Michel Pinel (1949 - 2022 ) - Before Finding Simon Again – Signed - 60 × 49.5 cm – NO RESERVE

Michel Pinel (1949-2022) – Before Finding Simon Again (Avant de retrouver Simon) – 2006 – Rare Unpublished Large-Format Nude – Signed Original Silver Gelatin Print, 60 × 49.5 cm – Artist’s Stamp – NO RESERVE

• Artist: Michel Pinel (1949-2022) France

• Title: Avant de retrouver Simon (Before Finding Simon Again)

• Date: 2006

• Technique: Original silver gelatin (baryta) print, made by the artist in his studio

• Signature / Authentication: Hand-signed in ink across the artist’s triangular purple ink stamp on the reverse (“MICHEL PINEL PHOTO BXL” with copyright symbol), together with his own studio label: “2006 — Avant de retrouver Simon. Tirage original sur papier baryté, réalisé dans mon atelier.”

• Image size: 60 × 49.5 cm

• Condition: Excellent. A strong, dense print with deep blacks, crisp lace and clean highlights. No fading, no creases, no foxing.

• Provenance: The photographer’s personal collection, retained by him and passed by descent to his daughter. Never previously offered on the market.

• Note: Unpublished large-format print. Unknown outside the family holding until now.

• No reserve. Starting bid: €1.

Description
This is not another 30 × 24 cm. Before Finding Simon Again is a large-format original baryta print, 60 × 49.5 cm, of a photograph that has never been offered on the market.

The sheet comes straight from Michel Pinel’s own holding. It stayed in his personal collection and passed by descent to his daughter. It was not editioned for sale, not shown, not circulated.

The studio label on the reverse is his own: an original baryta print made in his atelier, titled and dated 2006.

The image sits apart from the hotel-room nudes usually associated with him. A woman stands outdoors in hard daylight, foliage behind her, an open lace robe falling from her shoulders.

Light cuts across the collarbone, the lace and the fall of the hair; the face is turned aside, alert, not arranged for the lens. The title — Before Finding Simon Again — gives the picture its tension: a moment held just before someone arrives.

At nearly twice the linear size of the 30 × 24 cm prints previously offered, the photograph reads as a wall piece. The blacks stay dense, the lace stays sharp, and the paper keeps the characteristic baryta sheen of a print made by the artist himself.

Original studio print, hand-signed and stamped on the reverse, with Pinel’s own caption label.

Excellent condition. A print of this scale, from the personal collection and never before offered, is exceptional in his work.

Artist’s biography Born in 1949 in southwestern France, Michel Pinel discovered photography in Milan with director Paul Casalini. He began a successful career in fashion photography (ELLE, Marie Claire and others) and photo-reportage before dedicating himself fully to artistic nudes.

He produced prints of remarkable quality in his studio. His works have been exhibited internationally and are held in private collections in Australia, Belgium, Spain, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United States.

A scarce, unpublished large-format print for serious collectors of Michel Pinel.