Robert de Balkany: The Côte d'Azur and Rome

London – Highlights from ‘Robert de Balkany: The Côte d'Azur and Rome’ will go view at Christie’s Paris from 8-14 September 2016, ahead of two auctions that will take place at Christie’s London, King Street, on 21-23 March 2017. Comprising over 700 works of art from two of the houses of the celebrated businessman, Château Balsan in Eze and Palazzo Lancellotti in Rome, the sales will be a testament to Robert de Balkany’s discerning eye and vision as a collector and connoisseur. 

Pedro Girao, Chairman of European Advisory Board, Christie’s: ‘Having been a close friend of Robert and his family for a number of years, it is a great honour to be entrusted by the family with these magnificent sales of the contents of two of his beautiful houses. Christie’s has long-admired the collecting vision of Robert de Balkany. His homes effortlessly combine refinement and luxury and we are pleased to offer this collection, which gives all those who were inspired by his life the opportunity to see how he lived with art.’

Highlights include the magnificent Duke of York silver-gilt centrepiece by Edward Farrell, depicting Hercules slaying the Hydra; a pair of monumental terrestrial and celestial globes formerly in the collection of Carlos de Beistegui; six paintings depicting scenes from the life of Alexander the Great, by Gaspare Diziani; and an important Louis XIV mantel clock with figures of Le Jour et La Nuit after Michelangelo, attributed to André-Charles Boulle. 

Robert de Balkany was an enthusiastic and passionate collector of European and English fine and decorative art, particularly clocks, silver, furniture and Old Master paintings, amassing exquisite works of art with a discerning and particular eye, and creating sumptuous interiors. The collection unites works he inherited from his father, Aladar de Balkany with pieces he acquired over a period of more than 50 years.The collection reflects de Balkany’s passion for a range of periods and styles – from the Renaissance and the Baroque to Neoclassicism, the Empire and Regency periods – as well as precious materials including hardstones, marble, bronze and Boulle marquetry. De Balkany decorated his houses with richly-worked textiles and materials of the highest quality, which combined with his works of art to great effect to create an atmosphere of both luxury and comfort. A generous and charming host, his homes were the setting for entertaining glamourous friends from the worlds of business, polo, yachting and European royalty. The interiors reflected his own unique and eclectic tastes, and he was also influenced by the distinctive style of his friend Carlos de Beistegui, from whom he acquired numerous works of art from the latter’s Parisian hôtel on rue Constantine and the château de Groussay.

For more information on the sale visit http://www.christies.com/exhibitions/2016/robert-de-balkany