When Gérard Lévy opened his Asian art gallery on Rue de Beaune in 1966, the Symbolist movement was just emerging from fifty years of oblivion. A great enthusiast and visionary, he contributed to its rediscovery by collaborating on one of the first exhibitions dedicated to the Fin-de-Siècle in Zurich: Neue Kunst in der Schweiz zu Beginn unseres Jahrhunderts, preceding the major exhibitions of the 1970s.

Passionate about symbolism, Gérard Lévy had already built an extraordinary personal collection. Works by Carlos Schwabe, Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer, and other major figures of Art Nouveau adorned the walls of his family apartment, reflecting his deep attachment to this movement. Gérard Lévy never sold any works by Symbolist artists. The collection, now being dispersed by Artcurial, reveals the intimate tastes of a dreamer, his first loves, those he had chosen for himself.

The Gérard Lévy collection is enriched with a remarkable set of books, celebrating “The cursed poets" and literary symbolism that inspired the 19th-century painters, with their universe finding a unique resonance in these works.

Among the standout pieces is the 1900 edition of Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire. This masterpiece is illustrated with 23 etchings by the famous Symbolist artist Carlos Schwabe, printed on vellum paper in a very limited edition of only 77 numbered copies. A monochrome sketch and a color engraving for the poem Spleen et Idéal are also among the lots in the first part of the sale.

By focusing on these pieces, the Gérard Lévy collection offers a vibrant tribute to Symbolism, celebrating the fusion of visual and poetic arts.