Boxing / Belle Époque - Lot 24

Boxing / Belle Époque Early 20th-century Spanish school Design sketch for a billiards room ceiling: heavyweight boxing match Gouache and pencil on paper, dated June 1914. Pencil annotations in the upper portion, in Spanish: “Sala billar,” “D al,” and “2 plafones centro,” indicating the intended location of the decoration: the central panels of a billiard room’s ceiling. At the bottom, in ink: “Empezado el 11 y terminado el 12 de junio de 1914 a las 12 ½ de la noche” (“begun on the 11th and completed on the 12th of June 1914 at 12:30 a.m.”). The scene depicts two heavyweights in a boxing stance, outlined in black against a plain background. On the left, the white boxer bears a resemblance to Arthur Cravan; on the right, his opponent might be Joe Jeannette or Sam McVea, two of the great Black boxers who made headlines in Paris and throughout the rest of Europe before 1914. Intended to adorn a café or a social club, this piece would work very well today in a sports bar. 53 x 43.5 cm (framed under glass: 70 x 61 cm) (foxing, small spots)