It is a strange model, with an incredible historical journey, which is being auctioned this Friday March 1 under the hammer of auctioneer Guillaume Suduca in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) during a prestigious sale of paintings, furniture, objects of art in the Urbain Vitry room: five pieces from the “Summer Salon”, a 1800 m² set with a height of 6 meters, which was to be built in 1975 in front of the new Renault headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine).
These five elements at 1/10th scale, in resin, visually recognizable with their paint streaks in three colors (white, black and blue), are exceptional since the “Summer Salon” was the subject of a resounding trial between the painter and visual artist Jean Dubuffet and the car manufacturer lasting eight years.
A lawsuit against the destruction of his work
It all started at the beginning of the 1970s, when Jean Dubuffet was asked by the director of Renault to create a park of contemporary structures, in the form of a sculpture garden created for executives and employees who could relax there during their installation hours.
In 1974, a large model on a scale of 1/10 was produced by Jean Dubuffet and validated by the management.
The project began in January 1975 but in October, the management decided to interrupt the work, citing technical reasons.
Considering itself the owner of the work already carried out, it expresses its intention to destroy the unfinished work.
Jean Dubuffet then initiated a lawsuit against the Renault management company.
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After eight years of legal battle, the artist finally won his case and was authorized to impose the creation of this monument on the Renault management.
“This trial was resounding in the world of Art because the Court's judgment will set a precedent within the framework of the moral rights of artists and will prevent similar cases intended for works of art from being repeated in the future,” explains Guillaume Suduca. .
The five works that we are selling were left as souvenirs to a technician from SAMM, the company which was responsible for carrying out the final project.
A family from Toulouse is the current owner: they were displayed in their living room!
There is something moving about selling such unique pieces in the history of art.
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The works represent a wall, a fork, two trunks and a cloud.
Depending on its size, each piece is estimated between 6,000 and 18,000 euros.
The auctions will be provisional on each element because at their end, the lot of five elements will be put back on sale, so that a possible bidder acquires the whole.
Please note: there are currently two complete models of this “Summer Salon”: one at the Renault Foundation, the other visible at the Dubuffet Foundation in Périgny-sur-Yerres, in Val-de-Marne.