Sayart.net - Rare Óscar Domínguez Sculpture from Hyères Set for Auction in Cannes

An elegant and refined sculpture combining surrealism with sacred themes is heading to the auction block. "Saint Pierre Holding the Key to Paradise," a wrought iron sculpture created in 1953 by one of the masters of surrealism, will be sold at auction on August 15 in Cannes. The work by Óscar Domínguez, listed as lot 287 by Cannes auctioneer Jean-Pierre Besch of Besch Cannes Auction, is estimated to sell for between 6,000 and 8,000 euros. According to the specialist, while Domínguez may not have the same recognition among the general public as Pablo Picasso, he remains a solid investment valued by collectors and museums alike. Picasso himself was actually a collector of Domínguez's work, having acquired a phonograph created by his Spanish compatriot to add to his personal collection. In an interesting historical footnote, this famous phonograph - a surrealist object by Óscar Domínguez that had caused a sensation in January 1938 during the International Surrealist Exhibition at the Beaux-Arts gallery in Paris - had been considered lost. That is, until a photograph taken in 1947 in Pablo Picasso's Parisian studio revealed the happy owner: the painter of Guernica himself, according to the website philosophieetsurréalisme. For the auctioneer, Óscar Domínguez remains "a safe bet, exhibited at the Guggenheim, purchased by art connoisseurs. Certainly, he doesn't have the same audience with the general public as Picasso, but like artists from the 1950s to 1980s, he generates interest among collectors." The reason? "The traceability of the work, which being more contemporary allows us to know its history. This is much easier than for 17th-century works, where expertise is more complex," explains the auctioneer in charge of the sale. This Saint Pierre sculpture is part of Domínguez's official "catalogue raisonné" - meaning it's among the artist's officially documented creations. It will be accompanied by a certificate from the "Asociación de Defensa de Óscar Domínguez" that will be given to the buyer. The sculpture measures 2.19 meters high and 1.40 meters wide, with a depth of 0.77 meters at its base. It once overlooked the small Saint-Pierre château near Villa Noailles, which is now metropolitan property managed by the Villa Noailles association. But who actually owns this sculpture that was formerly positioned to the right of the building? The history of this artwork is intimately tied to the property where it once stood. Originally, this house called the "petit château" (small château) was built between 1920 and 1923 for Viscountess Vroomans-Leclercq, a Belgian widow from World War I, according to the Ministry of Culture. On this hill, facing the Giens peninsula with an exceptional panoramic view, this patron of the arts financed excavations at the Saint-Pierre church before creating this monument and wanting to bequeath her entire Hyères estate to the commune. A visionary, she imagined the site being developed for cultural purposes. As the Ministry indicates, "she bombarded the mayor with vehement correspondence in favor of a prescient vision of cultural tourism, but, isolated, she eventually grew weary." Abandoned, the ruined house with its Roman-style castle battlements and the 4,711 square meter overgrown property was acquired by another viscountess and her husband, the Noailles family. Preoccupied with Villa Noailles, the couple sold the site in the 1950s to their friend, Chilean diplomat Antonio Gandarillas. In the 1950s, they sold it to their Chilean friend, diplomat Antonio Gandarillas, who made it his vacation residence between 1953 and 1964. Renamed Villa Gandarillas, the site was rehabilitated and the famous wrought iron sculpture by Óscar Domínguez was installed as a cultural standard. Unable to maintain the property, "Tony Gandarillas" sold it to his neighbor, Charles de Noailles, who donated it to his daughter Nathalie. In 1966, the "Saint-Pierre château" or "Villa Gandarillas" was transferred to the commune of Hyères. As for the sculpture? It disappeared from the landscape, or almost. "It belongs to a private collector," states attorney Jean-Pierre Besch. "When the building was purchased from a private individual by the commune of Hyères, the sculpture was already no longer there," he assures. Who will become the new owner of Saint Pierre holding the key to paradise? A private individual or a public entity? The answer will be known on August 15. The auction will begin at 2:30 PM. The sale represents not just an art transaction, but a piece of cultural history that spans decades and connects the surrealist movement to the French Riviera's artistic heritage. The sculpture's journey from a Belgian patron's vision to a Chilean diplomat's cultural statement, and now to the auction house, reflects the complex networks of art patronage and collection that have shaped 20th-century artistic legacy. For potential bidders, the piece offers both artistic merit and historical significance, certified by the official Domínguez association and backed by comprehensive provenance documentation that traces its path through some of the most significant cultural figures of the mid-20th century.