5 French Paintings from the Getty Collection Christie's Auction

As a philanthropist and patron of the arts, Ann Getty was known for her discerning eye and eclectic taste in style, decor, jewels, and of course, fine art. More than just the wife of Gordon Getty (son of J. Paul Getty, and heir to the oil tycoon’s fortune) Ann championed global causes and served on the boards of some of the most illustrious institutions—including the Metropolitan Museum, The New York Public Library, and the San Francisco Opera (among others) throughout her life, until her death in 2020.

This fall, Christie’s will be auctioning off nearly 1500 of the most notable pieces from the Ann and Gordon Getty Collection—including rare gems, global artifacts, decorative objets d’art, and personal elements of style—all available for bidding online or at Christie’s New York auction house. Featuring a veritable treasure trove of masterpieces from one of the most magnificent private collections in the world, each auction focuses on a specific category, from Chinese textiles and iconography to jewels and tableware to 19th and 20th century artwork.

From Matisse to Manet, Degas to Renoir, take in five oeuvres from these French masters below—highlights from the Gettys’ personal collection, which also includes authenticated originals from notable Anglo artists like Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargeant.

Browse the full collection and bid HERE.

The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection
New York & Online, October 10-25 2022

LOT #129
HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954)
”Paysage avec cyprès et oliviers aux environs de Nice”
Painted in Nice circa 1918
Est. $150,000 - 250,000 USD

LOT #140
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841-1919)
”La place Pigalle”
Oil on Canvas (circa 1880)
Est. $500,000 - 700,000 USD

LOT #181
EDGAR DEGAS (1834-1917)
”Femme mettant son corset”
Pastel on Paper (circa 1883)
Est. $500,000 - 700,000 USD

LOT #120
JAMES (JACQUES) JOSEPH TISSOT (1836-1902)
”Kathleen Newton at the Piano”
Oil on Canvas (circa 1880-1881)
Est. $500,000- 800,000 USD

LOT #147
JEAN-LÉON GÉRÔME (1824-1904)
”Sortie du bal masqué”
Oil on Panel
Est. $200,000 - 300,000 USD)

Le Décor | 5 Famous French Sculptures For Your Home

If you’ve been craving a museum trip, but would rather not leave the house right now to visit priceless works of art—or better yet, if you’ve ever wished you could make your home a gallery exhibit of its very own, then today is your lucky day.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art—better known as The Met—offers replicas of the renowned works of some of France’s most prolific sculptors, including Edgar Degas and Auguste Rodin, right in the museum gift shop—and they’re more affordable than you’d think!

The best news of all is that you don’t have to take a trip to New York City to do your shopping. Take home some of the most celebrated artworks of the Renaissance period, available for purchase below via The Met Store online.

Choose your favorite below, or even turn your maison into your very own private collection.

5 Famous French Sculptures For Your Home

The Thinker; Rodin $225 ($202.50 for members)

CLICK LINK BELOW TO SHOP:

Rodin: The Thinker Sculpture

“Our scaled reproduction in hand-patinated bonded bronze was scanned from a bronze of The Thinker in The Met collection, which was cast about 1910 from an original 19th-century model by Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917). Rodin's first government commission was for a monumental portal covered with sculptural reliefs for a Paris museum. He proposed a vast composition based loosely on Dante's Divine Comedy, but the work remained unfinished. The artist later began to extract individual figures from the reliefs and enlarge them to create freestanding sculptures. In its original position, The Thinker was at the center of the portal's lintel. The detached, brooding figure has been invested with multiple meanings—poet, judge, sculptor.”

Dancer; Degas $350 ($315 for members)

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Edgar Degas: Dancer Sculpture

“The Museum's sculpture is directly reproduced from a bronze cast made in 1920 after the death of Impressionist artist Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917), who made the original mold.”

Adam & Eve; Rodin $395 each ($355 for members)

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Rodin: Eve Sculpture

“The Museum's Eve was cast in bronze in 1910 from Auguste Rodin's (French, 1840–1917) original 1881 model. Based on this work, our reduced-scale reproduction was created with a combination of three-dimensional imaging and traditional sculpture techniques.”

Little Dancer; Degas $95 ($85.50 for members)

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Sculpture

“The beloved bronze adaptation of this famous work in The Met collection was cast in 1922. This resin statuette is dressed in fabric and stands on a wooden base; it will provide an artistic flourish among your decor or in a child's room. For his sculpture, as well as for his painting, Degas found a ready source of inspiration in the ballet dancers of the Paris Opéra. The original sculpture, modeled after dancer Marie van Goethem, is one of several that he formed in various positions allowing him to explore the subtle variations in the dynamics of movement and of tension within the human figure.”

Bather; Degas $495 ($445.50 for members)

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Sculpture

“Our beautiful sculpture celebrates a direct lineage to the work of Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917). It was carefully reproduced from a 1920 bronze in the Met's collection, which itself was cast from an original figure modeled about 1888–92 by the artist's own hand, one of 150 small-scale sculptures of wax, clay, and plastiline found in his studio after his death. Degas created these small figures as a private means of exploring subjects that fascinated him while investigating the movement of the body, as seen in this evocative bather, stretching an arm to sponge her back.”

Hand of God; Rodin $395 ($355.50 for members)

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Rodin: The Hand of God Sculpture

“Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917) was fascinated by the expressive possibilities of hands. A deeply sensitive sculpture, The Hand of Godrepresents divine creation, the life-giving hand symbolizing both the Creator and the sculptor. There are numerous versions of this masterwork by Rodin in both marble and bronze. Our faithful reproduction is based on a marble commissioned from Rodin in 1906 by a Met trustee.”

*This article may contain affiliate links. TCA only promotes products we love, whether we make a small commission or not, so rest assured that you’re always getting our best. Merci for your support!

French Gifts For the Artist | Holiday Gift Guide: Day 2

If Paris were a person, “art” would be its middle name. As the birthplace of some of the most creative souls—and hands—to ever hold a paintbrush or mold a piece of clay, France has arguably the richest catalogue of artistic history in the world, and houses some of the most celebrated opuses known to humankind.

From Degas and his impressionist renderings of 19th century ballerinas, to Monet’s waterlilies and Rodin’s immortal Thinker, there’s so much to explore in Day 2 of the official TCA Holiday Gift Guide. With a range of price points, arranged in Splurge and Steal categories, you’ll find the perfect gifts for those who seek to study and appreciate the fruits of these artists’ labor—or for anyone who relishes artistic expression.

CLICK THE LINKS BELOW EACH ITEM TO SHOP.

Holiday Gift Guide: Jour 2 | For the Artist

LE SPLURGE ($50 and up)

French Paintings in the Met; By Katharine Baetjer; $88.32

“Cataloguing The Met's remarkable collection of 18th-century French paintings in the context of the powerful institutions that governed the visual arts of the time—the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, the Académie de France à Rome, and the Paris Salon—this book encompasses 126 stunning examples of work by 50 leading artists of the period, including François Boucher, Jean Siméon Chardin, Jacques Louis David, François Gérard, Antoine Watteau, and many more.”

French Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Adam Sculpture, Rodin; $495
”The Museum's Adam was cast in bronze about 1910 from Auguste Rodin's (French, 1840–1917) original 1880 model. Based on this work, our reduced-scale reproduction was created with a combination of three-dimensional imaging and traditional sculpture techniques.”

Rodin: Adam Sculpture

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The Louvre: All the Paintings; $75
”The Louvre is the world's most visited art museum, with 8.5 million visitors annually, and houses the most celebrated and important paintings of all time. For the first time ever, Louvre: All the Paintings collects all 3,022 paintings currently on display in the permanent collection in one beautifully curated volume. Organized and divided into the four main painting collections of the museum—the Italian, Northern, Spanish, and the French schools—the paintings are presented chronologically by artist's years of birth. Four hundred of the most iconic and significant paintings are illuminated with discussions by art historians Anja Grebe and Vincent Pomarède.”

The Louvre: All the Paintings

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Seated Torso of a Woman; $375
”An original sculpture by Paul Wayland Bartlett (American, 1865–1925) served as the model for this reproduction. Born in the U.S. and educated in Paris, Bartlett worked as an assistant to Auguste Rodin before establishing his own studio. He created major works of public art, with the centerpiece of his career being his Equestrian Statue of Lafayette, which was presented to France as a reciprocal gift for Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty.”

Seated Torso of a Woman Sculpture

Click here to discover more famous French sculptures for your private collection.

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Degas: A Passion for Perfection, By Jane Munro; $50
”Edgar Degas’s (1834–1917) relentless experimentation with technical procedures is a hallmark of his lifelong desire to learn. The numerous iterations of compositions and poses suggest an intense self-discipline, as well as a refusal to accept any creative solution as definitive or finite. Published in the centenary year of the artist’s death, this book presents an exceptional array of Degas’s work, including paintings, drawings, pastels, etchings, monotypes, counter proofs, and sculpture, with approximately sixty key works from private and public collections in Europe and the United States.”

Degas: A Passion for Perfection

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The Monet Cookbook: Recipes from Giverny; By Florence Gentner

“This beautiful book presents 60 of Claude Monet's (French, 1840–1926) original recipes alongside glorious reproductions of his paintings, scenes from his life in Giverny, and stunning photographs. It is well known that Monet was a gourmand as well as an artistic genius. His culinary journals are filled with detailed recipes and notes about what he ate and with whom he shared his meals.”

The Monet Cookbook: Recipes from Giverny

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Le Steal ($30 and under)

Monet Waterlilies Sketchbook; $15
”Unleash your inner artist with this sketchbook featuring Claude Monet's (French, 1840–1926) beloved Water Lilies. The painting, now in The Met collection, one of four water lily pictures that Monet finished, signed, and sold in 1919. Today, his water lily paintings are among the most recognized and adored works of art in the world.”

Monet: Water Lilies Sketchbook

Can’t get enough of Monsieur Monet? Click here to learn more about Giverny and plan a day trip on your next visit to Paris.

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Floral Impressions Face Masks; $25 (Set of 2)
”This is not an FDA-approved product. This product makes no claims of antimicrobial protection, antiviral protection, particulate filtration, or infection prevention or reduction. This product is not intended for use in a medical setting.”

Floral Impressions Face Mask Set

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Degas Dancer Coasters; $15
”Artist Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917) found a ready source of inspiration in the ballet dancers of the Paris Opéra, a subject he returned to throughout his career. Our cork-backed coasters showcase details from four of his works in The Met collection: The Dance Class, 1874; Dancers Practicing at the Barre, 1877; Dancer, ca. 1880; and Dancers, Pink and Green, ca. 1890.”

Degas Dancer Coasters

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The Kiss, Rodin Mini Sculpture; $28
”Like his famous The Thinker, The Kiss is taken from The Gates of Hell, Auguste Rodin's (French, 1840–1917) magnum opus. It was originally based on the figures Paolo and Francesca from Dante's Inferno, who were banished to Hell for eternity because they kissed after Francesca had married Paolo's brother. Sensual but also radiating a deep and sincere love, The Kiss, recalled by this resin mini sculpture, has remained one of Rodin’s most popular works to this day.”

Rodin The Kiss Mini Sculpture

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Degas: Painter of Ballerinas; $19.95
”Through Edgar Degas's (French, 1834–1917) beloved paintings, drawings, and sculptures, Susan Goldman Rubin conveys the wonder and excitement of the ballet world. Degas is one of the most celebrated painters of the impressionist movement, and his ballerina paintings are among the most favorite of his fans. In his artwork, Degas captures every moment, from the relentless hours of practice to the glamour of appearing on stage, revealing a dancer's journey from novice to prima ballerina. Observing young students, Degas drew their poses again and again, determined to achieve perfection. The book includes a brief biography of his life, endnotes, bibliography, where to see his paintings, and an index.”

Degas: Painter of Ballerinas

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French Impressionist Gardens Notecards; $25
”The emergence of the Impressionist movement in France during the late 19th century coincided with a significant transformation to the physical landscape of Paris and its surroundings, as a revolution in the style and nature of public parks took place and a renewed interest in horticulture and gardening emerged. Collected here are 36 notecards showcasing 12 works by artists such as Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Auguste Renoir, and more, all from The Met collection.”

French Impressionist Gardens Notecards

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Other articles you might enjoy:

LES JARDINS | MONET, WATERLILIES & THE HUNTINGTON GARDENS

NYC GUIDE: BEST FRENCH DINING & TAKEOUT

LE DECOR | 5 FRENCH SCULPTURES FOR YOUR HOME

NÖEL | 5 FRENCH HOLIDAY ORNAMENTS FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE

BOOK CLUB | 5 FRENCH HOLIDAY READS FOR DECEMBER 2020

*This article may contain affiliate links. TCA only promotes products that we love, whether we make a small commission or not, so you can rest assured that you’re getting our best. Merci for your support!

Les Jardins | Monet, Water Lilies & The Huntington Gardens

The Huntington Gardens Lily Pond, doing its best impression (get it, impressionism?) of Monet’s Giverny.

Riddle me this: Is it possible to experience a little piece of France, in the flesh, and without leaving LA county? No need for those heavy Virtual Reality goggles, or an eight hour drive to see the knock-off Tour Eiffel in Las Vegas, because I’ve discovered the ultimate doppelgänger to Giverny— Claude Monet’s charming countryside home and jardin oasis in Normandy.

Just a quick train ride west of Paris, the French impressionist’s preserved residence—and the aesthetic inspiration behind perhaps his most celebrated opus, the Water Lilies series—still inspires guests and art lovers daily with in-person tours.

In fact, if you’re already planning your next trip to France, I found you a 10% discount for a guided Giverny tour with Paris City Vision here.

The real Giverny, as immortalized by Claude Monet, which you can still visit in Normandy.

Monet, Water Lilies & the Huntington Gardens

With my hunger pangs for travel growing stronger each day, I was thrilled to learn than the Huntington Library & Gardens has begun the early phases of reopening. Nestled on more than 120 acres of the Pasadena-adjacent town of San Marino—which is full of suburban charm in its own right, with its picket fences and manicured lawns, quaint downtown, and the stunning early 20th century architecture of its municipal buildings—like Giverny, it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the bustle of the city.

At the moment, the Huntington museum and library—once privately owned by one of Pasadena’s original urban city planners, Henry Edwards Huntington as a personal residence—remain closed due to the health crisis, but the sweeping outdoor botanical gardens are once again receiving (fully masked) guests by reservation.

Opened to public in 1928—in accordance with Huntington’s last will, following his death the previous year—the museum houses an incredible collection of 18th century portraiture, as well as European and American oeuvres by Andy Warhol, Edward Hopper, and Mary Cassat, while the library boasts some of the most cherished pieces of work by heralded historical figures—including presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, and original drafts and first editions of works by the likes of Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, and Chaucer.

(Contd. below)

Bienvenue chez moi! Just kidding, it’s the Huntington Library, bien sûr.

And have we talked about the gardens?

Like living botanical exhibits, the sprawling gardens are arranged into 14 outdoor installations—including the Rose Garden, the Camelia Garden, the Desert Garden, the Japanese Garden, and of course—the Lily Ponds.

It was here that I perched myself near the little footbridge—surrounded by lily pads, daffodils, and weeping willow trees, it’s a dead ringer for Claude’s—and imagined myself at the end of a long day of oil painting, hopping on the train and heading the 50 miles east back to Paris.

Incidentally, that’s also where you can visit the giant Monet mural masterpiece, combining eight of the impressionist paintings in the Water Lilies series. Permanently housed in the stark (yet, also grand) ovular basement of the Museé de L’Orangerie, it’s been in residence since Monet’s death in 1927—which is also the same year that took Henry Edwards Huntington.

Coincidence?

The magnificent Water Lilies permanent exhibit at the Museé de L’Orangerie in Paris.
Photo source: L’Orangerie website.