Alphonse Osbert (1857-1939)

A pastel by Osbert pays homage to woman, seen here from behind, while Matisse lingered on a face in charcoal.

On May 24th the French National Library acquired, for €7,680, the chromolithography in double sheets of one of the posters designed by the bard of the Art Nouveau for the theater. It depicts Sarah Bernhardt playing Lorenzo de' Medici for the adaptation of the play by Alfred de Musset in 1896.

Impressive for its decoration in the purest Art Nouveau vein, this vermeil teapot is the work of Alphonse Debain.

Photography collectors and institutions turned up in force for the collection assembled by François Lepage. A rosy picture!

The subject of a lengthy legal battle, Mucha’s Slav Epic is at last set to be displayed in a manner fitting the terms of its 1928 donation to the city of Prague. The paintings will be moved to the upcoming Savarin development, designed by British architect Thomas Heatherwick, set to open in 2026. (The Art Newspaper)

The court’s ruling transfers ownership of the Mucha's 'Slav Epic' cycle back to his estate. The lawsuit argued the city had violated an agreement promising to gift the works on the condition that the city build a pavilion to house them: decades after the 1928 donation, no such building has been constructed. (ARTNews)

The new venue, 110 rue de Lyon, a subsidiary of the RMN-Grand Palais dedicated to digital exhibitions, announced its program for 2023. On the menu, the bard of Art Nouveau - French artist Alphonse Mucha (March 22-Aug 20), followed, in the Fall, by a return to the history of street art, from the street to the screens.

Part of the eminent connoisseur’s collection will be dispersed by unusual methods. Wine-lovers are in for a treat.

Friday, the Museum of Decorative Arts preempted for €38,400, from Ader auction house, a teapot in molten vermeil featuring by a cheerful snail, a technical feat of the goldsmith Alphonse Debain (1883-1911) made for the World Fair of 1900. A fine acquisition as the museum prepares to reopen its Art Nouveau rooms.

Le Corbusier's name has become a staple in Parisian drawing auctions. Two such drawings are offered in this sale, one dating to 1925, the other to 1939.