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• Issue #251
• Article

Lot 10, Étienne Carjat (1828-1906), Portrait of Charles Baudelaire, c. 1862. Albumen print in tondo, mounted on carton, signed in ink on the image, author’s dry stamp on the mounting. Vintage retouching in ink on the print. 25.1 x 18.5 cm (31,8 x 24,9 cm). Estimate: 6000/8000 €.

Christophe Goeury and the Millon Auction House have announced their upcoming prestige photography auction of 19th- and 20th-century vintage and later prints that will be held in Paris at the Hôtel Drouot, 9 Rue Drouot in the 9th arrondissement, Paris, on Tuesday, June 18th at 2 pm CET in Salle 15.

Highlights include a unique albumen print of the poet Charles Baudelaire taken by Étienne Carjat. Mounted on double-weight heavy paper with beveled edges for framing, this tondo (oval) print includes retouches in ink on the pupils of the eyes, making Baudelaire’s piercing gaze even more intense. Though the image is famous since its publication in the extensively distributed series, "Galerie Contemporaine" issued by Goupil from 1876 to 1884, this photograph is rare because of its provenance and the fact that it is an albumen print. This was Baudelaire’s personal copy, which he gave to his mother before his death. The print stayed with her until her passing, at which point it was inherited by Félicité Baudelaire, Baudelaire’s half-brother’s widow and Caroline Aupick’s stepson. It was then inherited by Théodore Baudelaire, Félicité’s brother. The print has stayed in his family ever since, alongside many of Baudelaire’s personal letters and documents (Lot 10 - 6 000/8 000 €).

An important collection of autochromes will be presented, of which several are large plates (24 x 18 cm). The themes vary from nudes in different poses and with various accessories, to women driving, to bouquets of brightly colored flowers and still life’s, to interiors and landscapes of France and the Orient (Lots 22-43, illustration Lot 25 - 1500/2000 €).

Lot 92, Philippe Lavallée, Study of a lightbulb, c. 1930. Vintage silver gelatin print, author’s wet stamp, reference numbers “10:205” and a wet stamp “Stalag 17 Gepruft” on the back. 28 x 22,2 cm (30 x 24,2 cm). Estimate: 800/1000 €.

A good ensemble of work by primitive photographers will include salt paper, cyanotype and early albumen prints by Fortuné Joseph Petiot-Groffier, Jean-Baptiste Frenet, Charles Nègre, Joseph Vigier, Louis-Émile Durandelle, Eugène Cuvelier, Marquis De Rostaing, Alfred Briquet, Giacomo Caneva, Sidney Richard Percy, etc. (Lot 6 - 3000/4000 €). There is also an important group of very dark albumen prints by Louis Jean Baptiste Igout, of male and female nudes and studies for painters. Plus several travel albums and a surprising "amateur" album of photographic studies by the painter François Forichon will be on offer.

The work of two relatively unknown photographers will also be represented in this auction. There will be 15 vintage silver gelatin exhibition-size prints by the first artist, an amateur photographer from Clermont-Ferrand, Jean Arriat. Very little is known of this photographer, but his works reveal a sensitive and meticulous artist, who is careful of lighting, framing and posing, as well as the quality of printing and paper used. Each vintage print includes labels from amateur photography competitions, leaving us wondering what else this photographer created. (Lot 63 - 400/600 €)

There is even less known of the second photographer, Philippe Lavallée. Over 50 works on paper, ranging from exhibition-size vintage silver gelatin prints on exhibition mountings to drawings and models, were uncovered in an attic in France. And what a discovery! The solarized (self?) portrait, graphic studies of objects, and ad campaigns of pharmaceutical objects or furniture, reveal the immense talent in this unknown photographer. The works have a surrealist edge and each banal object, from a light bulb to workers’ shoes, or from a typewriter to a ceiling window covered in spider webs, are completely transformed by careful lighting and a masterful technique in balancing blurs and sharpness. (Lot 92 - 800/ 1000 €)

Lot 142, Izis (Israëlis Bidermanas, dit) (1911-1980), Judo presentation in a carnival, Paris, c. 1955. Vintage silver gelatin print, print made by the author with handwritten justification, author’s wet stamp and handwritten annotations in ink "16 12A" on the back. 29.8 x 19.7 cm. Estimate: 600/800 €.

This selection is followed by a chapter on French Humanist photography, with over 20 works by Izis from his atelier and his personal collection, of the streets of Paris and Nice, the carnival and street performers, or lovers on the banks of the river Seine. (Lot 142 - 600/800 €) Followed by works by Robert Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, as well as works by Pierre Boucher, Jeanloup Sieff, René-Jacques, Emmanuel Sougez, Laure Albin-Guillot, Denise Bellon, Raymond Depardon, Henry Clarke, Sabine Weiss, Marc Riboud, and Zeng Nian, as well as many more.

The last important chapter of the auction will be a selection of portraits by Manuel Litran from his personal collection. Following the long tradition of portraiture in painting, Litran, with a fervent perfectionism, carefully structured each composition and searched for the most beautiful lighting, reflections, shadows and colors. His personal style is seen through his use of a large format camera, and each portrait reveals the personality of the sitter (Lot 202 - 400/600 €).

The catalog is available upon request, and online at the following link:
http://www.millon.com/html/index.jsp?id=99230&lng=&npp=150. The estimates are indicated without the buyer’s premium.

Public exhibition:
Monday, June 17th, 2019 11am – 6pm
Tuesday, June 18th, 2019 11am – 12pm
Hôtel Drouot, room 15
9 Rue Drouot, 75009 Paris, France

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

Contacts and Practical Information:
For all inquiries, to receive the catalog, for information about leaving absentee bids or receiving condition reports or to make an appointment please contact:
Natalia Raciborski, Head of the Photography Department,
Millon
16 rue de la Grange Batelière, 75009 Paris
Tel: + 33 (0)7 88 09 91 86
photographie@millon.com.