Lot 106. MUTER Mela 1876–1967: Woman Lost in Thought Before Apples. Oil on canvas, signed “SHG”; on the reverse, an oil painting depicting a forest landscape. 73×54 cm. Provenance: private collection. Estimate €30,000 – 50,000. Chaville Enchères. 07/19/26. Sold €45,000

Dwustronny obraz Meli Muter na którym przedstawiona jest kobieta w białej, koronkowej bluzce i bordowym gorsecie, siedzącą z podpartą na dłoni głową, w zamyślonej, intymnej pozie, z widoczną w dolnym rogu misą owoców. Kompozycja, gęsta, fakturalna faktura pociągnięć pędzla oraz charakterystyczne dla Muter niedopracowanie niektórych partii tła na rzecz skupienia na twarzy i geście modelki, są bardzo zgodne z jej dojrzałym stylem portretowym z okresu międzywojennego, gdy portret był jej główną domeną twórczą i źródłem utrzymania w Paryżu.

Lot 72. MUTER Maria Mela, 1876–1967 — Avignon, haystacks on Barthelasse Island, with Fort Saint-André in the distance — oil on panel (minor losses, two small holes at the top center) – Signed lower left – 38x46cm – Experts: Michel and Raphaël MAKET – Sold at the request of AGRASC. Estimate €4,000 – 7,000. Ivoire – Hôtel des Ventes du Marais. 06/25/26. Sold €35,000

Niespodziewanie nisko wyceniony pejzaż ze stogami Meli Muter. Bardzo podobna praca była niedawno licytowana we Francji jako element podwójnej kompozycji https://polishartcorner.com/2026/05/10/maria-melania-mutermilch-1876-1967-57/. Ivoire – Hôtel des Ventes du Marais w tym samym katalogu proponował portret młodej kobiety w wykonaniu Jana Styki https://polishartcorner.com/2026/06/12/jan-styka-1858-1925-27/. Jednak, być może po moim krytycznym wpisie, zdecydowano się tam na usunięcie nazwiska naszego artysty i obecnie obraz ten jest sprzedawany pod tytulem SCHOOL OF THE LATE 19TH CENTURY. Gwałtownie obniżono również estymację tej pracy z €5,000 na €200. Trzeba uważać na niefrasobliwych przypadkowych gości sprzedających sztukę i pracujących w domach aukcyjnych, tu i tam, na wschodzie i zachodzie. W jedym miejscu zaproponują sprzedaż obrazu Rubensa za 5,000,000 złotych a w drugim Jana Styki za €3,000 bo eksperci, jak się poszuka i zapłaci, to zawsze się znajdą bo jest ich mnogo.

PS. Aukcja obrazu Meli Muter była długa i zabawna bo rzeczywiście rozpoczęto licytowanie of €4,000

Lot 172. Maria Melania KLINGSLAND, known as Mela MUTER (1876–1967). Still Life. Oil on canvas, signed upper right. 73 x 60 cm. Estimate €40,000 – 60,000. Thierry de Maigret. 07/01/26. Sold €55,000

Provenance: Former collection of Mrs. Henry Lapauze* Private collection * This is most likely Henry Lapauze’s (1867–1925) third wife, Marie Paule Fontenelle (1889–1975)

In this composition, Muter does not treat the subject merely as a still-life exercise. The fish, likely the catch of the day, are placed on a newspaper whose title [La] Dépêche is visible. This detail, linking fishing and Dépêche, fresh produce and fresh news, introduces a touch of humor without diverting the eye from the painting itself.

The painting’s composition rests on a highly controlled balance; the motif initially appears disordered, almost improvised, but Muter has perfect mastery over its organization; she employs a thick, almost jagged brushstroke, composed of impasto, overpainting, and streaks of color. The back of the chair, placed in the background, gives the scene a domestic and familiar anchor, while the green bottle, standing upright on the left, stabilizes the composition. Its deep green acts as a counterpoint to the pink, red, and orange tones of the fish, reinforcing their intensity. Muter thus contrasts the cool green of the bottle with the pinks, reds, and oranges of the fish. The chair, the newspaper, and the bottle place the scene in a simple, everyday setting, while the thick, energetic brushwork gives the motif an immediate, lifelike presence.

On the reverse, an old handwritten label bears the inscription “Exhibition of Madam… / Still Life / Belongs to Mrs. Henry Lapauze / 10 rue Royale.” This indication leads us to believe that Mme Henry Lapauze is most likely Marie-Paule Fontenelle, the third and last wife of Henry Lapauze, art critic, curator of the Petit Palais, and founder of *La Renaissance de l’art français et des industries du luxe*. After her husband’s death in 1925, Marie-Paule Lapauze continued her work in the Parisian art world: she took over the direction of the magazine and opened, in 1926, the Galerie de la Renaissance.

Dom aukcyjny włożył sporo wysiłku by opisać i wytłumaczyć Meli Muter martwą naturę z rybami leżącymi na gazecie.

Lot 144. Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch). Mann mit rotem Schal. Verso: Sitzender Jüngling, 1919. Oil on card. 59 x 73 cm. Framed. Unsigned. – Corners and margins of picture slightly bumped. Provenance: Estate of the artist; Bargera Collection, Cologne; Private collection, Switzerland. Exhibitions: Cologne 1967 (Galerie Bargera), Mela Muter. Retrospektivausstellung, cat. no. 78. Estimate €28,000 – 30,000. Lempertz. 06/06/26. Sold €36,000

Para niesygnowanych prac Meli Muter z dobrą proweniencją oraz historią wystawienniczą sięgającą jeszcze okresu końca życia artystki.

Lot 145. Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch). Berglandschaft. Oil on panel. 40.5 x 30 cm. Framed. Unsigned. Galerie Bargera, Cologne, label verso, therein work information and inscribed “No 41”. – Retouches in the impasto dark areas and a few small paint losses. Wooden panel slightly convex. Provenance: Estate of the artist; Galerie Bargera, Cologne; Private collection, Switzerland. Estimate €12,000 – 15,000. Lempertz. 06/06/26. Passed

Lot 53. Maria Melania KINGSLAND, known as MELA MUTER (Warsaw 1876 – Paris 1967). Portrait of a Young Woman – The Millstones (circa 1940)/ Double-sided oil on panel, signed lower right 61 x 50 cm Provenance: Model’s family To understand the particularity of this double composition, we need to explain the portrait. Estimate €60,000 – 80,000. Ivoire Group. 05/27/26. Sold €62,000

The model, Jeanne Durand (aged 13 at the time), recounted that Mela Muter had suggested to her mother Yvette Durand, then headmistress of the Lycée de Jeunes Filles d’Avignon (from 1936 to 1945), that she paint her portrait in front of the Pont Saint-Bénézet (Avignon’s bridge). The two women knew each other well and had mutual friends in the Resistance. Yvette Durand provided services to the network of Rodez pastor Idebert Exbrayat, whom she had met when she was headmistress of the Rodez secondary school. Due to material shortages, Mela Muter was forced to paint the portrait on the reverse of a picture she had previously painted, depicting a harvest scene on Barthelasse Island, with Philippe-le-Bel’s tower on the left and Fort Saint-André on the right. An artist whose output expanded after she settled in France, she became an important figure in what came to be known as the École de Paris. In 1902, she presented her work at the Salon des Beaux-Arts, where she subsequently exhibited regularly. Three years later, she participated for the first time in the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants. It was then that she came to the attention of art dealer Ambroise Vollard. Initially influenced by Symbolism, her painting soon evolved into an expressionist style. She converted to Catholicism in 1924, after the death of her father. However, during the Second World War, she felt threatened by the Nazi occupation because of her Jewish origins. She left Paris for Avignon, where she taught drawing, art history and literature. Expert: Elisabeth and Philippine Maréchaux

Spośród tych dwóch różnych obrazów Meli Muter, namalowanych na obu stronach płótna, zdecydowanie preferuję pejzaż Meli Muter nad portret młodej kobiety, choć to oczywiście kwestia gustu. Płótno to powinno pobudzić do zdecydowanej walki aukcyjnej.

Lot 160. MUTER Mela, 1876-1967. Still life with vegetables and newspaper, oil on canvas sewn in three pieces, signed lower left 80x80cm. Provenance: Collection of the painter Jac Martin-Ferrières – Private collection. Estimate €30,000 – 50,000. Rossini. 04/01/26. Sold €47,000

Rarytasy na obecnym niemrawym rynku poloników. Dwa oleje Meli Muter wśród których ‘niedbała’ martwa natura z warzywami ułożonymi na gazecie będzie sporym wydarzeniem

Lot 159. MUTER Mela, 1876-1967. Card player, oil on canvas, signed upper left and lower left 80.5x65cm. Provenance: Collection of the painter Jac Martin-Ferrières – Private collection. Estimate €18,000 – 30,000. Rossini. 04/01/26. Sold €66,000

Lot 104. MUTER, MELA1886 Warschau – 1967 Paris. Rhôneufer mit Booten, 1936. Oil on wood.45 x 54cm.Signed lower left: Muter.Craftman’s frame. On the reverse is another painting, ‘Landscape with Houses‘. Provenance: – Kunsthaus Lempertz, Cologne, 847th auction, 26th November 2003, lot 876 (label); – Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia. Estimate €15,000 – 20,000. Van Ham. 12/03/25. Sold €30,000

Podwójny obraz Meli Muter na grudniowej aukcji w Van Ham.

Lot 53. Mela Muter (Polish, 1876-1967). Rue des Roues, Avignon. c.1940s, signed ‘.. / Muter’ in two places (lower left and upper right), oil on board, 54.6 x 45.7 cm (21 1/2 x 18 in), unframed. Provenance: a private California collection. Estimate $20,000 – 40,000. Skinner-Bonhams. 11/24/25. Sold $20,000

Podwójnie sygnowany olej Meli Muter malowany grubą pastą. Nie byłem w Avignion a zatem przyjmuję wg opisu, że to jest rzeczywiście uliczka tego miasta.

Lot 33. Mela MUTER (Warsaw 1876 – Paris 1967). Barge on the banks of the Seine. Circa 1930. Oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm. Signed lower right “Muter”. Estimate €40,000 – 60,000. Millon. 10/28/25. Sold €39,000

Millon i jego eksperci dołączyli do tego obrazu opis biograficzy Meli Muter napisany przez innych, który pominąłem. Takie przepisywanie opisów z książek niewiele dodają wartości do sprzedawanej pracy. Jestem przekonany, że osoba, która rozważa wydanie €40,000 – 60,000 zna biografię artystki i potrafi umiejscowić ten obraz w jej twórczości. Czego brakuje w opisie? Oczywiście informacji o proweniencji. Wygląda jakby obraz został właśnie po raz pierwszy odkryty na rynku. Tak oczywiście nie jest i Millon pominął fakt sprzedaży tej pracy 19 listopada 2021 roku pod tytułem “Paris, la Seine au Pont-Marie, ca. 1930″, czyli stosunkowo niedawno. Spora niedbałość domu aukcyjnego i niepotrzebnie firma ukrywa falt tej sprzedaży. Można było oczywiście dodać informację o bardzo podobnej pracy Meli Muter sprzedanej w 2020 roku przez Desę-Unicum (fot poniżej) i jakoś odnieść się do niej. W sumie odnoszę wrażenie dużej nonszalancji ekspertów Millon mogącej sprawiać wrażenie pogardy w stosunku do klientów od których firma oczekuje, że sami wykonają za nich pracę.

Dla kontrasu przedstawiam obraz Meli Muter z nadchodzącej aukcji w Bonhams pt. Le sculpteur François Pompon dans son atelier. Opis (praca chyba nie jest sygnowana) zawiera znakomity esej o przedmiocie obrazu przedstawiającego znanego rzeźbiarza zajętego pracą w swojej pracowni.

Lot 2. MELA MUTER (1876-1967). Le sculpteur François Pompon dans son atelier, oil on canvas, 81 x 64.8cm (31 7/8 x 25 1/2in). Painted circa 1925. The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Urszula Lazowski. Provenance: Gérald Schurr Collection, Paris. Leicester Galleries (Peter Nahum), London. Private collection, UK. Private collection, UK (by descent from the above). Exhibited: Neuilly-sur-Seine, Centre Culturel Arturo Lopez, Portraits et autoportraits de la Collection Gérald Schurr, 16 April – 5 May 1986, no. 58. Literature: G. Schurr, Les petits maîtres de la peinture de valeur de demain, Vol. V, Paris, 1981 (illustrated p. 28).

Estimate £70,000 – £100,000. Bonhams. Passed

Le sculpteur François Pompon dans son atelier is a painting that masterfully blends visual realism and psychological depth. Painted from a viewpoint just inside the threshold of the sculptor’s studio, the composition evokes the sense of having quietly entered the space, catching the artist absorbed in his work. Pompon sits at a modest table, his posture hunched in concentration, his hands obscured by a tall stool placed between him and the viewer. Atop the stool rests a pristine white sculpture of a cockerel (Coq, 1914), one of Pompon’s signature animal forms. Rendered with remarkable fidelity, it mirrors the polished, essentialist aesthetic for which he became known – to show the animal in its truest and most undeniable essence. A hammer lies casually beside the sculpture, implying that the piece is still in progress, yet the artist’s focus has shifted, suggesting a moment of contemplation or perhaps a natural pause in the rhythm of his day.

The painting is saturated with tactile details that give it a documentary quality, yet Muter’s loose, confident brushwork imbues the scene with a painterly vitality. The use of an earthy palette, with ochres, browns, deep reds and soft whites, captures the warm, lived-in atmosphere of the atelier. In this painting, as in several of Muter’s works, the use of bold black contours defines forms with clarity and emotional intensity – a technique likely inspired by the noted polish painter Władysław Ślewiński. Lining the wall behind Pompon are semi-abstracted sculptures, their smooth, rounded forms hinting at animal figures. Though their features are indistinct, they echo the recurring themes in Pompon’s career: the distillation of the animal form into something rhythmically pure and timeless. These forms are not incidental. They represent decades of observation and refinement, whether from the farmyards of his native Normandy or from exotic creatures studied at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, where he famously set up a portable studio to model animals from life.

To the right, two figurative sculptures subtly broaden the range of Pompon’s artistic practice. A large figure of a girl with a basket (Cosette, 1888) and a Neoclassical bust serve as reminders that Pompon had mastered the human form before gaining recognition for his animal sculptures. Trained under the animalier Pierre Louis Rouillard and having worked in the studio of Auguste Rodin, who once predicted Pompon would become ‘a great artist’, Pompon’s grounding in traditional sculpture was robust (P. Kjellberg, Les bronzes du XIXe siècle, Paris, 2005, p. 583). Yet, it was only after 1905 that he devoted himself exclusively to animals, reducing their forms, smoothing away detail, and searching for ‘the essential’, as he self-described his method.

The present work was formerly part of the collection of Gérald Schurr, a French art critic and passionate collector with a unique focus on portraits of painters and writers, whether self-portraits or depictions by fellow artists such as Maurice Vlaminck, Pablo Picasso, and Paul Cézanne. François Pompon is thereby placed within this pantheon, one that truly celebrates his talent and enduring art historical significance. Schurr’s collection grew to around 700 works, reflecting his unwavering dedication and profound fascination with the faces, emotions, and enigmatic presence of each artist. He firmly believed that these portraits served as a bridge between the artist and their work, revealing deeper truths about their identity. Schurr explores this idea in Portraits et Autoportraits, a text published to accompany an exhibition of the same name held at in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1986, within which the present work formed a critical touchstone of his artistic philosophy. Alongside works such as Louis Valtat’s portrait of Pierre-Auguste Renoir (circa 1910), Maximilien Luce’s portrait of Georges Seurat (1888), and Jean Cocteau’s portrait of Pablo Picasso (1917), the present work shone in remarkable company, contributing to a vital dialogue between artists.

In Le sculpteur François Pompon dans son atelier, Mela Muter brings the hallmarks of her mature style to bear: psychological insight, expressive brushwork, and a profound sensitivity to her subject’s inner world. Just as she approached her portraits of political thinkers and anonymous exiles with unflinching emotional honesty, here she captures the quiet dignity of an artist whose life was devoted to form, restraint, and essence. This painting is not merely a depiction of a studio – it is a meditation on artistic integrity and solitude, rendered by an artist who herself navigated the complexities of identity, displacement, and belonging. The result is a rare double portrait: of the sculptor and of the very nature of artistic creation. This level of authenticity reveals not only Muter’s keen sensitivity as an observer, but also her embeddedness in the intellectual and artistic circles of the École de Paris. She was an artist who, despite her outsider status, saw and understood her subjects with remarkable clarity. In capturing Pompon within the sanctum of his creative life, Muter affirms her enduring ability to translate the invisible – concentration, humility, and genius – into powerful visual form.

Please note that this work has been requested for the landmark François Pompon retrospective at the Château de Frontenay in the summer of 2026, currently being prepared by Côme Remy and Liliane Colas from the Association François Pompon, authors of the François Pompon catalogue raisonné. This work will be reproduced in the exhibition catalogue and would be featured alongside Pompon’s seminal works in the exhibition, including Coq (1914), which appears in the foreground of this portrait.

Lot 37. Mela MUTER (Warsaw 1876 – Paris 1967). Maternity at harvest time. Circa 1925. Oil on panel 108 x 90 cm. Signed lower right “Muter”. On the back, Bargera gallery label and label with information “n°2232 Marie Mela Muter Woman with two children in the fields”. Provenance: Galerie Bargera, Cologne, Germany Ewa and Wojtek Fibak Collection, Acquired from them by the current owner in the 1990s (Swiss private collection). This work is another, more definitive version of the painting “Maternity, Mother and Child” reproduced in the catalog written by Mirosław Adam Supruniuk and Sławomir Majoch, Mela Muter, Peinture, Toruń, 2010, p.128. Estimate €60,000 – 80,000. Millon. 06/27/25. Sold €80,000

Aukcja Ecole de Paris w Millon przed przerwą wakacyjną. Zadziwia obecność aż pięciu prac Meli Muter, które sprzedał 25 lat Wojciech Fibak kolekcjonerowi ze Szwajcarii. Jedną z nich jest chyba najlepsza wersja Macierzyństa tej artystki. Na polskim rynku była inna wersja, bez proweniencji za to z kilomertrowym opisem, by po fiasku znaleźć się we Francji, dyskutowana na PAC: https://polishartcorner.com/2025/04/09/maria-mela-muter-1876-1967-35/ . Ostatni olej tutaj pokazany nie ma proweniencji i bardzo mi odbiega od pozostalych prac; niezdarne kreski na wodzie po lewej stronie stwarzają wrażenie mocnego spadku wody.

Lot 38. Mela MUTER (Warsaw 1876 – Paris 1967). Back nude. Circa 1922. Oil on canvas 92 x 65 cm. Signed upper left “Muter”. On the back of the stretcher, label “n°2226 Femme nue de dos”. Provenance: Ewa and Wojtek Fibak Collection. Acquired from them by the current owner in the 1990s (Swiss private collection). Estimate €40,000 – 60,000. Sold €100,000

Lot 39. Mela MUTER (Warsaw 1876 – Paris 1967). People from the artist’s studio in Avignon. Oil on canvas 100 x 73 cm. Signed upper left “Muter”. On the back of the canvas, label of Galerie Bargera and Galerie Gmurzynska. Provenance : Galerie Gmurzynska Galerie Bargera, Cologne, Germany Ewa and Wojtek Fibak Collection. Acquired from them by the current owner in the 1990s (Swiss private collection). This painting shows the same model as “Solitude”, from the Ewa and Wojtek Fibak collection, no. 19, and reproduced on p.12 of the catalog for the exhibition Mela Muter, Musée de Pont-Aven, October 2, 1993-January 2, 1994, Pont Aven. The painting appears to have been executed from his studio on the Rocher des Doms. The bird’s-eye view encompasses the group of people, the Rhône and Fort Saint-André in the distance on the other side of the river at Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. Estimate €50,000 – 60,000. Sold €62,000

Lot 40. Mela MUTER (Warsaw 1876 – Paris 1967). Still life with books 1914. Oil on canvas 90 x 80 cm. On the back of the stretcher, the label “12937 Mela muter 90 x 80 Still life with books”. On back of canvas, information in white chalk “Gault 2 740”. Provenance: Ewa and Wojtek Fibak Collection. Acquired from them by the current owner in the 1990s (Swiss private collection). Estimate €30,000 – 40,000. Sold €32,000

Lot 41. Mela MUTER (Warsaw 1876 – Paris 1967). Pot of tulips. Oil on panel 61 x 50 cm. Signed upper left “Muter”. On the back of the frame, the label “n°2231 Pot de tulipes. Provenance: Ewa and Wojtek Fibak Collection. Acquired from them by the current owner in the 1990s (Swiss private collection). Estimate €15,000 – 20,000. Sold €25,000

Lot 69. Marie Mela MUTER (1876-1967). Fishermen in the port of Collioure. Oil on canvas, signed lower right, signature included 54 x 65 cm. Estimate €40,000 – 50,000. Auction Art Rémy Le Fur & Associés. 06/20/25. Passed