Nature Morte Aux Financiers by Lubin Baugin, sold for €440,000 hammer at Vichy Enchères.
Photo: Studio Sebert for Vichy Enchères
French auction house Vichy Enchères set a new high for 17th-century French painter Lubin Baugin (1610-1663) when it sold Nature morte aux financiers for a hammer price €440,000 on August 16.
The firm had unearthed the work by chance in November last year. Asked by a solicitor to carry out an inventory of the items in a Parisian apartment belonging to a family with links to the city of Vichy in central France, auctioneer Etienne Laurent spotted the painting among other chattels.
It was subsequently authenticated by expert René Millet and given an estimate of €200,000-300,000.
The painting, signed BAVGIN, is only the fifth known still-life by Baugin. The other four are held in European museums.
Obscure figure
Lubin Baugin remains a somewhat enigmatic name in French Baroque art. Known for his religious compositions and portraits, he produced only a handful of still-lifes - yet these works are now recognised as some of the most contemplative and formally rigorous paintings of their time.
The four other known still-lifes by Baugin are:
- Nature morte aux gaufrettes, Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Nature morte à l’échiquier, Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Nature morte à la chandelle, Galleria Spada, Rome
- Nature morte à la coupe d’abricots, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rennes
Now, Nature morte aux financiers (Still life with financiers, or Still life with pastries) adds a new and significant work to this rare group.
Two paintings connected
What makes Nature morte aux financiers particularly compelling is its close relationship with Nature morte aux gaufrettes, one of Baugin’s best-known works, housed at the Louvre. Both paintings share the same pewter plate and wine glass.
In the Louvre painting, the plate holds delicate gaufrettes (wafer cookies), while in the newly discovered work, it holds 'financiers' - small, almond-based pastries usually called 'visitandines'.
The connection between the two paintings also reinforces the attribution and dating of Nature morte aux financiers to around 1630, a period when Baugin was actively painting still-lifes before leaving for Italy in 1632 and shifting his focus to religious subjects later in his career.
Tasty opportunity
The day before the sale in Vichy, the auction house had held a seminar facilitated by Millet where it served a modern-day version of the almond pastries featured in the painting.
At the auction, the 18in x 24in (46 x 60cm) work was acquired by a private buyer as no French museum exercised its right to pre-emption (whereby a French public institution can claim the item for itself by paying the hammer price regardless of who placed the final bid). With 25% premium added, the total amount paid will be €550,000.
The previous auction highs for Baugin have come for his religious works.
At Sotheby’s in New York on January 28, 2016, Olinde et Sophronie sur le bûcher (Olinde and Sophronie on the pyre) took a premium inclusive $322,000 (about €296,000).
More recently, Adam et Eve pleurant Abel (Adam and Eve mourning Abel) was sold at Fournié Cortès in Toulouse on March 23, 2023, for €235,000 hammer (€293,750 with premium) where it was pre-empted by the Louvre. It had been found in the attic of a home local to the auction house and was authenticated by experts from Cabinet Turquin.
