Aïzpiri (est. €8,000–10,000) will be offered alongside Jeune femme allongée by Antoniucci Volti, a sensuous bronze cast by Valsuani (est. €6,000–8,000). A section devoted to the “spirit of Montmartre” will also include works by I.G. Gazi, Lucien Genin and Gen Paul, evoking the artistic and popular life of Paris through lively squares, views of Sacré-Cœur and scenes of the Moulin Rouge.
The sale will further give special prominence to Georges Lepape (1887–1971) through an important group of drawings and watercolours spanning more than three decades. Best known for his collaborations with Paul Poiret, La Gazette du Bon Ton and Vogue, Lepape is represented here through a more intimate body of work. Executed between 1901 and 1936, these sketchbook sheets capture dancers, bathers, animals, motorcars and scenes observed in Montmartre, on French beaches and during visits to New York. Far removed from the polished illustrations that established his reputation, they reveal an acute sense of observation and a sustained interest in silhouette, movement and everyday life, offering a rare insight into one of the great draughtsmen of the 20th century.
