Sotheby’s Paris will announce, on October 18, the auction of two Impressionist masterpieces: Les Cariatides by Renoir and Les Péniches by Alfred Sisley.
Two paintings by renowned Impressionist masters, Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley, will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in Paris on October 18, the auction house announced on Monday. These works were returned last May to the heirs of Grégoire Schusterman, a gallery owner based in Paris, who was stripped of his possessions during WWII.
Impressionist Movement
The first painting, Les Cariatides by Renoir, painted in 1909, depicts two nude women in an Art Deco style. Acquired by Schusterman at auction in 1939, it is valued between 1 and 1.5 million euros. Sotheby’s, which is organizing the sale at its new location at 83 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, formerly the Bernheim-Jeune gallery, highlights the historical significance of this piece.
Indeed, the Bernheim-Jeune gallery played a crucial role in promoting modern art in the early 20th century by supporting avant-garde artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, Henri Matisse and Renoir. The gallery became a key venue for both the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements.
The second painting, Les Péniches, painted in 1870 by Alfred Sisley, depicts a Norman port where barges are moored. Valued between 800,000 and 1.2 million euros, this work emphasizes the influence of the emerging Impressionist movement through its vibrant color palette and fluid brushstrokes, capturing the light and reflections on the water. It is worth noting that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the Impressionist movement.
MNR Works
Both paintings will be exhibited to the public at Sotheby’s from October 12, ahead of the auction. After World War II, Les Cariatides was recovered by the Allies at Thalhausen Castle in Bavaria, while Les Péniches was found in the Rhineland. Repatriated to France, they were among the 15,000 artworks returned from Germany in 1950 but not restored to their owners, thus acquiring the status of MNR (Musées Nationaux Récupération) works.
Officially returned to the heirs during a ceremony at the Ministry of Culture on May 16, these two works had been housed at the Dieppe Museum and the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer since the end of the war.
With AFP
