1885
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Cézanne Degas Gauguin Seurat and Signac Midi
See also : Cézanne Degas Gauguin Seurat and Signac Midi
L'Estaque by CEZANNE
1
1883-1885 aux toits rouges
2021 SOLD for $ 55M by Christie's
The impressionist solutions are no longer suitable to Paul Cézanne. He comes back to Provence with the aim of expressing the quintessence and the warmth of the most beautiful Mediterranean landscapes.
L'Estaque is one of his first choices, prompted by memories from his youth when his mother had rented a cottage for summer holidays. From the top of the hill and beyond the houses, the bay and the islands of Marseille offer a vast and sumptuous panorama.
In the early 1880s Cézanne rents a small house in L'Estaque, away from his family left to live in Aix. He works outdoor like the Impressionnistes, but his synthetic and cloisonné analysis of shapes and colors is paving the way for the 20th century art. He is already meticulously in quest of the perfection of colors in their whole range. He manages to provide to the viewer a sensation instead of a mere copy of the landscape.
Painted in that early phase between 1883 and 1885, L'Estaque aux toits rouges is a significant demonstrator of these fertile experiments. In this panoramic view from the top of the hill, the contrast is striking between the geometric pattern of sun bathed houses with no shadow and the blue hues of sky and sea.
This oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm was sold for $ 55M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 10C. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A view boldly enclosing the same panorama in a vertical format, oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm painted in 1885, was sold for £ 13.5M by Christie's on February 4, 2015, lot 8.
These pictures had a direct influence on the development of the Cubisme by Braque.
L'Estaque is one of his first choices, prompted by memories from his youth when his mother had rented a cottage for summer holidays. From the top of the hill and beyond the houses, the bay and the islands of Marseille offer a vast and sumptuous panorama.
In the early 1880s Cézanne rents a small house in L'Estaque, away from his family left to live in Aix. He works outdoor like the Impressionnistes, but his synthetic and cloisonné analysis of shapes and colors is paving the way for the 20th century art. He is already meticulously in quest of the perfection of colors in their whole range. He manages to provide to the viewer a sensation instead of a mere copy of the landscape.
Painted in that early phase between 1883 and 1885, L'Estaque aux toits rouges is a significant demonstrator of these fertile experiments. In this panoramic view from the top of the hill, the contrast is striking between the geometric pattern of sun bathed houses with no shadow and the blue hues of sky and sea.
This oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm was sold for $ 55M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 10C. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A view boldly enclosing the same panorama in a vertical format, oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm painted in 1885, was sold for £ 13.5M by Christie's on February 4, 2015, lot 8.
These pictures had a direct influence on the development of the Cubisme by Braque.
2
1885
2015 SOLD for £ 13.5M by Christie's
On February 4, 2015, Christie's sold for £ 13.5M from a lower estimate of £ 8M an oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm, lot 8. This view of L'Estaque was probably made in the spring or early summer of 1885. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
For such a panoramic theme, Cézanne has the audacity to try a vertical format. The trees that frame the view while masking the lateral coasts provide the same invitation to the infinite as the future colored rectangles by Mondrian.
For such a panoramic theme, Cézanne has the audacity to try a vertical format. The trees that frame the view while masking the lateral coasts provide the same invitation to the infinite as the future colored rectangles by Mondrian.
1885 La Rade de Grandcamp by Seurat
2018 SOLD for $ 34M by Christie's
Georges Seurat wants his art to be for social criticism. He blames the Impressionist techniques for being emotional and not strict enough. He begins in 1884 a demonstration painting in very large size 208 x 308 cm : Un dimanche après-midi à l'Ile de la Grande Jatte.
Everything is important but everything is mingled. An image with rising lines and warm colors will look optimistic. The Grande Jatte will have to be chilling, with an invading shadow in the foreground and stiff figures symbolizing the aberrations of the bourgeoisie.
The young artist is receptive to ideas about the balance of colors. Chevreul's psychophysiological observations that the vision of a pure color is accompanied by the perception of a halo of its complementary color convince him that the composition of the colors of a painting must not slavishly follow the nature.
Seurat spends the summer 1885 at the seaside, in Grandcamp, on the advice of Signac who also invites him to take an interest in intense lights. Seurat then tests with marine views his interpretation of Chevreul's theories, developing his new technique of dividing colors by horizontal brush strokes that will soon become dots. He names that practice the chromo-luminarisme.
On May 8, 2018, Christie's sold as lot 18 for $ 34M La Rade de Grandcamp, oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm on the rather happy theme of a regatta of horizontally aligned white sails.
The achievement of the Grandcamp series pleases him. Back in his studio, he retouches the Grande Jatte by reducing chromatic variations and by introducing the pointillism. When this work is completed in 1886, it triggers the inevitable break with the Impressionnistes. Only Fénéon is convinced. In 1887 Fénéon coins the neo-Impressionist wording to try showing that Seurat's art is not an opposition to Impressionism but another step on the path to a new art.
Passionate about his theories, Seurat retouched his artworks. Rade de Grandcamp is perhaps the only example left in its original state from his very first experiences in complementary color techniques.
Everything is important but everything is mingled. An image with rising lines and warm colors will look optimistic. The Grande Jatte will have to be chilling, with an invading shadow in the foreground and stiff figures symbolizing the aberrations of the bourgeoisie.
The young artist is receptive to ideas about the balance of colors. Chevreul's psychophysiological observations that the vision of a pure color is accompanied by the perception of a halo of its complementary color convince him that the composition of the colors of a painting must not slavishly follow the nature.
Seurat spends the summer 1885 at the seaside, in Grandcamp, on the advice of Signac who also invites him to take an interest in intense lights. Seurat then tests with marine views his interpretation of Chevreul's theories, developing his new technique of dividing colors by horizontal brush strokes that will soon become dots. He names that practice the chromo-luminarisme.
On May 8, 2018, Christie's sold as lot 18 for $ 34M La Rade de Grandcamp, oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm on the rather happy theme of a regatta of horizontally aligned white sails.
The achievement of the Grandcamp series pleases him. Back in his studio, he retouches the Grande Jatte by reducing chromatic variations and by introducing the pointillism. When this work is completed in 1886, it triggers the inevitable break with the Impressionnistes. Only Fénéon is convinced. In 1887 Fénéon coins the neo-Impressionist wording to try showing that Seurat's art is not an opposition to Impressionism but another step on the path to a new art.
Passionate about his theories, Seurat retouched his artworks. Rade de Grandcamp is perhaps the only example left in its original state from his very first experiences in complementary color techniques.
#AuctionUpdate Georges Seurat’s ‘La rade de Grandcamp (Le port de Grandcamp)’ auctions for $34,062,500. https://t.co/Dvt3rbsVQ1 pic.twitter.com/2OZswikdNo
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) May 9, 2018
1885 Giverny by MONET
1
January Frost
2013 SOLD for £ 8.8M by Sotheby's
Outdoor painter, Monet endeavoured to express the deep essence of landscape. Like Sisley in Moret, Monet waives tourism and selects a pretty village in the countryside, where he can observe throughout the seasons the subtle variety of atmospheres and colors.
In January 1885, snow fell in Giverny. Monet was captivated by this art of Nature. Van Gogh will also dazzle at his arrival in Arles in a wonderful post-snow day of February 1888.
Already the Impressionism of Monet highlights texture instead of forms. The oil on canvas, 54 x 71 cm, listed by Sotheby's on February 5, 2013 is a scene of frost in the gently filtered light of winter. It was sold for £ 8.8M from a lower estimate of £ 4M, lot 16. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Giverny is welcoming, even in these extreme weather conditions. In the distance, two small figures contrast with the white world. Positioned near the edge of the painting, they do not disturb the magic serenity of the frozen nature.
In January 1885, snow fell in Giverny. Monet was captivated by this art of Nature. Van Gogh will also dazzle at his arrival in Arles in a wonderful post-snow day of February 1888.
Already the Impressionism of Monet highlights texture instead of forms. The oil on canvas, 54 x 71 cm, listed by Sotheby's on February 5, 2013 is a scene of frost in the gently filtered light of winter. It was sold for £ 8.8M from a lower estimate of £ 4M, lot 16. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Giverny is welcoming, even in these extreme weather conditions. In the distance, two small figures contrast with the white world. Positioned near the edge of the painting, they do not disturb the magic serenity of the frozen nature.
2
January Snow
2012 SOLD for £ 8.2M by Sotheby's
In January 1885 Monet is at home at Giverny. One of his favorite themes is made available to him in all its splendor : the light of winter on a snowy landscape. The average temperature fell down to minus 6 °C, and heavy snow blankets the village in new shades of white, silver, and blue.
Undeterred by the harsh conditions, the artist rushes outdoors to paint, producing nine views on canvas before snow and ice melt.
Four of these pictures feature the snow-covered road entering the village from the east. The first one, 65 x 81 cm, taken while the snow was still falling in storm, was sold for $ 1.4M by Christie's on December 1, 2006, lot 324.
As welcoming as an image of Christmas, an oil on canvas 65 x 85 cm was sold by Sotheby's for £ 8.2M from a lower estimate of £ 4.5 M on February 8, 2012.
Among the leafless trees that twist in the cold, the road is white. Specifically it gives the "impression" of being white, without being immaculated. This beautiful atmosphere effect is achieved by a meticulous tangle of colors, indeed like a school case demonstrating the technique of the most subtle of the impressionist painters.
A sunset version of the same scenery, 65 x 81 cm, was sold for $ 5.2M by Christie's on November 5, 2013, lot 37. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The final painting in the sequence depicts the site in bright sunshine under a blue sky.
Undeterred by the harsh conditions, the artist rushes outdoors to paint, producing nine views on canvas before snow and ice melt.
Four of these pictures feature the snow-covered road entering the village from the east. The first one, 65 x 81 cm, taken while the snow was still falling in storm, was sold for $ 1.4M by Christie's on December 1, 2006, lot 324.
As welcoming as an image of Christmas, an oil on canvas 65 x 85 cm was sold by Sotheby's for £ 8.2M from a lower estimate of £ 4.5 M on February 8, 2012.
Among the leafless trees that twist in the cold, the road is white. Specifically it gives the "impression" of being white, without being immaculated. This beautiful atmosphere effect is achieved by a meticulous tangle of colors, indeed like a school case demonstrating the technique of the most subtle of the impressionist painters.
A sunset version of the same scenery, 65 x 81 cm, was sold for $ 5.2M by Christie's on November 5, 2013, lot 37. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The final painting in the sequence depicts the site in bright sunshine under a blue sky.
3
summer Les Meules
2015 SOLD for $ 16.4M by Christie's
Impressionism considered by Monet is not only a new technique suitable for painting landscapes. It is also a life style far from social conventions and preferring the pleasures of the countryside to the noise of the city.
Monet moved further away from Paris. He settled in 1883 in Giverny with Alice and the eight children of this recomposed family. The difficult period that followed the death of Camille is finally over.
Village life is a delight for Monet. During the cold 1885 winter, his observation of frost leads to a direct interpretation of the changing colors of nature.
Then comes the summer. Claude and Alice love to finish the day in the meadow separated from their garden by a brook lined with poplars. The harvest is performed and the haystacks are awaiting to enter into the barn.
On May 14, 2015, Christie's sold for $ 16.4M an oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm dated 1885, lot 15C.
The composition is balanced, as always. A shadow is approaching the foot of the sun drenched stacks. In this soft shadow, halfway between the position of the artist and the poplars, the woman and three young children transform this peaceful landscape into a scene of intimate happiness.
Monet moved further away from Paris. He settled in 1883 in Giverny with Alice and the eight children of this recomposed family. The difficult period that followed the death of Camille is finally over.
Village life is a delight for Monet. During the cold 1885 winter, his observation of frost leads to a direct interpretation of the changing colors of nature.
Then comes the summer. Claude and Alice love to finish the day in the meadow separated from their garden by a brook lined with poplars. The harvest is performed and the haystacks are awaiting to enter into the barn.
On May 14, 2015, Christie's sold for $ 16.4M an oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm dated 1885, lot 15C.
The composition is balanced, as always. A shadow is approaching the foot of the sun drenched stacks. In this soft shadow, halfway between the position of the artist and the poplars, the woman and three young children transform this peaceful landscape into a scene of intimate happiness.
Why #Monet's studies of Giverny are profound reflections of changing times http://t.co/4ndYY4IS40 pic.twitter.com/NOMQjetkNX
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) April 15, 2015
DEGAS
1
1882-1885 Dans les Coulisses
2018 SOLD for £ 9M by Christie's
Edgar Degas obtained through the support of his childhood friend the playwright Ludovic Halévy an unlimited access to the Paris Opera. In the early 1880s he spent a considerable time therein, seeking the atmosphere in the rehearsal and resting rooms of the artists and in the backside.
On February 27, 2018, Christie's sold for £ 9M an intimist and spontaneous scene titled Dans les coulisses, lot 20. Typical of the period 1882-1885, this 67 x 38 cm artwork is a pastel on linen, a rare combination even for this artist who was looking for unprecedented solutions.
A woman and a man stand side by side in the stage wings. The young woman holds a sheet of music : this simple information is enough to identify that she is a singer waiting before performing her role. She is focused on her observation of the stage out of field of the image. She does not care about the man who is yet very close to her. He is an abonné who has subscribed for his privilege to wander everywhere inside the theater.
The composition is bold, just as Degas loved it. The man who is somehow an intruder is half off the field. The very demanding artist was satisfied with its ambience effect. In 1889 it was included in the short list of fifteen highly significant examples from his art selected by Degas himself for a lithographic edition by Thornley.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
On February 27, 2018, Christie's sold for £ 9M an intimist and spontaneous scene titled Dans les coulisses, lot 20. Typical of the period 1882-1885, this 67 x 38 cm artwork is a pastel on linen, a rare combination even for this artist who was looking for unprecedented solutions.
A woman and a man stand side by side in the stage wings. The young woman holds a sheet of music : this simple information is enough to identify that she is a singer waiting before performing her role. She is focused on her observation of the stage out of field of the image. She does not care about the man who is yet very close to her. He is an abonné who has subscribed for his privilege to wander everywhere inside the theater.
The composition is bold, just as Degas loved it. The man who is somehow an intruder is half off the field. The very demanding artist was satisfied with its ambience effect. In 1889 it was included in the short list of fifteen highly significant examples from his art selected by Degas himself for a lithographic edition by Thornley.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
Edgar Degas’s ‘Dans Les Coulisses’ will star in our Impressionist and Modern Art evening auction on 27 Feb. Chosen by Degas as one of few works to be reproduced in his lifetime, this work has not been seen in public for 10 years #Impressionism #AuctionHighlight #Christies pic.twitter.com/i8ZOu2jLg3
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) January 29, 2018
2
1885 Danseuse
2021 SOLD for $ 11.8M by Sotheby's
A pastel on paper 73 x 60 cm painted by Degas in his signature theme of the "petits rats" of the Opéra de Paris was sold by Sotheby's for $ 10.6M on May 6, 2003, lot 11, and for $ 11.8M on May 12, 2021, lot 1005. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The dance was Degas's preferred theme for expressing textures and movement. This picture has been designed as an enchantment both by the attitude of the young ballerina and by the harmony and variety of light colors. She is viewed in full length in close-up, alone on stage, beginning her dance, the torso slightly leaning forward, with a highly elegant position of fingers and legs.
They could be portraits of Marie, whom Degas met for the first time in 1879 when she was still a teenager in an unfinished growth. During the 1880s Degas was keen to follow her transformation and her progress. The pretty and delicate young woman, 20 years old in 1885, used to serve as a model for the artists.
The dance was Degas's preferred theme for expressing textures and movement. This picture has been designed as an enchantment both by the attitude of the young ballerina and by the harmony and variety of light colors. She is viewed in full length in close-up, alone on stage, beginning her dance, the torso slightly leaning forward, with a highly elegant position of fingers and legs.
They could be portraits of Marie, whom Degas met for the first time in 1879 when she was still a teenager in an unfinished growth. During the 1880s Degas was keen to follow her transformation and her progress. The pretty and delicate young woman, 20 years old in 1885, used to serve as a model for the artists.
#AuctionUpdate: Once in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for nearly 70 years, Edgar Degas’s Danseuse brings $11.8 million. This dazzling work on paper is a fully worked & richly pigmented composition of Degas’s most iconic motif: the Parisian ballet. pic.twitter.com/a9D9acVVHa
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 13, 2021
3
1885 Danseuse Jaune
1996 SOLD for $ 8.7M by Sotheby's
Danseuse jaune, a pastel of the same girl in exactly the same attitude and angle of view as the example above but with another background, dated ca 1885, was sold by Sotheby's for $ 8.7M on November 12, 1996.
A significant difference is the ecstatic smile in the pastel of the next sale. These views display an empathy that departs from the images of young bodies tired by the performance.
A significant difference is the ecstatic smile in the pastel of the next sale. These views display an empathy that departs from the images of young bodies tired by the performance.
1885 Nature Morte by Gauguin
2023 SOLD for $ 10.4M by Sotheby's
Paul Gauguin is a stockbroker at the Bourse de Paris. He collects Impressionist art and begins to paint. He is welcomed from 1879 in Pissarro's home where his extended stays captivate him much more than his job. He exhibits his artworks from the same year with the Impressionist group.
After the 1882 financial crash that deeply affected the art market, he plans to become a full time artist. Looking for a cheaper life, he moves to Rouen. His next move is to Copenhagen with his Danish born wife Mette and their five children.
Wanting to part away from the the impressionniste touch and to develop a personal style, Gauguin looked at the bold colors in Cézanne's still lifes, of which he owned a Compotier, verre et pommes.
In 1885 soon after arriving in Copenhagen, Gauguin painted a still life with some private objects, in the style of Cézanne. This includes on the dressed table an opulent bouquet of peonies in a vase on a placemat, a ceramic plate and his beloved mandolin. A painting by Guillaumin is hanging on the wall. The off center composition may evoke Degas.
This oil on canvas 62 x 51 cm was fraudulently acquired in 1940 from the estate of Vollard. After decades of exhibition successively at the Louvre, Jeu de Paume and Musée d'Orsay, it was restituted to Vollard's heirs in February 2023.
It was sold for $ 10.4M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2023, lot 110. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Gauguin's life in Copenhagen was a failure. In the same year Mette required him to leave and he returned to Paris. The nature morte aux pivoines de chine et mandoline predates by one year his keen involvement in ceramics with Chaplet.
After the 1882 financial crash that deeply affected the art market, he plans to become a full time artist. Looking for a cheaper life, he moves to Rouen. His next move is to Copenhagen with his Danish born wife Mette and their five children.
Wanting to part away from the the impressionniste touch and to develop a personal style, Gauguin looked at the bold colors in Cézanne's still lifes, of which he owned a Compotier, verre et pommes.
In 1885 soon after arriving in Copenhagen, Gauguin painted a still life with some private objects, in the style of Cézanne. This includes on the dressed table an opulent bouquet of peonies in a vase on a placemat, a ceramic plate and his beloved mandolin. A painting by Guillaumin is hanging on the wall. The off center composition may evoke Degas.
This oil on canvas 62 x 51 cm was fraudulently acquired in 1940 from the estate of Vollard. After decades of exhibition successively at the Louvre, Jeu de Paume and Musée d'Orsay, it was restituted to Vollard's heirs in February 2023.
It was sold for $ 10.4M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2023, lot 110. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Gauguin's life in Copenhagen was a failure. In the same year Mette required him to leave and he returned to Paris. The nature morte aux pivoines de chine et mandoline predates by one year his keen involvement in ceramics with Chaplet.
