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• Issue #248
• Article

Lot 75, Marcel LOUCHET, Sans titre [Bus d'excursions, variante], Paris, c. 1948-1950, estimate 70€.

This online specialized photography auction offers over 200 photographs of Paris as seen by the French photographers Marcel Louchet, the Séeberger brothers (both generations), Henriette Moulier and Claude Dityvon from 1909 to 1999.

As we walk across the historic streets of Paris, from the Eiffel Tower to the Place de l’Opéra we come across painters and fishermen on the banks of the river Seine, bustling streets and animation on every corner of the Place de la Concorde, wistful window-shoppers in the Place Vendôme, children playing in the Tuileries gardens, stamp sellers young and old in the Carré Marigny, fashion photography illustrating famous fashion designers’ new styles on Parisian streets, daytime street vendors near the Palais-Royal or Saint-Denis and the city metamorphosed at night, with balls in Montmartre and the Île Saint Louis, or blazingly lit cinema façades and department store fronts. Paris becomes an integral player in each scene and is as important a subject as the people and the situations photographed. With this central subject, each photographer’s unique gaze and photographic style is perfectly expressed.

Marcel Louchet creates photographic instances of his daily environment. As a “promeneur” photographer he plays with light and dark, changing outdoor atmospheres and varying angles, photographing the same setting several times in different conditions. The outcome is a refreshing walk across the city from dawn to dusk as if we were by his side. It is a treat to discover the work of this little-known photographer. (Lots 2, 29, 35, 44, 75, 84, 97 – Estimate: 70€ each).

The few photographs we are presenting in this sale made by Henriette Moulier showcase a sensitive photographer that develops a personal style. A painterly haziness transforms each scene: an artist in Bagatelle, a woman selling flowers or a young man sleeping on a street corner. Moulier uses the city to develop her particular photographic style, framing the realism of life on the streets of Paris to tenderly tell each subject’s story. (Lot 116 – Estimate 100€).

Lot 118, SÉEBERGER Frères (2e génération), Jacques Fath, Pour la revue "La Donna", Paris, c. 1950, estimate 250€.

The Séeberger brothers, Louis, Henri and Jules in the first generation use the city of Paris as a backdrop to document several historical events taking place during their lifetime, while Albert and Jean in the second generation change the course of fashion photography by breaking free from the studio. Through both generations’ photographs we share in the Séeberger’s personal experiences of life in Paris during the 20th century: from the frenzy of hot-air balloon contests, to the palpable joy during the liberation of Paris after the war, or to the energy from the boom in construction around the city, the luxurious and leisurely life of grand hotels, or to the nostalgic fashion of the 1950s set against the backdrop of major monuments. Each generation carefully frames each scene and dramatically contrasts light and dark to create sharp images that regardless of their subject matter retain all of their emotion, sensuality and elegance. (Lots 118 – Estimate 250€, 120 – Estimate 100€, 171 – Estimate 70€, 177 – Estimate 150€, 190 -- Estimate 200€, 198 – Estimate 70€)

We finish the auction with several photographs of Paris from 1966 to 1999 by Claude Dityvon. This visual poet-photographer masterfully composes his artworks to create surreal dream like scenes from common situations. With stark contrasts and a wide-angle Dityvon transforms the Place de la Bastille so that the statue seems to take flight into the sun-setting sky. He enhances the blurred and “bougé” effect to animate and render abstract a silent night scene on an unnamed dock of the river Seine. Dityvon continues to construct his personal visual language by dramatizing encounters in the less glamorous Parisian neighborhoods, rendering the scenes cinematic. (Lots 205, 209, 213 – Estimate 230€ each).

Through these four collections, we uncover another style of Humanist photography. These four photographers, Marcel Louchet, Henriette Moulier, the Séeberger Frères and Claude Dityvon, focus on portraying Paris with a graphic, picturesque visual vocabulary without focusing on a photojournalistic account of the post-war era in France. Rather than constructing politically and socially engaged scenes that recount both the hardships and the pleasures of daily life, we find a more snapshot-like narrative of life around this dynamic city. The artworks in this auction of Paris, its streets, its monuments and its daily life are more about the personal and original photographic styles of each photographer. With very attractive estimates starting at 70€, these works will complete any private or public collection.

The estimates are indicated without the buyer’s premium of 20%.

Photography auction online: Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Online bidding: http://www.artprecium.com.
Registration, bidding and auction tracking on http://www.artprecium.com.
Only firm offers will be accepted. Phone bidding is not available for this sale.

For the online catalog:
http://catalogue.gazette-drouot.com/pdf/61/96974/catalogue.pdf?id=96974&cp=61.

Public exhibitions:
17 rue de la Grange Batelière – 75009 Paris, France.
Monday, February 25th 2019, from 11 am until 6 pm.
Tuesday, February 26th 2019, from 11 am until noon.

Artprecium
17 rue de la Grange Batelière – 75009 PARIS
http://www.artprecium.com.
+33 7 88 09 91 86
photographie@millon.com.

Expert:
Christophe Gœury
Tel + 33 (0)6 16 02 64 91
chgoeury@gmail.com.

Contact and inquiries:
Natalia Raciborski
MILLON Photography Department
16 rue de la Grange Batelière - 75009 Paris
Tel + 33 (0)7 88 09 91 86
photographie@millon.com.