by Christophe Provot
Valentine Schlegel (1925-2021), pair of polished gilt bronze andirons with wrought iron log holders and head supports, 1968, edition of three, 37 x 13 x 24 cm/14.6 x 5.1 x 9.4 in. Result: €86,360
The auction took place in the intimate world of the sculptor's studio-house on the Rue Bezout in Paris, which she had shared since 1976 with Yvonne Brunhammer (1927-2021). The sale of its contents, totaling €697,379, began with some 40 bas-reliefs and models, which garnered €230,146 in all. Schlegel, born in Sète, the daughter of a restorer and granddaughter of a cabinetmaker, had adopted plaster as her favorite material starting in 1959 with a series of custom-made "sculptures for living" ("sculptures à vivre"). With her assistants, she modeled a hundred-odd interiors using a trowel and reinforced plaster, including the one in her studio-house in the Alésia district in Paris. Her free-form works were the most sought-after, like the one in stripped redwood (see photo), made for her house in Sète, which smashed its high estimate of €500/700 when it soared up to €27,940. The everyday objects she made herself were also highly popular. Her free-form Maison lamp (h. 47 cm/18.5 in.) in plaster with a red-tinted patina on the inside and polychrome glass fragments, a unique piece dating from 1986, fetched €25,400: again, far above its estimate (€1,000/1,500). Click here to read more!
