Art 1950-1954
1950 Figure Décorative by Matisse
2006 SOLD for $ 13M by Sotheby's
Figure Decorative is a statue conceived by Matisse in Paris in 1908. The bronze number 8, 73 cm high, cast in 1952 from an edition of ten, was sold for $ 12.7M by Sotheby's on Mai 19, 2001, lot 228.
An example 74 cm high cast in 1950 was sold for $ 13M by Sotheby's on November 7, 2006. It is illustrated in the post sale report shared by Artnet.
An example 74 cm high cast in 1950 was sold for $ 13M by Sotheby's on November 7, 2006. It is illustrated in the post sale report shared by Artnet.
1950 Giant Composition by de Staël
2014 SOLD for € 4.2M including premium by Sotheby's
2018 UNSOLD
PRE 2018 SALE DISCUSSION
Nicolas de Staël expresses in his art his psyche in perpetual vibration. He changes his style several times, but always based on structured geometries. He will have supports in London, accustomed to the abstract compositions of Ben Nicholson.
After the war, a new artistic trend develops in France, inspired by the juxtaposition of color-filled rectangles previously practiced by Bissière. With Poliakoff and later Atlan, these elementary areas grow, becoming flexible and very colorful polygons. This movement close to CoBrA will be called Tachisme meaning art of blobs. Mark Rothko is not convinced of a spirituality in this trend.
Inspired by the cubist vision of Braque, de Staël gradually abandons from 1947 his style composed of networks of entangled bars. He works on a canvas 204 x 405 cm on which he positions flat areas of muted colors. After more than two years of preparation, this giant composition is dated 1950.
Composition 1950 was sold for € 4,2M including premium by Sotheby's in Paris on June 3, 2014. It comes in the same auction room on December 5, lot 12 estimated € 4,5M.
This phase of his style is ephemeral. On March 26, 1952, this hypersensitive artist is dazzled by the artificial colors in the Parc des Princes during one of the first football games played at night. For three years he drowns his memory in the brightest colors of the Côte d'Azur and Sicily, in a frenzy of creation that ends in family breakdown and suicide.
Nicolas de Staël expresses in his art his psyche in perpetual vibration. He changes his style several times, but always based on structured geometries. He will have supports in London, accustomed to the abstract compositions of Ben Nicholson.
After the war, a new artistic trend develops in France, inspired by the juxtaposition of color-filled rectangles previously practiced by Bissière. With Poliakoff and later Atlan, these elementary areas grow, becoming flexible and very colorful polygons. This movement close to CoBrA will be called Tachisme meaning art of blobs. Mark Rothko is not convinced of a spirituality in this trend.
Inspired by the cubist vision of Braque, de Staël gradually abandons from 1947 his style composed of networks of entangled bars. He works on a canvas 204 x 405 cm on which he positions flat areas of muted colors. After more than two years of preparation, this giant composition is dated 1950.
Composition 1950 was sold for € 4,2M including premium by Sotheby's in Paris on June 3, 2014. It comes in the same auction room on December 5, lot 12 estimated € 4,5M.
This phase of his style is ephemeral. On March 26, 1952, this hypersensitive artist is dazzled by the artificial colors in the Parc des Princes during one of the first football games played at night. For three years he drowns his memory in the brightest colors of the Côte d'Azur and Sicily, in a frenzy of creation that ends in family breakdown and suicide.
1950 Grandma from Farm to Fair
2009 SOLD 1.08 M$ including premium
PRE SALE COMMENT
The Grandma of our story is Grandma Moses, of course. Her style of painting so special and so recognizable makes her one of the great names of American folk art. One could even say that she has become a legend since the art market discovered her in 1938, when she was only 78 years old. She lived a centenarian, without ever interrupting her new artistic career.
Too busy during her working life, she could not devote to painting until she retired. She shows the life in the countryside with a myriad of details. The horizon is wide, and lack of perspective makes it seeming near by.
No character is shown in close-up but they are finely drawn, and we can see the specific activity of each one. The comparison made with Pieter Brueghel by Wikipedia is exaggerated, because the characters of Grandma are not sufficiently differentiated. Rather, she is the rural equivalent of the English painter LS Lowry, who had us visiting Manchester at the same time in one of our first articles in this group.
The oil on canvas for sale by Sotheby's on May 21 in New York, 89 x 114 m, shows a village fair in 1950. More colorful than other important works of the artist, it deserves its estimate of 700 K $.
POST SALE COMMENT
Including the cost, our Grandma reached the million dollars: just $ 1.08 million. The estimate has been exceeded. It's good, because this painting was particularly lively and colorful.
The Grandma of our story is Grandma Moses, of course. Her style of painting so special and so recognizable makes her one of the great names of American folk art. One could even say that she has become a legend since the art market discovered her in 1938, when she was only 78 years old. She lived a centenarian, without ever interrupting her new artistic career.
Too busy during her working life, she could not devote to painting until she retired. She shows the life in the countryside with a myriad of details. The horizon is wide, and lack of perspective makes it seeming near by.
No character is shown in close-up but they are finely drawn, and we can see the specific activity of each one. The comparison made with Pieter Brueghel by Wikipedia is exaggerated, because the characters of Grandma are not sufficiently differentiated. Rather, she is the rural equivalent of the English painter LS Lowry, who had us visiting Manchester at the same time in one of our first articles in this group.
The oil on canvas for sale by Sotheby's on May 21 in New York, 89 x 114 m, shows a village fair in 1950. More colorful than other important works of the artist, it deserves its estimate of 700 K $.
POST SALE COMMENT
Including the cost, our Grandma reached the million dollars: just $ 1.08 million. The estimate has been exceeded. It's good, because this painting was particularly lively and colorful.
1950 The Cavaliere of Marino Marini
2009 SOLD 758 K£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Expressionist sculptor, Marino Marini studied the ambiguous relationship between horse and rider. He devoted most of his work on this subject which he dealt with a remarkable variety.
Here is in 1950 a small rider (Piccolo Cavaliere) 43 cm high. It is a bronze chiselled and painted by the artist in shades of red, yellow and green. The angles are cubist. The beast, right on its four legs, is unseating the man by a proud jerk.Sotheby's estimates this work, fine but small, at 600 K£. The auction takes place in London on October 16.
In the press release, the auction house reminds us that they sold a sculpture of the same artist for $ 7 million charge included in May 2007.
This exceptional bid (alone at such height in the ranking of Marini) was obtained on a unique piece of great size: a polychrome wood 2.16 m high. Here, the man mastered the beast, but the horse, his neck stretched upwards, uttered a scream worth of a character of Guernica.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result is within the range of estimates: 758 K£ including premium. Considering the small size of the sculpture, this good result rewards the dynamism of the composition.
Expressionist sculptor, Marino Marini studied the ambiguous relationship between horse and rider. He devoted most of his work on this subject which he dealt with a remarkable variety.
Here is in 1950 a small rider (Piccolo Cavaliere) 43 cm high. It is a bronze chiselled and painted by the artist in shades of red, yellow and green. The angles are cubist. The beast, right on its four legs, is unseating the man by a proud jerk.Sotheby's estimates this work, fine but small, at 600 K£. The auction takes place in London on October 16.
In the press release, the auction house reminds us that they sold a sculpture of the same artist for $ 7 million charge included in May 2007.
This exceptional bid (alone at such height in the ranking of Marini) was obtained on a unique piece of great size: a polychrome wood 2.16 m high. Here, the man mastered the beast, but the horse, his neck stretched upwards, uttered a scream worth of a character of Guernica.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result is within the range of estimates: 758 K£ including premium. Considering the small size of the sculpture, this good result rewards the dynamism of the composition.
1950 post war solidarity at the factory
2015 unsold
A study for Les Constructeurs by Fernand Léger went unsold atChristie's in New York on November 5, 2014. It is listed again by the same auction house on November 9 with a lowered estimate, lot 27A now estimated $ 12M.
I discussed it last year as follows.
The end of the Second World War called for a period of rebuilding and of hope for a better life. Fernand Léger is interested in the social aspects of this new theme.
Thirty years before, he was already excited about engines and wheels. He now interprets the anonymous workers busy to build the basic structures of modern life. He works on a monumental painting titled Les constructeurs for which he produced several drafts.
The oil on canvas 108 x 138 cm for sale is dated 1949 and 1950. Two men working on scaffolding are overlooking the scenery as sailors of the old time did from the top of the masts. A waving hand shared with another worker symbolizes the solidarity within the team.
In the final version 2 x 3 m painted in 1950, solidarity is now demonstrated by four men who join their physical strength to lift a huge steel girder. An oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm very close to the final version has been sold for $ 11.8M including premium at Christie's on November 6, 2007.
Léger was a member of the Parti Communiste Français since 1945, but he suspected that his art was too far away from Soviet realism to appeal his political friends. For establishing a direct link with the working class, he exhibited several paintings from this series in the canteen of the Renault factory in Boulogne-Billancourt. The reception was mixed but not indifferent.
I discussed it last year as follows.
The end of the Second World War called for a period of rebuilding and of hope for a better life. Fernand Léger is interested in the social aspects of this new theme.
Thirty years before, he was already excited about engines and wheels. He now interprets the anonymous workers busy to build the basic structures of modern life. He works on a monumental painting titled Les constructeurs for which he produced several drafts.
The oil on canvas 108 x 138 cm for sale is dated 1949 and 1950. Two men working on scaffolding are overlooking the scenery as sailors of the old time did from the top of the masts. A waving hand shared with another worker symbolizes the solidarity within the team.
In the final version 2 x 3 m painted in 1950, solidarity is now demonstrated by four men who join their physical strength to lift a huge steel girder. An oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm very close to the final version has been sold for $ 11.8M including premium at Christie's on November 6, 2007.
Léger was a member of the Parti Communiste Français since 1945, but he suspected that his art was too far away from Soviet realism to appeal his political friends. For establishing a direct link with the working class, he exhibited several paintings from this series in the canteen of the Renault factory in Boulogne-Billancourt. The reception was mixed but not indifferent.
1951 Françoise in Vallauris
2016 SOLD for $ 8.5M including premium
Picasso found in 1944 a new muse, the very young Françoise Gilot, with whom he will have two children. In 1948 they settle in Vallauris. In this happy time Pablo focuses his creativity on the materials and returns to sculpture, especially with his animal figures.
On November 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells a bronze 50 cm high of Françoise's head, lot 16 estimated $ 6M, from an edition of 2 cast by Valsuani. This larger than life head was designed in 1951.
At the same time Valsuani also edited earlier sculptures like the head of Dora after a plaster made in 1941, 80 cm high including the base. One of the two copies was sold for $ 29M including premium by Sotheby's on November 7, 2007. Two other copies were cast by Susse.
Dora's head was a realistic portrait. For Françoise, the artist is inspired by his experiences in ceramics. The eyes and the mouth are shown by incision on the surface, giving to this head a volume smoother than nature which idealizes his companion.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's, including also a painting of the Peintre et son modèle previously discussed in this column.
On November 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells a bronze 50 cm high of Françoise's head, lot 16 estimated $ 6M, from an edition of 2 cast by Valsuani. This larger than life head was designed in 1951.
At the same time Valsuani also edited earlier sculptures like the head of Dora after a plaster made in 1941, 80 cm high including the base. One of the two copies was sold for $ 29M including premium by Sotheby's on November 7, 2007. Two other copies were cast by Susse.
Dora's head was a realistic portrait. For Françoise, the artist is inspired by his experiences in ceramics. The eyes and the mouth are shown by incision on the surface, giving to this head a volume smoother than nature which idealizes his companion.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's, including also a painting of the Peintre et son modèle previously discussed in this column.
1951 The Expulsion of the Horse
2016 SOLD for $ 4.45M including premium
In his childhood Marino Marini admired the heroes of the equestrian statues from Marcus Aurelius up to the condottieri by Donatello. He regarded them as promises for a new civilization and they became one of the preferred themes of his art.
The first groups made by Marini were quiet and dignified. When Picasso required to Guernica's horse to howl against the war, Marini understood and followed. After the first kicks, the balance between his horses and their riders became precarious and even impossible.
The horse is expelled from the post-war world by the car, with no hope for a return. Marini is horrified by his visit to New York in 1950. His version of the Cavaliere realized in 1951 is a prophecy of the fall of the modern world into a universal catastrophe similar as Sodom and Pompeii.
This group 1.22 m high is spectacular and tragic. The horse seems strong by his steady position on his four legs but he is screaming like in Guernica. The rider has lost any control. He is leaning backwards in stiffness and his arms are raised in a derisory gesture.
A Cavaliere in chiseled bronze with a brown and gray patina cast before 1953 by Battaglia in Milan is estimated $ 4M for sale by Christie's in New York on November 16, lot 4 B. Another copy with a brown and gold patina was sold for £ 4.5M including premium by Christie's on October 14, 2010.
The first groups made by Marini were quiet and dignified. When Picasso required to Guernica's horse to howl against the war, Marini understood and followed. After the first kicks, the balance between his horses and their riders became precarious and even impossible.
The horse is expelled from the post-war world by the car, with no hope for a return. Marini is horrified by his visit to New York in 1950. His version of the Cavaliere realized in 1951 is a prophecy of the fall of the modern world into a universal catastrophe similar as Sodom and Pompeii.
This group 1.22 m high is spectacular and tragic. The horse seems strong by his steady position on his four legs but he is screaming like in Guernica. The rider has lost any control. He is leaning backwards in stiffness and his arms are raised in a derisory gesture.
A Cavaliere in chiseled bronze with a brown and gray patina cast before 1953 by Battaglia in Milan is estimated $ 4M for sale by Christie's in New York on November 16, lot 4 B. Another copy with a brown and gold patina was sold for £ 4.5M including premium by Christie's on October 14, 2010.
1951 Best Wishes from Lee Man Fong
2012 SOLD 34 MHK$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In 1949, Lee Man Fong is 36 years old. This Chinese living in Indonesia devotes his full time to his art. His talent is recognized and earns him a scholarship for three years in Holland, the former colonial power.
Adding to the Asian tradition the best of what he sees from the great European masters, Lee Man Fong develops in Holland his highly original style. His favorite theme is the joy of living, and his heaven is Bali.
His drawing is as light as a classical Chinese, but he paints in oil with fresh and pleasant colors that accentuate the dynamism of the attitudes. He has assimilated the active crowds of Brueghel and the light of Rembrandt.
On October 7 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a masterpiece from the Dutch period of Lee Man Fong, an oil on wood panel in the format of a mural, 86 x 260 cm, dated 1951. Here is the link to the catalog.
Entitled "Fortune and Longevity", it shows an Indonesian feast involving all ages of life. Occupying firmly the central position amidst this motley crowd, the little dancing girl has a radiant face. The Chinese text expresses the wishes of the artist to all possible forms of growth and prosperity.
The press release is announcing this work beyond HK $ 12M. This estimate is too conservative when reminding that a composition with the same dynamism, titled Bali Life, painted more than ten years later, was sold HK $ 25.3 millionincluding premium by the same auction house on April 5, 2010 .
POST SALE COMMENT
Lee Man Fong is an outstanding artist, Fortune and longevity is one of his masterpieces : sold HK$ 34M including premium.
In 1949, Lee Man Fong is 36 years old. This Chinese living in Indonesia devotes his full time to his art. His talent is recognized and earns him a scholarship for three years in Holland, the former colonial power.
Adding to the Asian tradition the best of what he sees from the great European masters, Lee Man Fong develops in Holland his highly original style. His favorite theme is the joy of living, and his heaven is Bali.
His drawing is as light as a classical Chinese, but he paints in oil with fresh and pleasant colors that accentuate the dynamism of the attitudes. He has assimilated the active crowds of Brueghel and the light of Rembrandt.
On October 7 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a masterpiece from the Dutch period of Lee Man Fong, an oil on wood panel in the format of a mural, 86 x 260 cm, dated 1951. Here is the link to the catalog.
Entitled "Fortune and Longevity", it shows an Indonesian feast involving all ages of life. Occupying firmly the central position amidst this motley crowd, the little dancing girl has a radiant face. The Chinese text expresses the wishes of the artist to all possible forms of growth and prosperity.
The press release is announcing this work beyond HK $ 12M. This estimate is too conservative when reminding that a composition with the same dynamism, titled Bali Life, painted more than ten years later, was sold HK $ 25.3 millionincluding premium by the same auction house on April 5, 2010 .
POST SALE COMMENT
Lee Man Fong is an outstanding artist, Fortune and longevity is one of his masterpieces : sold HK$ 34M including premium.
1951 Riopelle in Canada
2008 SOLD 1.6 MCan$ including premium
Viewed in reproduction, all the paintings of Jean-Paul Riopelle look a bit similar. His work, composed of small joined patches of dense color, is a perfect demonstration of the need to see real artworks, not merely photos or, still worse, small windows on your computer screen.
I owed to Riopelle to get rid of one of the worst opinions I had on my debut in analyzing the price of art. I thought that for a given artist, the price of a work could be inferred from size abacuses. One day in the (very beautiful) exhibition room of Tajan in Paris, I saw two Riopelle side by side. The most expensive was the smallest! Coming closer, I observed that the most expensive was also the earliest, and had a thicker and better worked paint layer.
In 1952, Riopelle was 29 years old. On that year he had made the oil on canvas, 90 x 146 cm, that Christie's sold on May 14 in New York for $ 1.9 million including expenses. It had been estimated $ 1 million, which was already not so bad.
Riopelle was Québécois. The Canadian auction house Heffel often puts him forward in its sales of postwar and contemporary art. The results are varied. On 24 November 2006 in Toronto, an oil on canvas of 1954-1955, large size (194 x 130 cm), was sold 1.6 MCan$ costs included. However, I found in my blog archives a canvas of 1956, 130x89 cm, remained unsold in Vancouver on May 22 2008 on an estimate of 500 KCan$.
The canvas that Heffel offers in Toronto on November 19 has all the qualities needed to make a significant price: it is large (127 x 164 cm), and from the best years (1951). It is estimated 1 MCan$, and may certainly claim a higher price.
POST SALE COMMENT
This very aesthetic Riopelle painting, which moreover was of the best period, has exceeded its low estimate, as I had expected.
The site of the auction house gives the result including costs: a little more than $ 1.6 MCAN, but I found also the hammer price that was published in the Canadian press: $ 1.4 MCAN.
I owed to Riopelle to get rid of one of the worst opinions I had on my debut in analyzing the price of art. I thought that for a given artist, the price of a work could be inferred from size abacuses. One day in the (very beautiful) exhibition room of Tajan in Paris, I saw two Riopelle side by side. The most expensive was the smallest! Coming closer, I observed that the most expensive was also the earliest, and had a thicker and better worked paint layer.
In 1952, Riopelle was 29 years old. On that year he had made the oil on canvas, 90 x 146 cm, that Christie's sold on May 14 in New York for $ 1.9 million including expenses. It had been estimated $ 1 million, which was already not so bad.
Riopelle was Québécois. The Canadian auction house Heffel often puts him forward in its sales of postwar and contemporary art. The results are varied. On 24 November 2006 in Toronto, an oil on canvas of 1954-1955, large size (194 x 130 cm), was sold 1.6 MCan$ costs included. However, I found in my blog archives a canvas of 1956, 130x89 cm, remained unsold in Vancouver on May 22 2008 on an estimate of 500 KCan$.
The canvas that Heffel offers in Toronto on November 19 has all the qualities needed to make a significant price: it is large (127 x 164 cm), and from the best years (1951). It is estimated 1 MCan$, and may certainly claim a higher price.
POST SALE COMMENT
This very aesthetic Riopelle painting, which moreover was of the best period, has exceeded its low estimate, as I had expected.
The site of the auction house gives the result including costs: a little more than $ 1.6 MCAN, but I found also the hammer price that was published in the Canadian press: $ 1.4 MCAN.
1951 FUJITA IN JAPAN
2008 SOLD 38 M YEN BEFORE FEES
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In the middle of summer, sales are rare in Europe and the USA. It may therefore be a good opportunity to go farther and compare the markets. In that spirit, let us start in Japan with Tsuguharu Fujita (more commonly spelled Foujita in Europe).
On July 26, at Mainichi Auction in Tokyo, lot 242 is an oil on canvas by Foujita estimated 35 million yen. Groups of women and children in front of a porch is one of the favorite topics of the end of the career of the artist. The latter, showing two Western women, each holding a baby, is an painting of 46 x 38 cm dated 1951 and mounted in a beautiful frame.
We compare it with a very similar composition showing a Châtelaine and a girl, painted later (1962), a little smaller (41 x 24 cm) which remained unsold last June 26 at Sotheby's in London, while its estimated price (150 K £) was virtually the same as the painting described today.
POST SALE COMMENT
For works like this one which are fairly common in the work of a renowned painter, there is no surprise. Our painting was sold 38 million yen before fees.
In the middle of summer, sales are rare in Europe and the USA. It may therefore be a good opportunity to go farther and compare the markets. In that spirit, let us start in Japan with Tsuguharu Fujita (more commonly spelled Foujita in Europe).
On July 26, at Mainichi Auction in Tokyo, lot 242 is an oil on canvas by Foujita estimated 35 million yen. Groups of women and children in front of a porch is one of the favorite topics of the end of the career of the artist. The latter, showing two Western women, each holding a baby, is an painting of 46 x 38 cm dated 1951 and mounted in a beautiful frame.
We compare it with a very similar composition showing a Châtelaine and a girl, painted later (1962), a little smaller (41 x 24 cm) which remained unsold last June 26 at Sotheby's in London, while its estimated price (150 K £) was virtually the same as the painting described today.
POST SALE COMMENT
For works like this one which are fairly common in the work of a renowned painter, there is no surprise. Our painting was sold 38 million yen before fees.
1952 The Meeting of Giacometti with Death
2012 SOLD 6.8 M$ including premium
The war is over, we must begin to revive. Disappointed by his own works from the previous period, Alberto Giacometti is entering a phase of extreme creativity in which he shows the human being as no one had done before him.
In 1946, he witnesses a friend a few moments after death. This is both a terrible experience and a revelation. The contorted and deformed corpse becomes a simple object like a sculpture which can separate the parts and embody life, pain, horror and anguish.
In 1947, when he conceives his greatest lifesize works, Giacometti takes the time to express the lasting nightmare of that experience. Like Munch and his scream. Both mounted on a rod, la Main with huge pleading fingers, and la Tête, thrown into an endless howling, are masterpieces of the expression of emotion through sculpture.
On November 7 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 23 a bronze, cast in 1952, of the Tête sur tige. This small sculpture, 53 cm overall, is worth an estimated $ 6M by the key role of its model in Giacometti's art, and also because it precedes by five years the classical edition by Susse.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's, which includes an amazing photo showing the empathy between the master and his plaster like a mediumistic communication between Giacometti and his dead friend.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price of this small bronze, $ 6.8 million including premium, is consistent with the estimate.
In the same sale, a large bronze of La Jambe (leg), conceived in 1947 and cast in 1958, was sold for $ 11.3 million including premium, also in line with its estimate.
In 1946, he witnesses a friend a few moments after death. This is both a terrible experience and a revelation. The contorted and deformed corpse becomes a simple object like a sculpture which can separate the parts and embody life, pain, horror and anguish.
In 1947, when he conceives his greatest lifesize works, Giacometti takes the time to express the lasting nightmare of that experience. Like Munch and his scream. Both mounted on a rod, la Main with huge pleading fingers, and la Tête, thrown into an endless howling, are masterpieces of the expression of emotion through sculpture.
On November 7 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 23 a bronze, cast in 1952, of the Tête sur tige. This small sculpture, 53 cm overall, is worth an estimated $ 6M by the key role of its model in Giacometti's art, and also because it precedes by five years the classical edition by Susse.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's, which includes an amazing photo showing the empathy between the master and his plaster like a mediumistic communication between Giacometti and his dead friend.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price of this small bronze, $ 6.8 million including premium, is consistent with the estimate.
In the same sale, a large bronze of La Jambe (leg), conceived in 1947 and cast in 1958, was sold for $ 11.3 million including premium, also in line with its estimate.
1952 A Rival in the Farmyard
2019 SOLD for $ 5.8M including premium
On November 11 in New York, Christie's sells Coq, a bronze 65 cm high by Picasso, lot 51 A estimated $ 5M. I discussed it as follows before it passed in the same auction room on November 7, 2012. Please watch the video shared by Christie's in 2012.
This piece is numbered 4/6 from an edition of 4 of which only two are in private hands. It was acquired by its late owners in 1965 which is consistent with the 2012 pre-sale press release stating that it had been acquired more than 45 years earlier.
In 1930 Picasso bought the château de Boisgeloup in Normandy to live quietly his escapades with Marie-Thérèse and to operate a sculpture studio.
He finds a rival, the cock rooster, master and sexual symbol of the farmyard. This bird is the arrogant emblem of France and monitors the village from the top of the steeple. It strikes the dawn in a dominant voice and ignores that its reign will end up in a saucepan.
In 1932, Pablo makes a plaster of the Coq. The master of human emotion has a humorous and anthropocentric vision of the bird high raised on its legs and proudly displaying and preening its tail feathers.
In the 1950s the artist returns to the sculpture of animals, sometimes made by assemblies of disparate objects. His favorite bird is the owl used by him in many ceramics, without forgetting the dove of peace.
At that time he retrieves his 1932 Coq plaster and commissions Valsuani with an edition of six bronzes. Only four will be realized. The Tate Gallery of London purchased one of them in 1953 and dates the cast from 1952.
This piece is numbered 4/6 from an edition of 4 of which only two are in private hands. It was acquired by its late owners in 1965 which is consistent with the 2012 pre-sale press release stating that it had been acquired more than 45 years earlier.
In 1930 Picasso bought the château de Boisgeloup in Normandy to live quietly his escapades with Marie-Thérèse and to operate a sculpture studio.
He finds a rival, the cock rooster, master and sexual symbol of the farmyard. This bird is the arrogant emblem of France and monitors the village from the top of the steeple. It strikes the dawn in a dominant voice and ignores that its reign will end up in a saucepan.
In 1932, Pablo makes a plaster of the Coq. The master of human emotion has a humorous and anthropocentric vision of the bird high raised on its legs and proudly displaying and preening its tail feathers.
In the 1950s the artist returns to the sculpture of animals, sometimes made by assemblies of disparate objects. His favorite bird is the owl used by him in many ceramics, without forgetting the dove of peace.
At that time he retrieves his 1932 Coq plaster and commissions Valsuani with an edition of six bronzes. Only four will be realized. The Tate Gallery of London purchased one of them in 1953 and dates the cast from 1952.
1952 The Wedding of Carrot and Bottle
2015 SOLD for £ 3.7M including premium
Magritte was one of the first surrealists. According to his own statements, his artistic language has found an additional inspiration in 1936 a night when he dreamed that a birdsong was performed by an egg, prompting him to explore incongruous similarities.
On February 3 in London, Sotheby's sells L'Explication, oil on canvas 80 x 60 cm dated 1952, lot 70 estimated £ 4M.
On the table in front of the open window, a hybrid object is standing. Two full specimens explain its composition: a bottle of wine and a carrot. The artist was interested in the tapered shape of both artefacts.
Yet this peaceful still life is achieving a considerable aggressiveness, with its two shades of red and its shell-shaped top end. The window opens on a space blocked by a stage curtain on which planets-balls are hanging, on the wrong side from the cosmos.
In line with La Trahison des images illustrated by the famous text Ceci n'est pas une pipe, L'Explication does not explain anything.
On February 3 in London, Sotheby's sells L'Explication, oil on canvas 80 x 60 cm dated 1952, lot 70 estimated £ 4M.
On the table in front of the open window, a hybrid object is standing. Two full specimens explain its composition: a bottle of wine and a carrot. The artist was interested in the tapered shape of both artefacts.
Yet this peaceful still life is achieving a considerable aggressiveness, with its two shades of red and its shell-shaped top end. The window opens on a space blocked by a stage curtain on which planets-balls are hanging, on the wrong side from the cosmos.
In line with La Trahison des images illustrated by the famous text Ceci n'est pas une pipe, L'Explication does not explain anything.
1952 CALDER IN FRANCE
2010 SOLD 2.3 M€ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Calder loved France and the French loved Calder.
It was indeed in Paris that he developed these structures to which Duchamp gave the name of Mobiles in 1932. These metal plates painted in bright colors that hang to wires seem fragile. In fact, they fascinate by their balance: has anyone ever seen a switch of a Calder mobile?
The personality of "Sandy" and the originality of his art pleased. An engineer keen of toys and circus, he created in his mobiles a very personal artistic universe, and managed this certainly unique feat of introducing fantasy and humor in abstract art. In 1958, Paris honored him by installing a mobile of monumental size in the courtyard of UNESCO.
This American was fully introduced in the Parisian intellectual circles. On May 31, Artcurial sells in Paris a hanging mobile dedicated circa 1952 to Jean Vilar. Founder of the prestigious Festival d'Avignon, Vilar devoted his life to make the dramatic art accessible to all audiences. He became in 1951 director of the Théâtre National Populaire (TNP).
The estimate, 500 K €, seems reasonable. Certainly the work, 1.90 m wingspan to 60 cm high, is not very large. But its shape is typical of what is expected of this series and its link with Vilar will be much appreciated in France.
POST SALE COMMENT
Excellent result for the Calder mobile, which benefited from an interesting source: € 2.3 million including premium.
Calder loved France and the French loved Calder.
It was indeed in Paris that he developed these structures to which Duchamp gave the name of Mobiles in 1932. These metal plates painted in bright colors that hang to wires seem fragile. In fact, they fascinate by their balance: has anyone ever seen a switch of a Calder mobile?
The personality of "Sandy" and the originality of his art pleased. An engineer keen of toys and circus, he created in his mobiles a very personal artistic universe, and managed this certainly unique feat of introducing fantasy and humor in abstract art. In 1958, Paris honored him by installing a mobile of monumental size in the courtyard of UNESCO.
This American was fully introduced in the Parisian intellectual circles. On May 31, Artcurial sells in Paris a hanging mobile dedicated circa 1952 to Jean Vilar. Founder of the prestigious Festival d'Avignon, Vilar devoted his life to make the dramatic art accessible to all audiences. He became in 1951 director of the Théâtre National Populaire (TNP).
The estimate, 500 K €, seems reasonable. Certainly the work, 1.90 m wingspan to 60 cm high, is not very large. But its shape is typical of what is expected of this series and its link with Vilar will be much appreciated in France.
POST SALE COMMENT
Excellent result for the Calder mobile, which benefited from an interesting source: € 2.3 million including premium.
1952 Kitsch Art by Tretchikoff
2013 sold 980 K£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
A Russian artist installed in South Africa, Vladimir Tretchikoff did not have a conventional career. However,considering himself as an important artist, he did not like being nicknamed as the king of kitsch. He was a forerunnerof psychedelic art.
In 1952, he made the portrait of a young Chinese woman, aged 17, in Cape Town. The features are realistic, but her face is bright green. The bodice is decorated with various motifs on a shining yellow kitsch imitation of Chineseimperial robes.
This image was later reproduced by engraving, and widely distributed: the artist stated that half a million copies oflarge format prints were sold. If this figure is not a hoax, the Tretchikoff's Green Lady is more popular than Mona Lisa.
It was a surprising idea to green paint this girl in 1952. Jawlensky had died eleven years earlier. Warhol was 24, and had not even imagined that variations of printed colors could fascinate the public in the 1960s.
The original art of the Green Lady is estimated £ 300K, for sale by Bonhams in London on March 20. I will indicate its size later. Here is the link to the press release.
POST SALE COMMENT
This painting and its history were too far away from all conventions for anticipating its price. The result is remarkable: £ 980K including premium.
Here are the dimensions, as promised: 76 x 67 cm.
A Russian artist installed in South Africa, Vladimir Tretchikoff did not have a conventional career. However,considering himself as an important artist, he did not like being nicknamed as the king of kitsch. He was a forerunnerof psychedelic art.
In 1952, he made the portrait of a young Chinese woman, aged 17, in Cape Town. The features are realistic, but her face is bright green. The bodice is decorated with various motifs on a shining yellow kitsch imitation of Chineseimperial robes.
This image was later reproduced by engraving, and widely distributed: the artist stated that half a million copies oflarge format prints were sold. If this figure is not a hoax, the Tretchikoff's Green Lady is more popular than Mona Lisa.
It was a surprising idea to green paint this girl in 1952. Jawlensky had died eleven years earlier. Warhol was 24, and had not even imagined that variations of printed colors could fascinate the public in the 1960s.
The original art of the Green Lady is estimated £ 300K, for sale by Bonhams in London on March 20. I will indicate its size later. Here is the link to the press release.
POST SALE COMMENT
This painting and its history were too far away from all conventions for anticipating its price. The result is remarkable: £ 980K including premium.
Here are the dimensions, as promised: 76 x 67 cm.
1952 Ultimate Faces by Henri Matisse
2017 SOLD for € 970K including premium
Since 1941 Henri Matisse is disabled. He can no longer use the oil painting and does not remain more than one hour standing. The technique of cut papers maintains his reputation as a colorist but this is not enough for him : he draws many portraits.
Despite these difficulties he still considers himself like a medium entrusted with his art to reveal the beauty of the world and especially that of the human figure. He admits that he is not interested in psychology. Through the infinite variety of faces he synthesizes the ideal human figure. The face of Lydia, his devoted assistant since 1932, is his main inspiration.
His drawings decorate his room in Nice and break his own solitude. In 1950 he executes the portraits of his three grandchildren on the ceiling by using a charcoal at the end of a 2-meter stick. Fortunately the hand of the old artist does not tremble.
He also uses the Indian ink on paper in large strokes done with a brush. A Tête de Femme 65 x 50 cm made in 1952 was sold for $ 1,33M including premium by Christie's on November 16, 2016 over a lower estimate of $ 500K.
On March 23 in Paris, Sotheby's sells Visage, executed in the same year, same format and technique, lot 17 estimated € 800K.
This drawing is an achievement of that phase by its simplified view in close-up which eliminates the contours of the face. The expression is reinforced by the economy of means on this figure realized with less than 20 brushstrokes. It shows the same woman as on the Tête mentioned above. If she is Lydia, this view is perhaps an elegant way of avoiding her angular chin without impairing the resemblance.
On November 1, 1954, Matisse finished another portrait of Lydia and said "ça ira" (it will go). He died two days later.
Despite these difficulties he still considers himself like a medium entrusted with his art to reveal the beauty of the world and especially that of the human figure. He admits that he is not interested in psychology. Through the infinite variety of faces he synthesizes the ideal human figure. The face of Lydia, his devoted assistant since 1932, is his main inspiration.
His drawings decorate his room in Nice and break his own solitude. In 1950 he executes the portraits of his three grandchildren on the ceiling by using a charcoal at the end of a 2-meter stick. Fortunately the hand of the old artist does not tremble.
He also uses the Indian ink on paper in large strokes done with a brush. A Tête de Femme 65 x 50 cm made in 1952 was sold for $ 1,33M including premium by Christie's on November 16, 2016 over a lower estimate of $ 500K.
On March 23 in Paris, Sotheby's sells Visage, executed in the same year, same format and technique, lot 17 estimated € 800K.
This drawing is an achievement of that phase by its simplified view in close-up which eliminates the contours of the face. The expression is reinforced by the economy of means on this figure realized with less than 20 brushstrokes. It shows the same woman as on the Tête mentioned above. If she is Lydia, this view is perhaps an elegant way of avoiding her angular chin without impairing the resemblance.
On November 1, 1954, Matisse finished another portrait of Lydia and said "ça ira" (it will go). He died two days later.
1952 MANCHESTER LIFE VIEWED BY LS LOWRY
2008 SOLD 770 K£ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
On June 6, Christie's London has several works by Laurence Stephen Lowry, a British artist that I had not spotted before the press release of this auction house.
The archives of Christie's show us that his works fairly regularly go on sale and can make significant prices. For example, on June 8, 2007, an oil on canvas 76 x 102 cm showing a funfair populated by large numbers of small busy characters rose to £ 3.8 million fees included. Artvalue reminds us that the estimate had been £ 1 million.
In general, and from the same source, we see that such paintings of Lowry that were awarded high prices during the past two years at both Christie's and Sotheby's have all been sold largely beyond estimates. By going back further in time, important biddings are becoming sparse, indicating that his art is now undergoing a real revival of interest. The fact that they track the characters in their daily lives is without doubt an important input for this sympathetic trend.
The sale of next June 6 is of course a following of these excellent results. The highlighted painting, estimated £ 700 K, is entitled Manchester City vs Sheffield United, and shows passionate spectators awaiting the start of a football match. At the time, there is no question of hooligans, and "so British" hats and caps render deep into the atmosphere of the time. Manchester, home, won against Sheffield 3:2. It was on October 22, 1938.
This painting has a very pleasant feature compared with other works that I have seen in preparing this article: the characters, although many, are showed in close-up. One can expect that its estimate is too low. No reason however to be more excited : it is of small size (43 x 54 cm). (Lot 138).
The other two important works into the sale of June 6 are more classical compositions. One of them represents small characters going their way in front of a church (700 K £, 46 x 61 cm, lot 137). The other is a far away view of a cricket stadium during a match, painted in 1952 (600 K £, 44x54 cm, lot 135).
POST SALE COMMENT
The two paintings at 700 K£ remained unsold, and the third, estimated 600 K£, got 770 K£ including fees. For the latter, the buyer was undoubtedly interested in the industrial landscape (a huge plant) behind the stadium.
On June 6, Christie's London has several works by Laurence Stephen Lowry, a British artist that I had not spotted before the press release of this auction house.
The archives of Christie's show us that his works fairly regularly go on sale and can make significant prices. For example, on June 8, 2007, an oil on canvas 76 x 102 cm showing a funfair populated by large numbers of small busy characters rose to £ 3.8 million fees included. Artvalue reminds us that the estimate had been £ 1 million.
In general, and from the same source, we see that such paintings of Lowry that were awarded high prices during the past two years at both Christie's and Sotheby's have all been sold largely beyond estimates. By going back further in time, important biddings are becoming sparse, indicating that his art is now undergoing a real revival of interest. The fact that they track the characters in their daily lives is without doubt an important input for this sympathetic trend.
The sale of next June 6 is of course a following of these excellent results. The highlighted painting, estimated £ 700 K, is entitled Manchester City vs Sheffield United, and shows passionate spectators awaiting the start of a football match. At the time, there is no question of hooligans, and "so British" hats and caps render deep into the atmosphere of the time. Manchester, home, won against Sheffield 3:2. It was on October 22, 1938.
This painting has a very pleasant feature compared with other works that I have seen in preparing this article: the characters, although many, are showed in close-up. One can expect that its estimate is too low. No reason however to be more excited : it is of small size (43 x 54 cm). (Lot 138).
The other two important works into the sale of June 6 are more classical compositions. One of them represents small characters going their way in front of a church (700 K £, 46 x 61 cm, lot 137). The other is a far away view of a cricket stadium during a match, painted in 1952 (600 K £, 44x54 cm, lot 135).
POST SALE COMMENT
The two paintings at 700 K£ remained unsold, and the third, estimated 600 K£, got 770 K£ including fees. For the latter, the buyer was undoubtedly interested in the industrial landscape (a huge plant) behind the stadium.
1952 BY ERIK LAUBSCHER
2009 SOLD 1 M ZAR BEFORE FEES
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Stephan Welz and Company operates in association with Sotheby's in South Africa at Johannesburg and Cape Town.
For this first detailed visit to their site, I decided to follow their choice, and to discuss the artwork they show on the top of their main page. It is an oil on canvas by Erik Laubscher, Lot 327 for sale in Cape Town on 24 and 25 February.
It is a work from his youth. The artist was 25 years old when he painted it in 1952. This is a still life with a mandolin, a musical score and fruits, 65x80 cm. The auction house is right in defining it as a post-Cubist reminiscence of Braque. The artist has also been strongly influenced by Léger (he had been a pupil of him). The objects are juxtaposed in bold colors in the composition of the image, without the use of perspective.
The painting is estimated 200 KR, or about 15 K €.
POST SALE COMMENT
I was right when I trusted more the excitement of the auction house than its estimates. The Laubscher painting was sold 1 MR excluding fees.
Stephan Welz and Co announced that it is the highest price recorded at auction in South Africa for a living artist.
Stephan Welz and Company operates in association with Sotheby's in South Africa at Johannesburg and Cape Town.
For this first detailed visit to their site, I decided to follow their choice, and to discuss the artwork they show on the top of their main page. It is an oil on canvas by Erik Laubscher, Lot 327 for sale in Cape Town on 24 and 25 February.
It is a work from his youth. The artist was 25 years old when he painted it in 1952. This is a still life with a mandolin, a musical score and fruits, 65x80 cm. The auction house is right in defining it as a post-Cubist reminiscence of Braque. The artist has also been strongly influenced by Léger (he had been a pupil of him). The objects are juxtaposed in bold colors in the composition of the image, without the use of perspective.
The painting is estimated 200 KR, or about 15 K €.
POST SALE COMMENT
I was right when I trusted more the excitement of the auction house than its estimates. The Laubscher painting was sold 1 MR excluding fees.
Stephan Welz and Co announced that it is the highest price recorded at auction in South Africa for a living artist.
1952 france-sweden at the parc des princes
2015 unsold
Nicolas de Staël was no longer satisfied of abstraction and tried to return to the figurative as a landscape painter.
His inspiration for another style was triggered by the football match between France and Sweden on 26 March 1952. The event was not only interesting the followers of sport : it was one of the first games played at evening under floodlights in the Parc des Princes.
The artist perceives the color of this unusual light and the endless motion of the colored jerseys. He will now rely on his memory to recreate his vibrant impressions through compositions in the midst between abstract and figurative.
In the days following the match, de Staël painted 25 variations on the theme of the football players, recreating in some way in this set all the variety of action and movement. An oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm is estimated £ 2M for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 10, lot 17.
Until the untimely end of his life, de Staël reuses this exhausting method based on his sensorial memory, in other themes of which the most successful will be the travel in Sicily and the nude. His mental health will collapse in this frenzy.
He was a pioneer at a time when artificial colors of advertisings were invading our environment, driven by the increasing ease to achieve a suitable color photography.
His inspiration for another style was triggered by the football match between France and Sweden on 26 March 1952. The event was not only interesting the followers of sport : it was one of the first games played at evening under floodlights in the Parc des Princes.
The artist perceives the color of this unusual light and the endless motion of the colored jerseys. He will now rely on his memory to recreate his vibrant impressions through compositions in the midst between abstract and figurative.
In the days following the match, de Staël painted 25 variations on the theme of the football players, recreating in some way in this set all the variety of action and movement. An oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm is estimated £ 2M for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 10, lot 17.
Until the untimely end of his life, de Staël reuses this exhausting method based on his sensorial memory, in other themes of which the most successful will be the travel in Sicily and the nude. His mental health will collapse in this frenzy.
He was a pioneer at a time when artificial colors of advertisings were invading our environment, driven by the increasing ease to achieve a suitable color photography.
1952-1953 The Colored Impasto of Jean-Paul Riopelle
2017 SOLD for $ 7.4M CAD including premium
Born in Montreal, Jean-Paul Riopelle is looking for a new style to express the blazing nature. An admirer of van Gogh, he considers the preeminence of touch and color over the figuration.
He immersed himself in 1947 in the artistic and intellectual theories of the Paris group around André Breton and developed a gestural technique free of will and psychology. An attempt to re-inject these anti-bourgeois conceptions in Montreal was unconvincing and he settled permanently in Paris in December 1948.
Riopelle covers his canvas with an impasto of vibrant colors crossed by white scars. The paint reaches a considerable thickness which the artist describes as an unintended consequence of his creative act : as long as he is not satisfied with the visual balance of his work, he adds colored materials with his knife.
Such abstract perfectionism applied on the whole surface of the canvas made Riopelle being compared with Pollock and greatly contributed to his international fame.
Around 1955 the artist finds a solution to work in thinner layers. His art then loses its most innovative characteristic that had moved the boundary between painting and sculpture.
An oil on canvas 120 x 200 cm painted in 1951-1952 was sold for € 1,86M including premium by Christie's on June 1, 2012. On May 24 in Toronto, Heffel sells Vent du Nord, oil on canvas 130 x 195 cm painted in 1952-1953, lot 19 estimated CAD $ 1M.
He immersed himself in 1947 in the artistic and intellectual theories of the Paris group around André Breton and developed a gestural technique free of will and psychology. An attempt to re-inject these anti-bourgeois conceptions in Montreal was unconvincing and he settled permanently in Paris in December 1948.
Riopelle covers his canvas with an impasto of vibrant colors crossed by white scars. The paint reaches a considerable thickness which the artist describes as an unintended consequence of his creative act : as long as he is not satisfied with the visual balance of his work, he adds colored materials with his knife.
Such abstract perfectionism applied on the whole surface of the canvas made Riopelle being compared with Pollock and greatly contributed to his international fame.
Around 1955 the artist finds a solution to work in thinner layers. His art then loses its most innovative characteristic that had moved the boundary between painting and sculpture.
An oil on canvas 120 x 200 cm painted in 1951-1952 was sold for € 1,86M including premium by Christie's on June 1, 2012. On May 24 in Toronto, Heffel sells Vent du Nord, oil on canvas 130 x 195 cm painted in 1952-1953, lot 19 estimated CAD $ 1M.
1953 The Immobile Movement of the Bird
2015 SOLD for £ 9.2M including premium
In 1953, Joan Miro consciously deploys the enthusiasm of a child. The dark years of war and activism are over, only remains the need to express freedom. He is 60 years old.
The careful technique of the artist is not incompatible with the ampleness and speed of his gesture which had inspired Pollock. His pictorial grammar is childish. The composition is a search for a motion that would not contradict the immobility of the canvas.
On February 4 in London, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 90 x 116 cm painted in 1953, lot 116 estimated £ 7M.
The title-poem, L'Oiseau au plumage déployé vole vers l'arbre argenté (the bird with the deployed plumage flies to the silver tree), describes the image, which is not always the case in the surrealist art of Miro and suggests that the action was chosen very early in the design of this artwork.
The background provides the atmosphere of a peaceful twilight with the night coming from the right. A dynamic although imaginary arch supporting the upper part of the scenery leads the bird to the tree in a move that will cross through the crescent moon.
Miro does not accept empty spaces in his paintings. The picture is completed by stars stylized as snowflakes and a foreground with two important figures including some anthropomorphic features.
The careful technique of the artist is not incompatible with the ampleness and speed of his gesture which had inspired Pollock. His pictorial grammar is childish. The composition is a search for a motion that would not contradict the immobility of the canvas.
On February 4 in London, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 90 x 116 cm painted in 1953, lot 116 estimated £ 7M.
The title-poem, L'Oiseau au plumage déployé vole vers l'arbre argenté (the bird with the deployed plumage flies to the silver tree), describes the image, which is not always the case in the surrealist art of Miro and suggests that the action was chosen very early in the design of this artwork.
The background provides the atmosphere of a peaceful twilight with the night coming from the right. A dynamic although imaginary arch supporting the upper part of the scenery leads the bird to the tree in a move that will cross through the crescent moon.
Miro does not accept empty spaces in his paintings. The picture is completed by stars stylized as snowflakes and a foreground with two important figures including some anthropomorphic features.
1953 De Staël remembers the Color
2012 SOLD 5.3 M£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Post war, a new social rite animates the French people: the summer vacation with the family at the seaside, in the mountains or by traveling. In August 1953, Nicolas de Staël visited southern Italy and Sicily.
Back to his new studio in Provence, Staël expresses his memory. He was much marked by the site of Agrigento, which will be for nearly a year his favorite theme. This series of landscape paintings done indoor has nothing to do with photography. The artist wants to revive and show the exceptional brilliance of Sicily in the summer light.
The oil on canvas, 89 x 130 cm, for sale by Christie's in London on February 14 is one of the earliest. Between thestrident yellow sand and the dense azure sky, there is a small colorful dune and the sea in deep blue. This artwork isestimated £ 3.5 M. Here is the link to the catalog.
Another painting on the same theme, 60 x 81 cm, made the following year, was sold € 2.5 million including premiumby Sotheby's in Paris on May 31, 2011. The memory of the form has vanished, replaced by a radiant structure close toabstract. Bright colors have survived, but the sky that became too dark is stifling.
We got the urge to compare Staël to Van Gogh, despite the difference of styles. Both needed to come to Provence toachieve their artistic approach. Both saw the most beautiful light, the quintessence of the art. After a brief period of intense and totally original creativity, both committed suicide.
POST SALE COMMENT
Agrigente is the theme where Nicolas de Staël has given the best of himself, and this painting is particularly outstanding in this series. It was sold £ 5.3 million including premium.
Post war, a new social rite animates the French people: the summer vacation with the family at the seaside, in the mountains or by traveling. In August 1953, Nicolas de Staël visited southern Italy and Sicily.
Back to his new studio in Provence, Staël expresses his memory. He was much marked by the site of Agrigento, which will be for nearly a year his favorite theme. This series of landscape paintings done indoor has nothing to do with photography. The artist wants to revive and show the exceptional brilliance of Sicily in the summer light.
The oil on canvas, 89 x 130 cm, for sale by Christie's in London on February 14 is one of the earliest. Between thestrident yellow sand and the dense azure sky, there is a small colorful dune and the sea in deep blue. This artwork isestimated £ 3.5 M. Here is the link to the catalog.
Another painting on the same theme, 60 x 81 cm, made the following year, was sold € 2.5 million including premiumby Sotheby's in Paris on May 31, 2011. The memory of the form has vanished, replaced by a radiant structure close toabstract. Bright colors have survived, but the sky that became too dark is stifling.
We got the urge to compare Staël to Van Gogh, despite the difference of styles. Both needed to come to Provence toachieve their artistic approach. Both saw the most beautiful light, the quintessence of the art. After a brief period of intense and totally original creativity, both committed suicide.
POST SALE COMMENT
Agrigente is the theme where Nicolas de Staël has given the best of himself, and this painting is particularly outstanding in this series. It was sold £ 5.3 million including premium.
1953 an access to the sky
2017 sold for £ 1M including premium
The very varied art by Fahr el-Nissa Zeid harmoniously blends the traditions of the Middle East with those of the Ecole de Paris. She is the daughter of an Ottoman diplomat. Her cosmopolitan inspiration is facilitated by her first marriage with a Turkish intellectual who promotes the European culture. In Paris, she completed her art training at the Académie Ranson where Roger Bissière's abstract cubism had a lasting influence on her.
The young artist became a princess of Iraq by her second marriage in 1933 with Zeid, brother of King Faisal. In the 1950s the Prince remained Iraq's ambassador to the United Kingdom for a long time, thus facilitating the career of his wife who maintained a studio in London and another in Paris.
Fahr el-Nissa Zeid introduces vibrant colors into abstract block figures reminiscent altogether of Bissière's style and of colored glasses, mosaics and kilims from the Middle East. On April 25 in London, Sotheby's sells her masterpiece in that style, lot 15 estimated £ 550K.
This monumental oil on canvas 593 x 201 cm painted in 1953 is designed to be exhibited in an upright position, the top of the picture offering a transparency between the blocks in front of a black background while the colors at the lower end are warmer. It is titled Vers un ciel (Towards a sky) and not Towards the sky, in a significant humility which shows that Fahr el-Nissa does not monopolize the access to the sky. The difficulties for hanging such a tall painting in the showrooms certainly amused the artist.
A more composite work essentially based on a similar inspiration was previously discussed in this column : Break of the atom and vegetal life, 210 x 540 cm painted in 1962, was sold for AED 10.1M including premium worth US$ 2.75M by Christie's in Dubai on 29 October 2013.
The young artist became a princess of Iraq by her second marriage in 1933 with Zeid, brother of King Faisal. In the 1950s the Prince remained Iraq's ambassador to the United Kingdom for a long time, thus facilitating the career of his wife who maintained a studio in London and another in Paris.
Fahr el-Nissa Zeid introduces vibrant colors into abstract block figures reminiscent altogether of Bissière's style and of colored glasses, mosaics and kilims from the Middle East. On April 25 in London, Sotheby's sells her masterpiece in that style, lot 15 estimated £ 550K.
This monumental oil on canvas 593 x 201 cm painted in 1953 is designed to be exhibited in an upright position, the top of the picture offering a transparency between the blocks in front of a black background while the colors at the lower end are warmer. It is titled Vers un ciel (Towards a sky) and not Towards the sky, in a significant humility which shows that Fahr el-Nissa does not monopolize the access to the sky. The difficulties for hanging such a tall painting in the showrooms certainly amused the artist.
A more composite work essentially based on a similar inspiration was previously discussed in this column : Break of the atom and vegetal life, 210 x 540 cm painted in 1962, was sold for AED 10.1M including premium worth US$ 2.75M by Christie's in Dubai on 29 October 2013.
1953 VIEIRA DA SILVA ON THE TRACK OF ABSTRACT ART
2011 SOLD 496 K€ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The art of Maria Elena Vieira da Silva is a subtle blend of figurative and abstract, so closely intertwined that one can not rule on the original inspiration.
Is she deconstructing the landscape in regular geometric patterns, like Mondrian would have done? Or on the opposite, do her abstract constructions end up looking like a landscape confirmed by her in the title of the artwork?The question is meaningless as both approaches are inseparable.
The oil on canvas done in 1953, 89 x 116 cm, for sale by Tajan in Paris on October 22, is titled Les Pistes (the tracks). From the abstract view, it is a hardly colored field of force, like iron shot divided into circles under the effect of a magnetic pole. It is similar to the studded spirals of Uecker, who was still a student at that time.
The realist interpretation of an antique arena with its tribunes is supported by the title inviting to see a circularsporting track.
The painting is estimated € 500K.
POST SALE COMMENT
This sale included a large set of art by Vieira da Silva. Saint-Fargeau, oil on canvas 162 x 114 cm dated 1965, was sold € 1.55 million including premium, an excellent price for the artist.
Les Pistes, which was the subject of the discussion above, was sold € 496K including premium.
The art of Maria Elena Vieira da Silva is a subtle blend of figurative and abstract, so closely intertwined that one can not rule on the original inspiration.
Is she deconstructing the landscape in regular geometric patterns, like Mondrian would have done? Or on the opposite, do her abstract constructions end up looking like a landscape confirmed by her in the title of the artwork?The question is meaningless as both approaches are inseparable.
The oil on canvas done in 1953, 89 x 116 cm, for sale by Tajan in Paris on October 22, is titled Les Pistes (the tracks). From the abstract view, it is a hardly colored field of force, like iron shot divided into circles under the effect of a magnetic pole. It is similar to the studded spirals of Uecker, who was still a student at that time.
The realist interpretation of an antique arena with its tribunes is supported by the title inviting to see a circularsporting track.
The painting is estimated € 500K.
POST SALE COMMENT
This sale included a large set of art by Vieira da Silva. Saint-Fargeau, oil on canvas 162 x 114 cm dated 1965, was sold € 1.55 million including premium, an excellent price for the artist.
Les Pistes, which was the subject of the discussion above, was sold € 496K including premium.
1953 The Future of Nigeria
2020 SOLD for £ 250K including premium
Africa is a kaleidoscope of ethnic groups. After the Second World War, hopes of independence were accompanied by a need for a cultural renaissance. A painter, sculptor, theorist and professor, Ben Enwonwu tirelessly campaigned for this new modernism. His realistic portraits of beautiful young women, painted with Western techniques, symbolize the future of Nigeria. They constitute the culminating points of his figurative work within a large variety of topics and styles.
In 1953 Sefi has all the assets to symbolize the transition between traditions and modernism. She is 20 years old and the daughter of the traditional leader of the Ebira group. Her fiancé, the poet Christopher Okigbo, passionately claims her innocence and purity.
On March 25 in London, Sotheby's sells a portrait painted by Enwonwu in 1953, oil on board 60 x 50 cm, lot 13 estimated £ 200K. Sefi recognized herself. She remembers posing for Enwonwu at that time. Widow of Okigbo killed in action during the Biafra War, she then had a great diplomatic career guided by her passion for post-colonial education.
In this portrait, she is a very young woman with a straight gaze, smiling in confidence. Her blouse decorated in indigo and her multicolored cap remind that her father encouraged the weaving. The artist added on both cheeks the small tribal markings worn by her mother, thus bringing an additional element of nationalist pride.
Here are two results recorded on other portraits painted later by Enwonwu in the same realistic style. Christine, oil on canvas 76 x 61 cm painted in 1971, was sold for £ 1.1M including premium by Sotheby's on October 15, 2019 over a lower estimate of £ 100K. Tutu, oil on canvas 97 x 67 cm painted in 1974, was sold for £ 1.2M including premium by Bonhams on February 28, 2018 over a lower estimate of £ 200K.
In 1953 Sefi has all the assets to symbolize the transition between traditions and modernism. She is 20 years old and the daughter of the traditional leader of the Ebira group. Her fiancé, the poet Christopher Okigbo, passionately claims her innocence and purity.
On March 25 in London, Sotheby's sells a portrait painted by Enwonwu in 1953, oil on board 60 x 50 cm, lot 13 estimated £ 200K. Sefi recognized herself. She remembers posing for Enwonwu at that time. Widow of Okigbo killed in action during the Biafra War, she then had a great diplomatic career guided by her passion for post-colonial education.
In this portrait, she is a very young woman with a straight gaze, smiling in confidence. Her blouse decorated in indigo and her multicolored cap remind that her father encouraged the weaving. The artist added on both cheeks the small tribal markings worn by her mother, thus bringing an additional element of nationalist pride.
Here are two results recorded on other portraits painted later by Enwonwu in the same realistic style. Christine, oil on canvas 76 x 61 cm painted in 1971, was sold for £ 1.1M including premium by Sotheby's on October 15, 2019 over a lower estimate of £ 100K. Tutu, oil on canvas 97 x 67 cm painted in 1974, was sold for £ 1.2M including premium by Bonhams on February 28, 2018 over a lower estimate of £ 200K.
1953 bouquet for vava
2018 withdrawn
On March 18, 2018 New Orleans Auction Galleries sold for $ 1.06M including premium a mixed technique on paper 58 x 45 cm by Chagall, titled Le Bouquet d'Amour. Bella's widower, the artist expresses a synthesis of his memories and emotions in vibrant colors.
In 1952 Marc marries Vava. To the satisfaction of his daughter Ida, he repositions his sensory pleasures in his own present. From 1953 to 1956 he prepares a series of paintings on the theme of Paris.
On September 15 in New Orleans, Neal Auction Company sells Le Luxembourg, a 60 x 50 cm oil on paper painted in 1953 and mounted on canvas, lot 111 estimated $ 1M here linked on the Invaluable and LiveAuctioneers bidding platforms.
At the top of the image, the long-veiled bridal head, the green donkey's head and the Moon are turned sharply to the right, in an optimism that joins past and present. Appearing since 1911 in the artistic grammar of Chagall, the green donkey is a symbol of his youth in Vitebsk.
The bouquet of brilliant red roses in the center of the image brings the illusion of its smell, while a barely perceptible violinist creates the pleasure of sound. Other secondary elements are sketched at the bottom : the basket of fruits appeals for the taste, and the Luxembourg garden for the happiness of being in Paris at the present moment.
This artwork was part of the estate of Vava, proving how much she had been sensitive to this tribute by her newlywed.
Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In 1952 Marc marries Vava. To the satisfaction of his daughter Ida, he repositions his sensory pleasures in his own present. From 1953 to 1956 he prepares a series of paintings on the theme of Paris.
On September 15 in New Orleans, Neal Auction Company sells Le Luxembourg, a 60 x 50 cm oil on paper painted in 1953 and mounted on canvas, lot 111 estimated $ 1M here linked on the Invaluable and LiveAuctioneers bidding platforms.
At the top of the image, the long-veiled bridal head, the green donkey's head and the Moon are turned sharply to the right, in an optimism that joins past and present. Appearing since 1911 in the artistic grammar of Chagall, the green donkey is a symbol of his youth in Vitebsk.
The bouquet of brilliant red roses in the center of the image brings the illusion of its smell, while a barely perceptible violinist creates the pleasure of sound. Other secondary elements are sketched at the bottom : the basket of fruits appeals for the taste, and the Luxembourg garden for the happiness of being in Paris at the present moment.
This artwork was part of the estate of Vava, proving how much she had been sensitive to this tribute by her newlywed.
Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1953 bodies of women by de kooning
2015 unsold
The woman was a major theme of De Kooning from the early time when he was looking along with Arshile Gorky for the border between figurative and abstract. His third series of Women, from 1950 to 1955, is the most innovative, marked by alternating enthusiasms and discouragements of the artist.
De Kooning is in quest of the eternal woman who inspired artists since the age of the stone idols. More than her femininity, he expresses her fertility in a standing attitude characterized by opulent breasts. The head is only a useless excrescence in this slightly down-up vision. His drawing is reminiscent of the synthetic cubism.
The result is at the opposite of the aesthetics of his time despite an expressionist use of color. An art critic said in 1953 that De Kooning "had gone too far, but that is the only place to go".
The inspiration goes on a same path for the idols of ancient times and for the modern naive artists : the series of Corps de Dames by Dubuffet, the prophet of Art Brut, is also starting in 1950 and offers a similar vision of morphology.
On May 15, 2013, Christie's sold for $ 19M including premium a woman with blue eyes, oil, enamel and charcoal on paper 71 x 51 cm laid down on canvas executed by De Kooning in 1953.
The artwork for sale by Christie's in New York on November 9 is a nude 56 x 48 cm made in the same year or possibly the previous one in a similar technique. It is estimated $ 14M, lot 15A.
De Kooning is in quest of the eternal woman who inspired artists since the age of the stone idols. More than her femininity, he expresses her fertility in a standing attitude characterized by opulent breasts. The head is only a useless excrescence in this slightly down-up vision. His drawing is reminiscent of the synthetic cubism.
The result is at the opposite of the aesthetics of his time despite an expressionist use of color. An art critic said in 1953 that De Kooning "had gone too far, but that is the only place to go".
The inspiration goes on a same path for the idols of ancient times and for the modern naive artists : the series of Corps de Dames by Dubuffet, the prophet of Art Brut, is also starting in 1950 and offers a similar vision of morphology.
On May 15, 2013, Christie's sold for $ 19M including premium a woman with blue eyes, oil, enamel and charcoal on paper 71 x 51 cm laid down on canvas executed by De Kooning in 1953.
The artwork for sale by Christie's in New York on November 9 is a nude 56 x 48 cm made in the same year or possibly the previous one in a similar technique. It is estimated $ 14M, lot 15A.
1954 Eh well ! Let's continue ...
2016 SOLD for € 6M including premium
Ten years after the war the trauma is persisting. Bacon, like so many others, no longer finds the meaning of life. The atheistic existentialism of Sartre provides an explanation which is not an exit. Giacometti, whom Bacon has not yet met at that time, was suffering similar torments.
The scream of the Battleship Potemkin is not enough. A silent mouth is even more terrible because it expresses the impossibility of externalizing an emotion. The pope by Velazquez who is a permanent model of spinelessness is also not suitable : the trivial life of an anonymous human being is even more poignant.
Bacon puts his characters in cages without walls. Like Joseph Garcin in Sartre's Huis Clos, they are locked within their own incompetence. The anonymous man is surrounded by a dark blue space of increasing dimensions in which his small image is reduced to the face and the collar with a tie.
Painted in 1953 and titled Study for a Portrait, a masterpiece of this new style by Bacon, 198 x 137 cm, was sold for £ 18M including premium by Christie's on June 28, 2011.
The Man in Blue series, painted in 1954, has seven opus. It comes in direct continuation to the Study for a portrait. A unique and non-significant businessman expresses various feelings that are a gradual evolution toward despair. Bacon stressed that this series was conceived in the hotel where he often came to rest from his sadomasochistic relationship with Peter Lacy. This hotel guest inhibited in the depth of his blue anguish would also like to have some illicit adventures.
Man in Blue VI, oil on canvas 153 x 117 cm, was sold for £ 5M including premium by Christie's on February 13, 2013.
Man in Blue VII, of same technique and same size, is estimated € 5M for sale by Christie's in Paris on June 8, lot 16. Exhibited in the same year at the Venice Biennale, this artwork is one of those that brought an international recognition to the modernity of Francis Bacon, the most frightening artist of the postwar period.
The scream of the Battleship Potemkin is not enough. A silent mouth is even more terrible because it expresses the impossibility of externalizing an emotion. The pope by Velazquez who is a permanent model of spinelessness is also not suitable : the trivial life of an anonymous human being is even more poignant.
Bacon puts his characters in cages without walls. Like Joseph Garcin in Sartre's Huis Clos, they are locked within their own incompetence. The anonymous man is surrounded by a dark blue space of increasing dimensions in which his small image is reduced to the face and the collar with a tie.
Painted in 1953 and titled Study for a Portrait, a masterpiece of this new style by Bacon, 198 x 137 cm, was sold for £ 18M including premium by Christie's on June 28, 2011.
The Man in Blue series, painted in 1954, has seven opus. It comes in direct continuation to the Study for a portrait. A unique and non-significant businessman expresses various feelings that are a gradual evolution toward despair. Bacon stressed that this series was conceived in the hotel where he often came to rest from his sadomasochistic relationship with Peter Lacy. This hotel guest inhibited in the depth of his blue anguish would also like to have some illicit adventures.
Man in Blue VI, oil on canvas 153 x 117 cm, was sold for £ 5M including premium by Christie's on February 13, 2013.
Man in Blue VII, of same technique and same size, is estimated € 5M for sale by Christie's in Paris on June 8, lot 16. Exhibited in the same year at the Venice Biennale, this artwork is one of those that brought an international recognition to the modernity of Francis Bacon, the most frightening artist of the postwar period.
1954 Hanging Sculptures by Ruth Asawa
2020 SOLD for $ 5.4M including premium
Ruth Asawa was born in California to a family of Japanese emigrants. Life is hard. The father is a market gardener and the child, already appealed by artistic creation, observes the oblong shapes of the vegetables. The entry into war of Japan generates persecutions.
The young woman is developing a new technique, inspired by Albers' minimalism and by the wicker baskets. She brings the third dimension by replacing the pencil with a metallic wire which she crochets in a multitude of loops.
Asawa's sculptures are alignments of oblong structures that hang from the ceiling. They are interconnected by narrowings which can be limited to a single linear thread. Each element can contain two successive interior forms without losing the transparency.
On July 1 in New York, Bonhams sells the work registered under the reference S.408 by the Ruth Asawa Estate. Sold to a friend in 1954, it aligns five lobes in two groups linked by a chain, for a total height of 127 cm. The upper lobe of each group integrates a smaller oblong element. It is estimated $ 1M, lot 9.
S.387, made circa 1955, assembles three lobes as a single group. Each lobe incorporates two small pear-shaped elements positioned one inside the other. This work 84 cm in total height was sold by Christie's on November 14, 2019 for $ 4.1M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 700K.
The elementary forms may also overlap. S.437, made in 1956, 260 cm high, was sold by LAMA (Los Angeles Modern Auctions) for $ 1.43M including premium on February 23, 2014, the highest price at that time for a work by Asawa at auction.
S.853, five lobed 152 cm high made circa 1956, is comparable to S.408 excepted that the upper lobe integrates an overlap. It is estimated $ 2M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on June 30, lot 219.
S.401 has seven lobes, in a continuous interlocking of five lobes plus a pear-shaped element inside each of the two lower, for a total height of 198 cm. Made ca 1954, it is estimated $ 3M for sale by Christie's in New York on July 10, lot 56.
RESULTS including premium :
Bonhams : SOLD for $ 2.2M
Sotheby's ; SOLD for $ 2.66M
Christie's : SOLD for $ 5.4M
The young woman is developing a new technique, inspired by Albers' minimalism and by the wicker baskets. She brings the third dimension by replacing the pencil with a metallic wire which she crochets in a multitude of loops.
Asawa's sculptures are alignments of oblong structures that hang from the ceiling. They are interconnected by narrowings which can be limited to a single linear thread. Each element can contain two successive interior forms without losing the transparency.
On July 1 in New York, Bonhams sells the work registered under the reference S.408 by the Ruth Asawa Estate. Sold to a friend in 1954, it aligns five lobes in two groups linked by a chain, for a total height of 127 cm. The upper lobe of each group integrates a smaller oblong element. It is estimated $ 1M, lot 9.
S.387, made circa 1955, assembles three lobes as a single group. Each lobe incorporates two small pear-shaped elements positioned one inside the other. This work 84 cm in total height was sold by Christie's on November 14, 2019 for $ 4.1M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 700K.
The elementary forms may also overlap. S.437, made in 1956, 260 cm high, was sold by LAMA (Los Angeles Modern Auctions) for $ 1.43M including premium on February 23, 2014, the highest price at that time for a work by Asawa at auction.
S.853, five lobed 152 cm high made circa 1956, is comparable to S.408 excepted that the upper lobe integrates an overlap. It is estimated $ 2M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on June 30, lot 219.
S.401 has seven lobes, in a continuous interlocking of five lobes plus a pear-shaped element inside each of the two lower, for a total height of 198 cm. Made ca 1954, it is estimated $ 3M for sale by Christie's in New York on July 10, lot 56.
RESULTS including premium :
Bonhams : SOLD for $ 2.2M
Sotheby's ; SOLD for $ 2.66M
Christie's : SOLD for $ 5.4M
1954 The Trowel of the Trapper
2018 SOLD for € 4.3M including premium
In Paris since 1947 Jean-Paul Riopelle expresses his feelings of the Canadian wild : the impenetrable forest, the seasons, the wind. With his bricklayer's trowel, he literally sculpts on the canvas with oil paint. The accumulated layers are so thick that they reach the limit of breaking.
He alternates brilliant and saturated colors on the canvas, creating blobs, scars and reflections that appear differently when the observer changes his position, simulating the wind that shakes the leaves. Like Pollock, he sees himself as an interpreter of nature and refuses to consider his art as abstract.
A superb symphony of colors titled Vent du Nord painted in 1952-1953, 130 x 195 cm, was sold on May 24, 2017 for $ 7.1M CAD including premium by Heffel over a lower estimate of $ 1M CAD.
The forest remains the ultimate goal of this artist whom Breton nicknamed the Trappeur Supérieur. With spots of light emerging amidst the muted colors, La Forêt, 130 x 195 cm painted in 1953, was sold for € 2.04M including premium by Sotheby's on December 9, 2015 over a lower estimate of € 900K.
Like Rothko, Riopelle knows that the large size invites to immersion. An untitled 200 x 300 cm oil on canvas painted in 1953 was sold for € 4.9M including premium by Christie's on December 5, 2017 over a lower estimate of € 1.5M. In the same dimensions, Forestine, painted in 1954 in the same style as La Forêt, is estimated € 2.5M for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on December 5, lot 9.
He alternates brilliant and saturated colors on the canvas, creating blobs, scars and reflections that appear differently when the observer changes his position, simulating the wind that shakes the leaves. Like Pollock, he sees himself as an interpreter of nature and refuses to consider his art as abstract.
A superb symphony of colors titled Vent du Nord painted in 1952-1953, 130 x 195 cm, was sold on May 24, 2017 for $ 7.1M CAD including premium by Heffel over a lower estimate of $ 1M CAD.
The forest remains the ultimate goal of this artist whom Breton nicknamed the Trappeur Supérieur. With spots of light emerging amidst the muted colors, La Forêt, 130 x 195 cm painted in 1953, was sold for € 2.04M including premium by Sotheby's on December 9, 2015 over a lower estimate of € 900K.
Like Rothko, Riopelle knows that the large size invites to immersion. An untitled 200 x 300 cm oil on canvas painted in 1953 was sold for € 4.9M including premium by Christie's on December 5, 2017 over a lower estimate of € 1.5M. In the same dimensions, Forestine, painted in 1954 in the same style as La Forêt, is estimated € 2.5M for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on December 5, lot 9.
1954 Holes in the Space Time
2019 SOLD for £ 3.7m including premium
The horrors of war traumatized Burri and Fontana. The rebirth of civilization requires a new art, completely different. Independent of each other, the conceptions of these two artists pave the way for minimalism, arte povera and new developments in action painting.
From 1940 to 1947 the Argentinean-Italian sculptor Lucio Fontana teaches art in Buenos Aires. With some of his students, he prepares the Manifesto Blanco which invites to the development of an art inspired by the space-time of the physicists to transcend painting, sculpture, poetry and music.
Back in Italy, Fontana eagerly manages to develop a style that matches his ideas. Its generic title, Concetto spaziale, refers to the cosmic mystery. At that time astronautics exists only in the mind of von Braun. Much later Fontana will complacently let himself be considered as a visionary of the space conquest.
His first major breakthrough is perforation, which he applies to various monochrome media : paper, cardboard, canvas, terra cotta, metal. Under the lighting, the pattern of holes brings to the work a variable brightness which annihilates the support. The inlays in Murano glass, also used by the artist, bring a similar effect while adding colors. After preparatory drawings, Fontana punches the material in a very rapid succession of violent gestures.
On October 4 in London, Christie's sells as lot 109 a Concetto Spaziale made in 1954. The steel sheet 60 x 100 cm is decorated with six undulating rows composed of ten to sixteen holes. The area with the holes is limited by a narrow line which is also visible in other works by the artist. As on a television screen, the viewer's gaze must not wander outward.
At that time Fontana scarcely practices the vertical laceration that will become his signature technique. A new inspiration will come to him in 1961 while admiring skyscrapers in New York.
From 1940 to 1947 the Argentinean-Italian sculptor Lucio Fontana teaches art in Buenos Aires. With some of his students, he prepares the Manifesto Blanco which invites to the development of an art inspired by the space-time of the physicists to transcend painting, sculpture, poetry and music.
Back in Italy, Fontana eagerly manages to develop a style that matches his ideas. Its generic title, Concetto spaziale, refers to the cosmic mystery. At that time astronautics exists only in the mind of von Braun. Much later Fontana will complacently let himself be considered as a visionary of the space conquest.
His first major breakthrough is perforation, which he applies to various monochrome media : paper, cardboard, canvas, terra cotta, metal. Under the lighting, the pattern of holes brings to the work a variable brightness which annihilates the support. The inlays in Murano glass, also used by the artist, bring a similar effect while adding colors. After preparatory drawings, Fontana punches the material in a very rapid succession of violent gestures.
On October 4 in London, Christie's sells as lot 109 a Concetto Spaziale made in 1954. The steel sheet 60 x 100 cm is decorated with six undulating rows composed of ten to sixteen holes. The area with the holes is limited by a narrow line which is also visible in other works by the artist. As on a television screen, the viewer's gaze must not wander outward.
At that time Fontana scarcely practices the vertical laceration that will become his signature technique. A new inspiration will come to him in 1961 while admiring skyscrapers in New York.
