Christie’s will offer the Collection Zeineb et Jean-Pierre Marcie-Rivière, un couple de grands amateurs et mécènes, on 8 and 9 June 2016. This unique sale, gathering major modern and contemporary artworks, antiquities and decorative arts is among the most prestigious private collections of art and design organised by Christie’s in France. This sale, comprising 370 lots, estimated in the region of €18 million, will pay tribute to the discerning eye of Zeineb and Jean-Pierre Marcie-Rivière, a couple well known for their hospitality and generosity.
François de Ricqlès, President of Christie’s France: “This collection is a testament to the passionate connoisseurship of Monsieur and Madame Marcie-Rivière, who were often ahead of their time in their selection of a very subtle mix of styles and periods, with works of art from renowned artists. It is a collection of high quality which cannot be compared to any other.
Zeineb and Jean-Pierre Marcie-Rivière were inspired by the tradition of the most prestigious 20th century French connoisseurs, who looked to the 1920s decoration of the Viscount and Viscountess de Noailles’s private mansion decorated by Jean-Michel Frank. Zeineb and Jean-Pierre’s exquisite taste, combined with the talent and expertise of Renzo Mongiardino and Alberto Pinto, resulted in a collection which provides an exceptional opportunity for those wishing to acquire some of the most magnificent works of art offered in Paris since the Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Bergé or Hélène Rochas collections.”
Zeineb and Jean-Pierre Marcie-Rivière acquired signed artworks by many leading 20th century artists including Francis Bacon, Nicolas de Staël, Jean Dubuffet, Anselm Kiefer, Richard Serra, Brice Marden, Julio González, Max Ernst, François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, among others.
The top lot of the sale is the final painting of the Men in Blue series by Francis Bacon painted between March and June 1954.
