One of Belgium's largest private art collections will soon be sold: Masterpieces by René Magritte and Pablo Picasso belonged to the collection of Roger and Josette Vanthournout, a couple from Izegem in West Flanders, who over the years collected art as a hobby.
Today, the collection is estimated to be worth 46 million euros. It includes Belgian masterpieces by René Magritte and Gustave De Smet and international masterpieces by Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst and Henry Moore. They will soon be auctioned at Christie's in London, but for many years they were kept at the home of Roger Vanthournout and his wife Josette in Izegem.
For more than 60 years, the couple collected paintings, sculptures and other works of art based on their shared passion: modern and contemporary art.
Travelling in the fifties
Roger Vanthournout trained as an interior designer and ran a furniture store in Izegem. Aurora had been founded by his father in 1921. His wife Josette T'Kint was also an art lover and an artist in her own right.
From the mid-1950s onwards, the couple travelled extensively. They visited art fairs where they engaged directly with artists, dealers and galleries.
Roger and Josette started collecting Chinese vases, but over the years broadened their horizons to include examples of Flemish expressionism, surrealism and post-war art.
‘They were people who bought work very early on from artists who had yet to make their breakthrough,’ explains VRT radio host Chantal Pattyn. ‘At the time, they probably paid very reasonable prices.’
‘Buying art was completely different back then. People travelled under their own steam to art fairs at home and abroad in order to buy pieces. It was a niche market. The couple’s collection is part of a personal story. That's what makes it so fantastic.’
According to experts, Roger was friends with the cream of art gallery owners and the couple only bought art that they themselves liked. Profit was never the motive.
One of Belgium's largest collections
At its peak, their collection of around 200 pieces was one of the largest in Belgium. When in 2005 Roger died at the age of 80 and Josette decided to downsize, part of the collection was sold.
In 2006, 27 pieces were auctioned at Sotheby's in New York, fetching a total of almost 20 million euros. The highlight, a work by artist Francis Bacon, sold for a record 11.7 million euros. Roger is said to have bought it decades earlier for “barely” 50,000 euros.
Magritte and Picasso
When Josette passed away at the age of 95 in April last year, the family decided to auction the rest of the collection. This will take place at Christie's auction house in London in March.
The highlight, “La plaine de l'air” (1940) by Belgian surrealist René Magritte, is estimated to fetch between €4 million and €6.3 million. In the same price category is a sculpture by British sculptor Henry Moore: “Goslar Warrior” (1973).
There is also another work by Magritte, “Le lieu-dit” (1955). “Nu debout et femmes assises” (1939), a masterpiece by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, is also on display, estimated to be worth between 3.5 and 5.8 million euros.
Other masterpieces are by Max Ernst, Yayoi Kusama, Lucio Fontana, Agnes Martin and the Ghent artist Gustave De Smet. The value of the collection is estimated at 46 million euros.
Today and tomorrow, the pieces are still on display at Christie's in Brussels. After that, they will travel to Hong Kong, New York and Paris, before ending up in London for the auction.
‘It's amazing what's on display there,’ says Chantal Pattyn, who has seen the collection. ‘It's incredibly beautiful and the quality of the works is unbelievable. The prices are mind-boggling, but that's just how it is in the art world.’
‘It also once again shows that we are a nation of collectors,’ she notes. ‘There are few places in the world with so many important private collections as in Flanders.’
The downside of the auction is that the collection will almost certainly leave Belgium. ‘It will probably be sold worldwide. I don't think the museums here will be able to buy any of the pieces. So it's a bit of a shame that they will probably leave Belgium as a result of the auction.’
However, there may be a silver lining. ‘The collection also includes a small work by Panamarenko, which will be auctioned at a slightly lower starting price of 25,000 euros. Hopefully, that will fit in within the budget of one of our museums and we will be able to keep the Belgian work in the country.’