Augustin Pajou (1730-1809)

Egypt was a source of inspiration for painter Augustin Lesage, even more so after his 1939 journey to the land of the pharaohs.

Here Antoine Pajou (1730-1809) produced what might be a sketch for a fountain, never finally executed.

Having been heralded by an impressive attribution, this large canvas depicting one of the most famous Doctors of the Church has triggered an unexpected bidding battle.

The small-scale but dense exhibition devoted to "magic realist" Augustin Rouart, after a donation of 12 of his works to the museum, reveals a pure, clear style with a timeless quality.

Estimates for the lots in this collection, assembled over time, range from about €100 to €2,000/3,000, with one exception: a salt cellar by Marc-Augustin Lebrun (1782–1859).

This previously unidentified canvas is the only known painted sketch of Charles Meynier's masterpiece Télémaque, pressé par Mentor, quitte l’île de Calypso (Telemachus, Urged on by Mentor, Leaves Calypso's Island), which earned him an auction record.

More than 20 works will be exhibited in the city during the fair; by artists like Nina Beier, Niki de Saint Phalle, Odile Decq, Judith Hopf, Franz West, Raúl de Nieves (Tuileries), Alicja Kwade (Place Vendôme), Thaddeus Mosley (Delacroix museum) and Omer Fast (Petits-Augustins chapel of the Beaux-Arts de Paris).

After the discoveries of Renaud and Armide, attributed to Tintoretto, in 1997 and a plaster cast of a captive Gaul by Augustin Fumadelles in 2020, an important set of fireplace inserts, including the one from the former hospice of Saint-Jacques, were recently found in the reserves by the intern Lucas Cappuccini.

Collectors clamored for the Dutch painter's Untitled, Paris, rue des Grands-Augustins and Untitled (The Portrait of Andrée) which fetched  €741,000 and €130,000 respectively under the hammer of Christophe Joron Derem. Both paintings were previously exhibited at the Centre Pompidou.

The current director of the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse has been appointed to the Pinacoteca nazionale in Siena, which he will join in March. This specialist of French painting had led an active exhibition and acquisition policy there. His appointment follows that of the Sylvain Bellenger at the Capodimonte museum.