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Paris , It is with great emotion that Christie’s announces the sale of the Collection Jeanne-Marie de Broglie, which will take place in Paris on 30 September. For Christie’s, to mention the name of Jeanne-Marie de Broglie is to pay tribute to a major figure in the European art market, whose influence extended far beyond Christie’s to leave a lasting mark on artists, gallery owners and collectors. Through her early commitment to supporting artists and art market figures, she helped shape the rapidly changing art landscape of post-war Europe.
By establishing Christie’s Paris office in 1968, Jeanne-Marie de Broglie gave the auction house a decisive boost and set its development on a path of openness and internationalisation. As our house celebrates 260 years of history, this sale stands as a unique moment that highlights a pioneering journey, a visionary spirit and a personality whose influence continues to inspire the house. More than a collection, it is a world that unfolds, that of a cultured woman whose taste, intuition and commitment have left a long-lasting imprint. Her discerning eye, her intuitive understanding of both artworks and collectors, and her ability to nurture talent helped to shape, far beyond her own career, the very identity of Christie’s in Europe. Driven by the strength of her convictions, her flair for human relations and her high standards, she embodied with rare intensity the union of a deeply rooted tradition and a resolutely embraced modernity.
The sale of her personal collection, due to take place on 30 September in Paris, features over 150 lots.
For François Curiel, Chairman of Christie’s Europe, she was a mentor: “After a year’s apprenticeship in London as a young specialist, I had the privilege of working alongside her in Paris in the 1970s. At that time, she was writing a crucial chapter in the history of the auction house as it expanded internationally. It was under Jeanne-Marie’s watchful eye that I embarked on this adventure, which has now lasted for over 50 years.”
Jeanne-Marie de Broglie’s private collection reflects both her remarkable expertise in art and the genuine friendships she forged with the artists of her time. Close friends with the gallery owner Daniel Cordier, Jeanne-Marie de Broglie played an active role in his avant-garde circle and supported him in opening his gallery. Through her association with him, she developed a keen eye for the freest and most innovative forms of artistic creation of her time. Through Daniel Cordier, Jeanne-Marie de Broglie met Jean Dubuffet, with whom she became friends, as evidenced by the works in the collection such as this Texturologie XXIII, La physique du sol (€200,000 to 300,000). Further evidence of her assertive taste is her early acquisition of a Structure végétal’ chandelier by Claude Lalanne (€200,000 to 300,000). The centerpiece of this collection is a cradle table, a unique piece by Diego Giacometti modelled on Séraphine, Jeanne-Marie de Broglie’s dog (€400,000 to 600,000). These works are displayed in an apartment whose furnishings are emblematic of the elegance characteristics of great Parisian collections. Ceramics by Picasso, Charles X-era candlesticks and an 18th-century Limoges porcelain service sit alongside works by Marc Chagall, David Hockney, Dorothea Tanning, Léon Spilliaert, Henri Michaux, Miodrag Dado, Edgar Degas and Eugène Delacroix.
Deeply rooted in her time, Jeanne-Marie de Broglie maintains a close connection with history and the transmission of heritage. Daughter of Gilles de Maillé de La Tour-Landry, Duke of Maillé, and Anne-Marie Radziwiłł, who became a princess through her marriage to Guy de Broglie in 1949, she belongs to a European aristocratic lineage whose influence is evident in several pieces in the collection. A figure in Parisian high society, she moved in the artistic and social circles of her time, as evidenced by photographs showing her at major events, in conversation with Yves Saint Laurent or alongside Man Ray.
A brooch in the shape of a Maltese cross, set with diamonds from the Radziwiłł family from which it originates (€30,000 to 50,000), echoes portraits of her grandmother, Dolly Radziwiłł, a friend of Misia Sert and Serge Diaghilev, painted by Adrien Désiré Étienne Drian. The pendant from a half-set by Boivin, in pearls and diamonds, is set with a topaz engraved with the Radziwiłł coat of arms. A vermeil service bearing the cipher of Princess Louise of Prussia, her ancestor, also serves as a reminder of this heritage. A display case housing several Cartier boxes, comprising a toiletries set in lapis lazuli, sapphires and diamonds, an opaline cigarette case and a small clock, completes this collection and bears witness to a taste for fine decorative arts, at the crossroads of family heritage and Parisian refinement.
“We at Christie’s are proud to carry on the legacy of Jeanne-Marie de Broglie, who remains a deeply inspiring figure thanks to her connection with artists and the standards of excellence she embodied.”, Cécile Verdier, Chair of Christie’s France
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(Press Release)
