a black and white photo of a handwritten letter on a piece of paper
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142 - Marc Saint-Saëns (1903–1973) Signed autograph page Ink on pa…
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Estimate €150 - €200
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Description
Marc Saint-Saëns (1903–1973) Signed autograph page Ink on paper, signed H. 32.5 cm W. 25 cm Marc Saint-Saëns, a renowned painter and fresco artist, is above all one of the three leading figures in the revival of French tapestry in the 20th century, alongside Jean Lurçat and Jean Picart Le Doux (Aubusson School). Here (circa 1950), he tackles a romantic and ‘idealistic’ vision of art. For him, the idea that the artist would await a ‘ray from on high’ is an illusion (‘a prop shop’). He refuses to view the artist as a passive being touched by divine grace. He quotes the famous Baroque sculptor Pierre Puget (1622–1694) and his famous saying: ‘The marble trembles before me’. Saint-Saëns explains that this self-assurance did not stem from spiritual arrogance (thinking of oneself as an ‘archangel’), but from absolute technical mastery. It was because Puget knew the limitations of marble perfectly that he was able to master it. The text concludes that the material only becomes ‘unruly’ to those who do not know how to work with it. It is a plea for craftsmanship and technical rigour. This type of text is often found in exhibition catalogues or theoretical articles written by painters and cartographers to defend their art in the face of the rise of lyrical abstraction in the 1950s and 1960s.
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About the sale Sale of gold, jewellery, watches and luxury leather goods
Auction location
Auction time 09/05/2026 at 10:30 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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