Sothebys : Art & Power in the 19th Century

Communiqué de presse Paris

| 33 (0)1 53 05 53 66 | Sophie Dufresne | [e-mail]

| 33 (0)1 53 05 52 32 | Claire Jehl | [e-mail]

ART AND POWER IN THE 19TH CENTURY

Paris, 24 April 2019- Sotheby's is pleased to announce the sale of the collection of Schickler-Pourtalès on 16 May in Paris. In 1867, Baron Arthur de Schickler (1828-1919), a member of a powerful Berlin banking dynasty established in France, acquired the Château de Beaurepaire near Cherbourg in the former estate of Martinvast. This enlightened and enthusiastic collector richly decorated the property, purchasing tapestries, sculptures and works of art from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Schickler - Pourtalès Dynasty | Art and Power

The Schicklers were native to Switzerland, from the canton of Basel, crossing bloodlines with Alsatian ancestors from the Mulhouse region. In 1795, Johann Schickler married Ernestina Splitgerber, heiress of the Prussian bank of the same name founded in 1712. Upon Johann's death in 1801, his son, Jean Georges, inherited a fabulous fortune. As the Schickler family history was not yet being recorded, it is quite difficult to establish why Jean Georges chose to settle in France.

Agrément N° 2001 - 002 du 25 octobre 2001

Vente dirigée par Pierre Mothes

It was Jean Georges' eldest son, Arthur, banker of the Prussian family in Berlin, who bought Martinvast in 1867 and became Baron de Schickler in 1870. Arthur treasured the past and created this astounding decor in his chateau, which has been preserved by his descendants to this day. British architect William Henry White was entrusted with the work, having already restored the Château de Bizy for Fernand de Schickler, who turned it into a neo- Gothic extravaganza with Victorian accents.

Arthur de Schickler, an esteemed member of the Jockey Club and founder of the racing committee with Prince Murat and Baron Gustave de Rothschild, divided his time between Martinvast and his impressive Paris mansion at 17 Place Vendôme, now the Ritz Paris. His daughter, Marguerite, married in 1890 Count Hubert de Pourtalès, grandson of Count James de Pourtalès-Gorgier, chamberlain to the King of Prussia and owner of one of the finest collections of antiquities and paintings of his time.

Arthur de Schickler would assemble an important collection including tapestries, sculptures, works of art and portraits of members of the family. The collection, kept in the chateau by his great-grandson Christian de Pourtalès (1928 - 2018) in a nearly intact state, is steeped in the cachet of the premises and all the enigmatic character of a dynasty of collectors.

The rediscovery of two exceptional putti | Masterpieces of the German Renaissance

Two exceptional putti, German Renaissance masterpieces made by Hans Daucher circa 1525-1530, once adorned the balustrade of the chapel of the prestigious Fugger family, alongside a number of other putti, now in the Maximilianmuseum in Augsburg (estimate upon request).

The Fuggers were a prominent family of merchants and bankers established in Augsburg since the early 15th century, whence they dominated European finance throughout the Renaissance. In 1509, brothers Ulrich and Jacob Fugger decided to erect a sepulchral

chapel in memory of their brother George. It would be one of the first examples of German Renaissance architecture created in the Italian style. The rich decoration made by the best local craftsmen demonstrates the power and impact of the Fugger family.

The putti enjoyed pride of place in the iconography on the balustrade in the middle of the chapel, quite an innovation for that the time. Daucher was most likely inspired by the oeuvre of Albrecht Dürer, such as the nativity scene on the Paumgartner Altar, 1498-1504, in which the putti, centrally placed in the composition, show their behinds. The realistic representation of children leaning on a globe may also evoke Vanity or Memento Mori, indicating the ephemeral nature of life, notions that were widespread at the time.

In 1817, the city began a major modernisation project as part of the tercentennial of the Reformation and Luther's visit to Augsburg: the chapel was dismantled in 1818, the polychromatic marble balustrade and the sculptures were taken completely apart. This is surely when these two putti appeared on the market, enabling Baron Arthur de Schickler to purchase them.

A century later, Count Karl Ernst Fugger von Glött undertook to rebuild the chapel, restoring it to its original state, and began searching for the structure's lost works. He would never find the two sculptures that are now in our care and in exceptional condition. These putti remained in the same family for four generations at the château de Martinvast, and are with no doubt from the original series. They both are the last masterpieces of this series, perfectly documented from the German Renaissance.

The Life of Saint Lambert, altarpiece, Brabant, 16th century

This important work representing the life of Saint Lambert (Estimate: €100,000-€150,000 - detail opposite) served as the central part of a painted two-panel triptych that is typical of the Brabant production at the turn of the 16th century. The narrative division of the Martinvast altarpiece, in several cloistered spaces reminiscent of chapel architecture, is characteristic of this production. The iconography, however, is rarer.

While most Brabant altarpieces depict scenes from the Childhood of Christ, the Passion of Christ or the Life of the Virgin, the Martinvast altarpiece features Saint Lambert, Bishop of Liège-Maastricht and ardent defender of married fidelity. It is therefore plausible that it is the result of a

special commission for one of the churches of this powerful bishopric, probably the destroyed Liège cathedral, which honoured both the Virgin and Saint Lambert as patron saints.

After Hubert de Pourtalès acquired the work in the mid-19th century, it was displayed in the Château de Martinvast gallery. On 14 January 1944, during the British and American bombardments of the Cotentin Peninsula, the altarpiece was miraculously saved from the fire that partially destroyed the chateau.

A remarkable collection of 16th-century Flemish tapestries

Baron de Schickler bought several works from the early 16th century, considered the golden age of Flemish tapestry, to decorate Château de Martinvast.

Among them, one represents Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (Estimate: €120,000-€180,000), which is most likely from a drawing by Bernard van Orley (1491-1541), the celebrated Brussels painter and tapestry-maker. A second

and equally notable work depicts a falcon hunt (Estimate: €120,000-€180,000). This richly decorated tapestry, crafted circa 1520 in the Netherlands, is similar to other prestigious,

though older, examples with a hunting theme.

A16th-century Tournai tapestry explores another subject, depicting King Charles VIII on horseback (Estimate: €60,000- €80,000) against a millefleurs background. Arthur de Schickler lent this work on several occasions, such as the 1878 Paris

World's Fair (Exposition Universelle).

Last is a magical millefleurs tapestry woven in Bruges or Tournai in the late 15th and early 16th century and featuring a unicorn, a dromedary and

various birds (Estimate: €60,000-€90,000).

Portraits of a dynasty

Several lifelike portraits represent family members that were notable figures in their day. Mélanie de Bussière, Countess Edmond de Pourtalès (Estimate: €120,000-€180,000) was painted by Franz-XaverWinterhalter in 1857, the year of her wedding to Edmond de Pourtalès and the birth of her first child. Winterhalter applied his virtuosity with a brush to the utmost in this magnificent canvas capturing the beauty of the graceful countess, who was barely 17 years old at the time and. The work was likely commissioned to celebrate one of those two key events.

Mélanie, Countess of Pourtalès, was undoubtedly one of the most noteworthy and leading figures of the Parisian society life of the Second Empire. The quality of her salon made her a major Second-Empire personality, to the point that Proust himself referenced it in his work In Search of Lost Time (formerly Remembrance of Things Past) through the voice of the Duchess of Guermantes. Mélanie de Pourtalès' fame derived not only from being a society figure and hostess - she was generous and gentle, with great elegance and a refined a sense of humour, all with a face and figure of legendary beauty.

This work, Portrait of the Countess Melanie de Pourtalès, remained in the family of the model's descendants since the painting was first executed. It is an admirable testament to the young subject's beauty, Paris's rich intellectual and society life under the Second Empire and Winterhalter's talent, at its peak at the time of this painting.

The Presumed Portrait of Madame Paul Renouard de Bussière née Clémentine de Boubers (Estimate: €30,000-€40,000)represents the sister-in-lawof Mélanie de Pourtalès, the wife of her brother, Louis Paul Renouard de Bussière (1827-1910),and was painted by Hermann Winterhalter, who was also a portraitist,

but did not attain the same renown as his brother, Franz-Xaver.

Jean-GeorgesSchickler, founder of the French branch of the Schickler dynasty, is also the subject of a Portrait painted by Horace Vernet (Estimate: €80,000-€120,000), shown in the uniform of a squadron leader of the Canton of Basel. The very sombre ambiance created by the uniformly dark background framing the gleaming chestnut horse draws the eye to the rider, conferring both an air of mystery and, paradoxically, an unexpected gentleness. Horace Vernet associated with Baron de

Schickler's circle of friends, with whom he shared a love of hunting and horses.

This family passion is illustrated in the work of animal painter René Princeteau, L'Arrivée du Prix du Jockey-Cluble 29 mai 1892 (Estimate: €40,000-€60,000). Arthur de Schickler invested considerable sums in assembling a stable able to compete with the most illustrious mounts of the day. He achieved that objective by building a stud farm at Martinvast in 1867, at which he raised thoroughbreds that won many prestigious races. This painting depicts the arrival of the famous horserace that has been held since 1836 on the Chantilly Racecourse. Chêne Royal, a colt from