Bolesław Biegas (Biegalski) (1877 – 1954)

Lot 55. Boleslas BIEGAS (Koziczyn 1877- Paris 1954). The Calm. Circa 1907-1908. Bronze sculpture with dark brown patina. Height: 30 cm Width : 10 cm Depth : 10 cm. Signed on the base left “B. B. Biegas. Period cast, unidentified founder Avis d’inclusion dans le catalog raisonné des sculptures de Boleslas Biegas en cours d’élaboration par Xavier Deryng, sous l’égide de la Société Historique et Littéraire Polonaise/Institut Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris, légataire universel de l’artiste. Exhibition: Biegas, Galerie des Artistes Modernes, March 23 – April 4, 1908. Estimate €5,000 – 7,000. Millon. 04-24-25

Le Calme dates from 1907-1908 and was shown at the Galerie des Artistes Modernes, avenue Caumartin, which organized a major exhibition of Biegas’ work from March 23 to April 4, 1908. This was Biegas’ only solo exhibition in a Paris gallery before the First World War. From 1902 onwards, however, Biegas exhibited regularly at the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. The exhibition at the Galerie des Artistes Modernes included 81 works (41 sculptures, 11 busts and 29 paintings). It was accompanied by a small catalog, invaluable for his sculptures, as it listed those that had been cast in bronze. Le Calme (no. 33) is very similar to Un Moment (no. 31) (Chwila), but unlike the latter sculpture, it bears no title on the base, just Biegas’ signature. Le Calme has the same vertical structure as Un Moment, but is smaller (30 cm – as opposed to 38 cm). Nevertheless, in terms of form, the same intermediate treatment between a high relief and a half-relief is characteristic of Biegas’ three-dimensional creations before his conversion to the ronde bosse. The face of Le Calme is very similar to that of Un Moment, and of L’Innocence exhibited in 1997 at the Mazovian Museum in Płock. These three sculptures are not reproduced in the 1906 Album, edited by Louis Theuveny. They date from 1907 or the very beginning of 1908. These sculptures were probably exhibited in the foyer of the Théâtre Femina, 90 avenue des Champs-Élysées, from June 24 to July 5, 1912, on the occasion of the performance of his play in 6 tableaux Michel Ange, organized by the Amicale des Arts. They undoubtedly inspired Guillaume Apollinaire, who wrote in L’Intransigeant of June 28, 1912: “L’Amicale des Arts has organized an exhibition of works (sculpture and painting) by Boleslas Biegas at the Théâtre Femina. This artist’s idealism has produced works that are not bland. He expresses the deepest and purest feelings of humanity. Long meditated, his compositions are harmonious and calm (…) This elevated art, which must be linked to religious art, is worthy of arresting attention.”

Warto zanotować pojawienie się chyba po raz pierwszy od ponad stu lat unikatowej rzeźby Bolesława Biegasa “The Calm“. Praca ta pochodzi z początków kariery rzeźbiarskiej tego artysty, sponsorowanej finansowo przez baronstwo Trutschel.

Druga z prac Bolesława Biegasa w Millon to olej Komety. Firma francuska “zapomniała” uzupełnić proweniencję informacją o własnej sprzeaży tej pracy we wrześniu ubieglego roku za €4,800. w tej chwili widełki wyceny firma ta ustawiła poniżej poprzedniej ceny sprzedaży. Wymaga to jakiegoś wyjaśnienia bo inaczej może dojść do brutalnej interpretacji. https://polishartcorner.com/2024/09/23/boleslaw-biegas-biegalski-1877-1954-12/

Lot 77. Boleslas BIEGAS (Warsaw 1877- Paris 1954). The comets. Produced in 1935. Oil on isorel 33 x 24 cm. Signed lower right “B. B. Biegas. Avis d’inclusion dans le Catalogue raisonné des peintures de Boleslas Biegas en cours d’élaboration par Monsieur Xavier Deryng sous l’égide de la Société historique et littéraire polonaise – Bibliothèque polonaise de Paris, légataire universel de l’artiste. Provenance : Artist’s studio, bequeathed to the Polish Historical and Literary Society. Sale Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, October 26, 1990, n°76. Estimate €3,000 – 4,000. Millon. 04/24/25