Old Master Day Sale including Old Master Paintings, Drawings and British Works on Paper

ATTRIBUTED TO FRANCESCO VANNI Siena 1563 - 1610 A MOTHER AND CHILD Black chalk on blue paper; bears old attribution on the back on the mount: Boucher 200 by 118 mm Please note: Condition 11 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot. To view Shipping Calculator, please click here

attributed to francesco vanni | a mother and child

Master Drawings from the Collection of Diane A. Nixon

Francesco Vanni (Siena 1563 – 1610) Three figure studies ﻿Red chalk; bears old attribution, verso: Fenzoni bears inscription, verso: De Young Col 205 by 276 mm; 8⅛ by 10⅞ in.

three figure studies

Old Master & British Works on Paper

Francesco Vanni Siena 1563 - 1610 Saints Blaise and Catherine of Alexandria Black chalk and white chalk, squared for transfer in red chalk; bears numbering, lower left: 23 204 by 160 mm; 8 by 5 in

View 1 of Lot 105: Saints Blaise and Catherine of Alexandria

saints blaise and catherine of alexandria

Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries

Francesco Vanni (Siena 1563 - 1610) The Madonna supported by St. John and a holy woman, the Magdalene kneeling Black chalk heightened with white chalk on blue paper; bears recent attributions, verso: Sodoma?, Schiavone Andrea, Crespi ? 237 by 202 mm

View 1 of Lot 128: The Madonna supported by St. John and a holy woman, the Magdalene kneeling

the madonna supported by st. john and a holy woman, the magdalene kneeling

Drawings from the Collection of Carlos Alberto Cruz

Drawings from the Collection of Carlos Alberto Cruz Circle of Francesco Vanni St Francis's vision of the Virgin Pen and brown ink and wash over traces of red chalk; bears inscription/attribution in pen and brown ink, lower left: Fra Berre (?) 365 by 248 mm

View 1 of Lot 29: St Francis's vision of the Virgin

st francis's vision of the virgin

Master Paintings Part II

Attributed to Francesco Vanni Siena 1563 - 1610 Crucifixion oil on canvas canvas: 47 by 33.5 in.; 119.2 by 85 cm. framed: 56 1/4 by 43 in.; 142.9 by 109.2 cm.

crucifixion

sheet of seven studies of the head of a young child

Old Master Paintings

madonna col bambino tra san paolo e san benedetto

Old Master & 19th Century European Art

st. catherine of siena

recto: two studies of a kneeling womanverso: three studies of legs

the raising of lazarus

Old Master Drawings

a group of drawings by 16th century italian artists:francesco vanni, the annunciation;ventura salimbeni, saint sebastian;cesare nebbia, saint agatha;attributed to biscaino, study of a caryatid;attributed to bugiardini, the holy family with st elizabeth and the infant saint john

sheet of studies with the coronation of the virgin and various saints

a bishop saint before a female saint, possibly saint catherine of siena, supported by an angel

after francesco vanni, the holy family with an angel, oil on copper, unframed, 22 by...

francesco vanni (1563-1610) the martyrdom of st. lucy

Old Master and 19th Century Paintings

the rest on the flight into egypt (the madonna della pappa)

circle of francesco vanni, pietï, oil on panel, 23.1 by 17 cm.; 9 by 6 in.,...

francesco vanni (1563-1610) the madonna as protectress of siena with the

francesco vanni 1563-1610, ss. blaise and catherine of alexandria, bears numbering:...

the madonna and child with saint lucy

standing youthful hercules, possibly after the antique

recto: study for the kneeling figure of st. galgano and a separate study of his right hand holding a swordverso: a young agostinian monk

three studies of two kneeling women, one repeated in a slightly different pose

Ensemble de 9 volumes in-folio (515 x 378 mm), dont un volume pour le premier ouvrage et huit pour le second.

Ensemble de 9 volumes in-folio (515 x 378 mm), dont un volume pour le premier ouvrage et huit pour le second. illustration : - 4 vignettes et une lettre ornée de Camillo Paderni gravées par P. Ant. Piaggio, pour le Catalogo.- 617 planches hors-texte (le nombre varie selon les exemplaires) dont un titre-frontispice, 5 portraits-frontispice répétés de Charles III d'Espagne, une carte dépliante; 5 planches dépliantes - 787 vignettes et culs-de-lampe et 540 lettres ornées par Giovanni Morghen, Nicola Vanni, Francesco La Vega, Luigi Vanvitelli gravés par Pierre Gaultier, Filippo Morghen, Francesco Cepparoli, P. Campana, Nicolas Billy, etc. reliure de l'époque. Demi-basane fauve marbrée, plats de papier fauve marbré pour les six premiers volumes et bleu marbré pour les trois derniers, dos à nerfs, non rogné. Exemplaires  à toutes marges.Reliure légèrement usagée (plats frottés, défauts aux coiffes et aux charnières). Intérieur très frais (déchirure sans manque à la page 158 du tome IV). Frontispice manquant.

catalogo degli antichi monumenti...di ercolanonaples, regia stamperia, 1755avecle pitture antiche d'ercolanonaples, regia stamperia, 1757-1792

Bibliotheca Brookeriana VIII

TERENTIUS AFER, PUBLIUS. Publii Terentii Afri comoediae. Multo majore quam hactenus unquam, vigilantia repurgatae. Lyon: Sébastien Gryphe, 1544

TERENTIUS AFER, PUBLIUS. Publii Terentii Afri comoediae. Multo majore quam hactenus unquam, vigilantia repurgatae. Lyon: Sébastien Gryphe, 1544 This is one of a group of nine similar bindings, all found on small format Gryphe imprints of 1544-1551, with the same armorial of a tower surmounted by a crowned eagle; while this exact armorial is not recorded, it is most similar to that of the Novarini family of Verona. It has been suggested that these volumes formed part of a travelling library, as the books are all pocket-sized classical texts. For a full listing of the bindings, see Bibliotheca Brookeriana I, 11 October 2023, lot 58, where the present binding is number 9 in the list. 16mo (113 x 72 mm). Italic type. collation: a-y8: 176 leaves. Title-page with woodcut device, woodcut initials, a few leaves with text underlined or annotated by an early reader. (Title-page with old paper repair at margin and pasted slip covering ownership inscription). Binding: Later sixteenth-century northern Italian red morocco gilt (118 x 78 mm), half lozenge formed by two gilt fillets at top, bottom, and sides, each half lozenge containing a gilt standing putto flanked by leafy branches, and a full lozenge in centre containing gilt arms of the Novarini family consisting of tower on a grassy field surmounted by spread eagle crowned, spine with 4 full bands, gilt putto in other compartments, edges gilt with narrow gauffering around sides. (Upper compartment of spine damaged and restored such that 1-line title is not visible). Provenance: Plausibly the Novarini family of Verona, arms on binding — "O. di Fra[ncesco] [...] 1622", ownership inscription on title-page obscured by pasted slip — "Ex Libris Joannis Merlini", eighteenth-century ownership inscription on title-page — "?Ricordo del can[oni]co Gio[vanni] Batista Menciati [...] 1859", ownership inscription to endleaf — black circular inkstamp of an unidentified nineteenth-century owner — Don Diego Cristiano Antonio Francesco Pignatelli (1855-1938), Mostra storica della legatura artistica in Palazzo Pitti (Florence 1922), no. 359. Acquisition: Purchased in 2016 from Librairie Lardanchet, Paris. References: USTC 122785; von Gültlingen V: Gryphe 858

View 1 of Lot 297: Terentius, Comoediae, Lyon, 1544, Italian red morocco gilt

terentius, comoediae, lyon, 1544, italian red morocco gilt

Western Illuminated Manuscripts 

240 x 170 mm, illuminated manuscript on paper, containing Saint Augustine, Soliloquia, Pseudo-Bernard Tractatus de interiori domo seu de conscientia aedificanda, and St Anselmus’ Orationes, Italy, dated 1375; 78 leaves, modern foliation, complete, in gatherings of mostly 8 leaves, 2 leaves (paper) + i8 (first leaf inserted), ii-ix8, x6 (likely a single leaf and a quire of 6, with last leaf lacking) + 3 leaves (paper), catchwords in finely drawn penwork cartouches, written in brown ink in a crisp Italian gothic bookhand, on 29 long lines (written space 136 x 89 mm.), ruled lightly in plummet, prickings visible throughout, rubrics in red, numerous 3-line initials in red and blue with exquisitely executed pen flourishes in purple and red, usually abstract but sometimes incorporating foliage and birds, one 8-line decorated initial in blue, green, orange and rose on a burnished gold background, two full and one partial border in the same colours, two large historiated initials and one half-page miniature with author portraits; some abrasion to gold on f.1, scant wormholes through final 18 folios, a bit of soiling at outer margins, otherwise in excellent condition; bound in crimson velvet, half morocco clamshell case.

240 x 170 mm, illuminated manuscript on paper, containing Saint Augustine, Soliloquia, Pseudo-Bernard Tractatus de interiori domo seu de conscientia aedificanda, and St Anselmus’ Orationes, Italy, dated 1375; 78 leaves, modern foliation, complete, in gatherings of mostly 8 leaves, 2 leaves (paper) + i8 (first leaf inserted), ii-ix8, x6 (likely a single leaf and a quire of 6, with last leaf lacking) + 3 leaves (paper), catchwords in finely drawn penwork cartouches, written in brown ink in a crisp Italian gothic bookhand, on 29 long lines (written space 136 x 89 mm.), ruled lightly in plummet, prickings visible throughout, rubrics in red, numerous 3-line initials in red and blue with exquisitely executed pen flourishes in purple and red, usually abstract but sometimes incorporating foliage and birds, one 8-line decorated initial in blue, green, orange and rose on a burnished gold background, two full and one partial border in the same colours, two large historiated initials and one half-page miniature with author portraits; some abrasion to gold on f.1, scant wormholes through final 18 folios, a bit of soiling at outer margins, otherwise in excellent condition; bound in crimson velvet, half morocco clamshell case. WRITTEN, DECORATED, AND ILLUMINATED BY MATTEO DI SER CAMBIO, ONE OF PERUGIA'S LEADING ARTISTS PROVENANCE 1. An inscription on the last folio (f.78v), written in a larger script but in the same hand as the rest of the text, dates the manuscript to 1375: Sub anno D(omi)ni millo. ccc°. Ixxv. The miniatures, and probably the calligraphy, are by Matteo di ser Cambio of Perugia, but for whom they were executed remains unknown. A shield in the lower border of f. 1 might shed some light on the manuscript's early history; although it has been abraded, the ground is still legible as vert, party per bend or. 2. Charles Weatherby Reynell, a London printer and publisher (1798-1892). His engraved bookplate inside front cover. 3. Charles Fairfax Murray (1849-1919), English Pre-Raphaelite painter and book collector. 4. C.W. Dyson Perrins, an English businessman, bibliophile and philanthropist; (25 May 1864-1958) with usual bookplates; his sale, part 2, London, Sotheby's, 1 December 1959, lot 65; 5. H. P. Kraus, New York, Catalogue 95, no.17. 6. Raphael Esmerian (died 1972), bibliophile, his bookplate inside front cover. 7. H. P. Kraus, New York, Monumenta Codicum Manu Scriptorum, 1974, no.16. 8. Les Enluminures. 9. Private Collection, USA. COMMENTARY This impressive manuscript brings together three theological-philosophical works: St Augustine’s Soliloquia, Pseudo-Bernard’s Tractatus de interiori domo seu de conscientia aedificanda, and St Anselm’s Orationes. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) was one of the central philosopher-theologians of the Christian West. Among his most widely read works are The City of God, On Christian Doctrine, and Confessions. His understanding and engagement with fundamental questions on the matter of free will, time and eternity, the problem of Evil, and his theory of just war have influenced generations of philosophers, ranging from Descartes to Leibniz, Wittgenstein, and Russel. Like Augustine, St Anselm of Canterbury (1033/4–1109) engaged with a diverse range of topics, including the nature of truth, the reality and significance of human freedom, and the evaluation of human behaviour. It is in these topics that having both Augustine and St Anselm side by side proves significant and productive. In adding Pseudo-Bernard’s treatise on Conscience, which was ascribed to Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153), the manuscript at hand unites works written by or attributed to some of the leading figures of the European Middle Ages, offering a range of perspectives into the fundamental questions of human life. In Augustine’s Soliloquia, presented in the form of an internal dialogue, the narrator encounters Reason personified, while Pseudo-Bernard engages with the allegorical Conscience, enquiring into different types of conscience which he understands as the soul's inclination to either good or evil. Despite their intrinsic ‘medievalness’, the works feel surprisingly modern as they grapple with fundamental questions of human life: the nature of evil, conscience, and freedom, a fact that might also be a result of the authors’ lives. Both Augustine as well as Anselm were deeply involved in worldly affairs and did not write from the reclusion of a monastery but were active parts of their respective communities. DECORATION Dated 1375, the present manuscript is remarkable not only for its illustrious provenance but for its visual coherence, having been written, illustrated and decorated by Matteo di ser Cambio. Especially noteworthy are the beautifully executed author portraits and the vivid Umbrian palette. Based on the text selection and the high quality of the script and decoration, the manuscript was most likely executed for a high-profile and likely private patron. Matteo di Ser Cambio (ca.1370–1424) was one of the most renowned Perugian illuminators of the late 14th century. While his contributions to goldsmithing are mostly lost to us, his work as an illuminator is relatively well documented. Matteo di Ser Cambio can be traced in the guild registry of the goldsmiths of Perugia in 1351, with his activity extending into the 1420s. He occupied multiple offices for the Arte degli Orafi (Guild of Goldsmiths), he served as Camerlengo in 1401 and 1412, and as Priore in 1403, 1410, and 1414. In 1414, he also acted as legal representative for the Jewish community of Perugia. The extant records paint a picture of an artist well and truly integrated in Perugia’s economic and social networks and demonstrate the high esteem in which his works were held. Matteo’s style was influenced through contact with Sienese artists and their works, especially Lippo Vanni (lot 4 in this sale) and Niccolò di ser Sozzo, while also showing an awareness of Luca di Tommè. His later works exhibit more naturalistic tendencies, which mirror developments in late Gothic art that emerged in the vicinity of Perugia. The same hand can be detected in both the Matricola della merce (Perugia, Collegio della merce, II) from 1377, which has been attributed to ser Cambio by De Benedictis and Santanicchia (De Benedictis, p. 282; Santanicchia, 2008, pp. 402 ff.). In the same year, Matteo signed the statutes of the Collegio del Cambio of Perugia “Io Mateo di Ser Cambio orfo / che qui col sesto in mano me fegurai / quisto libro scrissi dipensi e miniai” which is also accompanied by a self-portrait. Based on this De Benedictis and Santanicchia concluded that Matteo was responsible for the production of the complete manuscript. (De Benedictis, pp. 282 ff.; Santanicchia, 2001, pp. 85 ff.). LITERATURE Burlington Fine Arts Club, Exhibition of Illuminated Manuscripts, London, 1908, no. 179, pl. 12.1 De Polo, Claudio. “Un codice umbro della seconda meta del Trecento,” in La miniatura in eta romanica e gotica, atti del I congresso di storia della miniatura italiana, Florence, 1979, pp. 543-51. De Benedictis, Cristina, Matteo di Cambio, in Francesco d’Assisi. Documenti e archivi. Codici e biblioteche. Miniature (catal., Perugia), Milano 1982, pp.274-291. De Polo, C., Un codice umbro della seconda metà del Trecento, in La miniatura in età romanica e gotica. Atti del Congresso di storia della miniatura italiana, Cortona… 1978, a cura di G. Vailati, Firenze 1979, pp.543-551. Lollini, Fabrizio. “Matteo di ser Cambio,” in Dizionario biographico dei miniatori italiani secoli I X - XVI , ed. Milvia Bollati, Milan, Edizioni Sylvestre Bonnard, 2004, pp. 752-53 (citing the present manuscript on p. 753). Lollini, F. in Dipinti e disegni della Pinacoteca Civica di Pesaro, ed. C. Giardini, E. Negro and M. Pirondini, Modena 1993, pp. 382–383, cat.382. Santanicchia, M. in «Per buono stato de la citade»: le matricole delle arti di Perugia (catal.), Perugia 2001, pp.72ff. and 85ff. Todini, F. La pittura umbra dal Duecento al primo Cinquecento , Milan, 1989. Warner, George. Descriptive Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts in the Collection of C. W. Dyson Perrins, Oxford, 1920, no. 56, pl. LXI. FURTHER READING Alidori, L., in Fioritura tardogotica nelle Marche, exhibition catalogue, ed. P. Dal Poggetto, Milan 1998, pp. 104–106, cats. 21–22. Avezza, L., in Miniature a Brera 1100–1422, exhibition catalogue, ed. M. Boskovits with Valagussa, G. and Bollati, M., Milan 1997, pp. 186–189, cat. 27. De Benedictis, C., Matteo di Cambio, in Francesco d’Assisi. Documenti e archivi. Codici e biblioteche. Miniature, exhibition catalogue, Milan 1982, pp. 274–291, with previous bibliography. Narkiss, B., An Illuminated Maimonides Manuscript, in Ariel, 21 (1968), pp. 51–59. De Polo, C., Un codice umbro della seconda metà del Trecento, in La miniatura in età romanica e gotica, Proceedings of the I Congress of Italian Miniature Studies, Florence 1979, pp. 543–551. Santanicchia, M., in “Per buono stato de la citade”: le matricole delle Arti di Perugia, exhibition catalogue, ed. M. Roncetti, Perugia 2001, pp. 72–73, 85–86.

View 1 of Lot 18: Saint Augustine. Soliloquia – Pseudo-Bernard. Tractatus de interiori domo seu de conscientia aedificanda – St Anselmus. Orationes | Italy | 1375

saint augustine. soliloquia – pseudo-bernard. tractatus de interiori domo seu de conscientia aedificanda – st anselmus. orationes | italy | 1375

Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois, Parigi, Claude Prudhomme, 1703, 8vo, 8 tavole xilografiche ripiegate fuori testo raffiguranti tavole apparecchiate, cartone moderno, bruniture - Nuovi principi per rimediare all'incomodo del fumo nella costruzione dei cammini, Firenze, Vanni, 1775, 8vo, in barbe, 2 tavole incise in rame ripiegate in fine, brossura, ex libris: Luigi e Sandra Morandi, lievi macchie alla legatura - Huet, L. Abbé. Storia del commerzio e della navigazione degli antichi, Venezia, Francesco Pitteri, 1737, 8vo, occhietto, mezza pelle; e 2 altri fra cui un'opera del Contarini illustrata (5).

Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois, Parigi, Claude Prudhomme, 1703, 8vo, 8 tavole xilografiche ripiegate fuori testo raffiguranti tavole apparecchiate, cartone moderno, bruniture - Nuovi principi per rimediare all'incomodo del fumo nella costruzione dei cammini, Firenze, Vanni, 1775, 8vo, in barbe, 2 tavole incise in rame ripiegate in fine, brossura, ex libris: Luigi e Sandra Morandi, lievi macchie alla legatura - Huet, L. Abbé. Storia del commerzio e della navigazione degli antichi, Venezia, Francesco Pitteri, 1737, 8vo, occhietto, mezza pelle; e 2 altri fra cui un'opera del Contarini illustrata (5).Paleari-Henssler p.477 (per l'edizione italiana della prima opera) 

[massialot, françois]

Rilke, Rainer Maria. La storia dell'amore e della morte dell'Alfiere Cristoforo Rilke, Verona, Stamperia Valdonega, marzo 1951, folio, esemplare 172 di 200, 7 acqueforti di Aldo Pistoso, carta di Fabriano, cartone editoriale col titolo impresso al piatto anteriore - Petrarca, Francesco. Ascensus Montis Ventosi. Jean-Henri Fabre. Une ascension au Monte Ventoux, Verona, Officina Bodoni, marzo 1965, 8vo, esemplare 93 di 175, carta di Cernobbio, firma dell'editore al colophon, mezza pelle verde editoriale, stemma dorato al centro del piatto anteriore, entro cofanetto -  Croce, Benedetto. Aesthetica in nuce, Verona, Officina Bodoni per Vanni Scheiwiller, febbraio 1966, 8vo, esemplare 56 di 200, carta di Fabriano, mezza pergamena editoriale, entro cofanetto - Bembo, Pietro. De Aetna, Verona, Officina Bodoni, agosto 1969, 8vo, esemplare 17 di 125, carta di Cernobbio, mezza pelle editoriale, stemma dorato al centro del piatto anteriore, taglio superiore dorato, entro cofanetto (4).

mardersteig

Livres et Manuscrits

Huysmans, Joris-Karl 13 lettres autographes signées à Vittorio Pica. [19 mars 1884 - 17 mai 1892]. 40 pages in-8 ou in-12, 11 enveloppes à l’adresse de Pica à Naples (marques postales) et une carte-lettre avec adresse ; une lettre de 1885 présente des entailles de désinfection. Exceptionnelle correspondance littéraire à un critique napolitain, francophile, ami d’Edmond de Goncourt, grand défenseur des écrivains symbolistes et auteur de nombreuses études sur la littérature moderne et l'histoire de l'art. Huysmans salue à plusieurs reprises la lutte dévouée que Pica mène pour l’art "véritable", lui faisant part de ses propres goûts et dégoûts, citant Verlaine, Mallarmé, Villiers de l’Isle Adam, autant que Paul Bourget, Camille Lemonnier, Joséphin Péladan ou Georges Ohnet. Dans la première lettre, il commente ses propres livres à l’intention de Pica qui s’est montré trop indulgent, selon lui, pour Marthe : "ça manque tellement de développement ce livre ; je l’ai fait trop jeune et le regrette, car maintenant ce serait superbe à traiter autrement". Il va lui faire envoyer À Rebours : "ce livre très-bizarre, en dehors de tout, vous plaira peut-être ; quelqu’étranger qu’il puisse être il est vrai, le héros existe, c’est un des grands noms de France". Et dressant sa bibliographie : "ça se borne là ! Il est vrai que c’est si long à faire un roman quand on essaie de le bourrer de moelle le plus qu’on peut ; ça devient alors un travail d’une année ou deux, sans trêve". Huÿsmans est sans pitié pour les œuvres de Vast-Ricouard (pseudonyme de Raoul Vast and Gustave Ricouard) : "ce sont des cacographes – sans aucun talent – ils n’ont même pas tenté le naturalisme […] des journalistes affamés de réclame qui ont tout essayé pour vendre leurs livres". En juin 1884, À Rebours est paru et Huymans se dit soulagé d’avoir achevé ce livre. "Je vais me débarbouiller un peu l’intellect en me mettant à de simples nouvelles […] histoire de varier un peu les notes". Il se fait l’écho des articles déjà parus qui parlent de son roman comme d’un livre malsain et stupéfiant, catholique et sensuel : "Voilà ! Ils tournent là-dessus comme des chevaux de bois". "Si je n’ai pas les ventes copieuses des Sœurs Vatard et d’En ménage, j’ai bien quelque chose qui console, c’est un succès artiste, puis un remuement curieux et inattendu de la jeunesse littéraire autour de ce livre". Il donne son avis sur L’Irréparable de Paul Bourget, y reconnaissant un esprit curieux et distingué "mais gâté par une médiocre langue grise et par des coins à la Feuillet, de fausse élégance, de femmes éthérées insupportables". La vraie justice littéraire serait de parler de Madame X du trop peu connu Albert Pinard, un des meilleurs livres qu’on ait fait paraître depuis longtemps. Tout comme Camille Lemonnier "ce sont gens à soutenir par les temps où les Ohnet dominent ! Gens artistes et en dehors de la vulgarité ambiante – C’est beaucoup, allez, à Paris, par les époques américaines qui courent". En septembre suivant, il a lu l’étude de Pica sur Verlaine qu’il estime très compréhensive et acérée : "Dire qu’en France, à l’heure actuelle, il n’y a pas 10 personnes capables de comprendre ce rare poète et de se rendre compte de la nouveauté qu’il a apportée, en art, avec quelques-unes de ses bonnes pièces". Quant à Mallarmé, il lui suggère de s’intéresser à sa traduction des poésies d’Edgar Poe qui va paraître chez Vanier, "ce sera chose non négligeable dans l’œuvre de Mallarmé". [3 novembre 1884] - "Ici à Paris, rien de neuf, la monotonie parfaite. Tout est à l’odieuse politique, au Tonkin, aux diplomaties de l’Angleterre et de la Prusse". Il a lu Songes de Francis Poictevin auquel il n’a rien compris et qui lui a fait l’effet d’une caricature du dernier des Goncourt, mais il indique deux autres livres à découvrir : L'élève Gendrevin de Robert Caze et Le Vice suprême de Joséphin Péladan, "un catholique genre Barbey d’Aurevilly, mêlé à de la magie – Et ça se lit, car il y a une langue et des idées étranges". En août 1885, il lui promet de lui faire parvenir l’édition augmentée des Croquis parisiens ainsi qu’un recueil intégrant À vau-l’eau. "En attendant, je pars au château de Lourps, château inhabité depuis des ans et que le possesseur met à ma disposition. Je vais voir à boire un peu d’air et à apaiser par de longues marches, mon système nerveux". L’année suivante, c’est L’Eve future de Villiers de l’Isle-Adam qu’il recommande : "il y a des pages superbes et une qualité d’imagination ironique vraiment unique. Lisez si ce n’est fait. C’est un des beaux livres de l’époque". "J’ai lu, ce que j’ai pu comprendre de votre étude sur Mallarmé, cela m’a paru très-serré et très-juste. Quant à Villiers, c’est un grand écrivain qui mérite un bel article", et Huysmans suggère à Pica de demander aux éditeurs les livres de cet auteur, difficilement trouvables en librairie. En 1889, il va lui envoyer son livre [Certains] sur Moreau, Degas, Whistler, Rops "d’assez longues études qui vous intéresseront j’espère". Il a appris par Goncourt que Pica avait dû faire un stage dans l’armée : "Quand on a la cervelle occupée par de moins viles choses, quelle dégoûtation que ces métiers-là – qui ne doivent pas être moins bêtes en Italie qu’en France". Et toujours le félicitant et le remerciant de son dévouement à la cause littéraire : "Vous êtes un fidèle, vous, et par ces temps de pannuflisme, un des rares qui soutenez la littérature hors de l’industrie" [11 janvier 1890]. Et dans une autre lettre, non datée, Huysmans condamne avec force l’hypocrisie qui règne sans doute autant en France qu’en Italie : "Songez donc que nous sommes perpétuellement menacés de la police, de saisie, de condamnations, que, depuis que j’écris, je suis traîné personnellement et plus que tout autre dans un lac de boue, par la presse à quelque nuance qu’elle appartienne. Cela ne me déplaît pas, à dire vrai, mon mépris pour l’humanité étant absolument celui de mon des Esseintes mais, comme vous voyez l’Italie n’a rien à envier à la France au point de vue de la tartufferie prudhommesque. Ça se vaut – le bourgeois est éternel, domine comme un radieux étron le pays où il a pignon sur rue et est électeur – rien à faire. Il y a 99 imbéciles sur 100. Le mieux est de vivre à l’écart, avec quelques bons amis et de fermer la porte le plus possible, à la cohue qui vous envahit quand-même, hélas ! Mais je bavasse et ferais mieux de vous remercier, mon cher Pica, de tout le mal que vous vous donnez pour faire comprendre en Italie que nous avons peut-être autant de talent que l’abject Ohnet et que le répugnant Déroulède, l’homme au patriotisme niais… et fructueux". "J’ai reçu l’Arte aristocratica […] frère jumeau des Croquis Parisiens, en son format et son vert pâle de laque. J’y ai retrouvé votre étude sur À Rebours et une fois de plus – mais je ne suis plus à la compter, tant il en est – je vous remercie pour toute la sympathie littéraire que vous me témoignez" [17 mai 1892]. [On joint :] Lettre autographe signée à Félix Fénéon [octobre 1885] (1 p. in-12). Il ne peut se dessaisir de ses exemplaires des Fêtes galantes et de La Bonne Chanson "par ce simple motif que je travaille dessus ainsi que sur Mallarmé et Laforgue pour des pages demandées par Vannier [sic]. Que le bon Pica ne compte donc pas sur moi, pour les bouquins de ces rares auteurs – que je culotte !". FÉNÉON, Félix. Lettre autographe signée à Vittorio Pica. 17 octobre 1885 (2 p. in-12, enveloppe). À propos des livres de Verlaine recherchés par Pica. "Vignier est à la recherche de la Bonne chanson et Moréas à la recherche des Fêtes galantes. Je les stimule quotidiennement ; mais ils n’ont encore rien trouvé, ni moi non plus". Correspondance très probablement inédite, seulement trois autres lettres de Huysmans à Pica sont conservées dans le fonds Lambert de la bibliothèque de l'Arsenal. Nous remercions Mme Francesca Guglielmi de nous avoir confirmé le caractère inédit et quasi inconnu de cette correspondance.

View 1 of Lot 34: Correspondance au critique italien Vittorio Pica, 1884-1892. Lettres très probablement inédites.

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