Sculpture

A Mannerist bronze after Giambologna and a rediscovered oil sketch by Peter Paul Rubens posted seven-figure sums during the series of sales coinciding with the Salon du Dessin fair in Paris.

Single buyer secures two key works by one of the main sculptors of the Enlightenment.

Head and shoulders above anything else in Millon’s (25% buyer’s premium) animalier bronze sale, Bestiare, held on March 8 at Drouot in Paris, was a dramatic study of a lion eating by one of the most sought-after names in the genre and the star of the so-called Antwerp school of sculpture.

Mayfair exhibition reveals the sculptor and painter’s huge impact on artists.

Two rediscovered marble busts by the French 18th century sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) are to be offered in Cottone Auctions’ next sale in Geneseo on March 23.

Following the fall of Louis-Philippe in the 1848 revolution, the French royal sculptor Henri Joseph Francois, Baron de Triqueti (1804-74) was obliged to cast his net further afield for new patrons.

Animalier bronzes will be on offer at Drouot in the coming weeks.

A collection of 18 bronzes of thoroughbred racing horses by major French animalier sculptors is to be offered at Drouot on February 22 by Beaussant-Lefėvre. They include examples by Isadore Bonheur, Pierre-Jules Mène and Emmanuel Fremiet.

Among the numerous dealers at BRAFA showing early works of art is Brussels’ Gallery Desmet, which specialises in sculpture and objects ranging from Antiquity to the Grand Tour.

Another returning BRAFA exhibitor is the Paris dealer Xavier Eckhout, who specialises in animalier sculpture from 1880- 1950.

This limited-edition bronze, below, by Italian artist Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) made £24,000 at West Sussex saleroom Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium).

The Winter Art & Antiques Fair Olympia is to return next year in its new format after dealers made significant early sales and said they were “very happy” with its latest staging,.