1913
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Abstract art II Animals Léger Germany II Marc Schiele Sculpture Bust Russia and Eastern Europe Brancusi Kandinsky Gris Music and dance Glass and crystal
See also : Abstract art II Animals Léger Germany II Marc Schiele Sculpture Bust Russia and Eastern Europe Brancusi Kandinsky Gris Music and dance Glass and crystal
masterpiece
1913 Forme uniche della continuita nello spazio by Boccioni
museu de arte contemporanea, Sao Paulo
Marinetti creates the Manifesto del Futurismo in 1909. His strategy is to shock, for stopping the weakening of Italian culture and for creating new literary forms adapted to the modern civilization of speed and violence. The past must be forgotten.
In the following year, a group of young artists publishes another manifesto to apply these new ideas to painting. Umberto Boccioni is the theoretician of the group. Perhaps he appreciates that the expression of movement through painting is too difficult for the public. The centipede dog created by Balla in 1912 is a bit ridiculous.
Without neglecting the Futurist painting, Boccioni is now interested in sculpture, which he had never practiced before. He publishes solo in April 1912 a Manifesto tecnico della scultura futurista. He is also inspired by the Cubist fragmentations by Picasso and Duchamp-Villon.
Boccioni makes in 1913 three studies in plaster in which the movement is illustrated by a muscular extension. He then creates a man on the move which is a synthesis of his theories. For marking how much his approach is an incentive for a new art, he titles this figure Forme uniche della continuita nello spazio.
The Forme uniche has remained the only important sculpture by Boccioni, the artist who went too fast, died trampled by a horse in 1916. It expresses an extreme human energy while abandoning realism, and opens the way to Giacometti, Moore and also to the successive transformations of Matisse's Nu de dos and the humanoid robots of the movies. It was chosen in 1998 to illustrate the Italian coin of 20 cents of euro.
The four seminal sculptures by Boccioni were not edited during his lifetime. The first three were destroyed in 1927. The Forme uniche survived. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Two bronzes were created in 1931. One of them brings a refinement, a pedestal under each foot, which still increases the extreme dynamism of the figure. This configuration was cast in ten units in 1972.
A 117 cm high bronze with a gold patina from the 1972 edition was sold for $ 16.2M by Christie's on November 11, 2019, lot 18 A. Despite its importance in the history of modern sculpture, this figure is extremely rare on the art market : no example had been offered at auction since 1975. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In the following year, a group of young artists publishes another manifesto to apply these new ideas to painting. Umberto Boccioni is the theoretician of the group. Perhaps he appreciates that the expression of movement through painting is too difficult for the public. The centipede dog created by Balla in 1912 is a bit ridiculous.
Without neglecting the Futurist painting, Boccioni is now interested in sculpture, which he had never practiced before. He publishes solo in April 1912 a Manifesto tecnico della scultura futurista. He is also inspired by the Cubist fragmentations by Picasso and Duchamp-Villon.
Boccioni makes in 1913 three studies in plaster in which the movement is illustrated by a muscular extension. He then creates a man on the move which is a synthesis of his theories. For marking how much his approach is an incentive for a new art, he titles this figure Forme uniche della continuita nello spazio.
The Forme uniche has remained the only important sculpture by Boccioni, the artist who went too fast, died trampled by a horse in 1916. It expresses an extreme human energy while abandoning realism, and opens the way to Giacometti, Moore and also to the successive transformations of Matisse's Nu de dos and the humanoid robots of the movies. It was chosen in 1998 to illustrate the Italian coin of 20 cents of euro.
The four seminal sculptures by Boccioni were not edited during his lifetime. The first three were destroyed in 1927. The Forme uniche survived. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Two bronzes were created in 1931. One of them brings a refinement, a pedestal under each foot, which still increases the extreme dynamism of the figure. This configuration was cast in ten units in 1972.
A 117 cm high bronze with a gold patina from the 1972 edition was sold for $ 16.2M by Christie's on November 11, 2019, lot 18 A. Despite its importance in the history of modern sculpture, this figure is extremely rare on the art market : no example had been offered at auction since 1975. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1913 LEGER
1
Contraste de Formes
2017 SOLD for $ 70M by Christie's
Under the watchful eye of Apollinaire the young artists are trying to define the pure painting. Fernand Léger is in the group. His creative desire is limitless. In 1910 with his large oil on canvas Nus dans la forêt, he applies to a landscape the solutions of analytical cubism.
Léger admires the advances made by Cézanne while wanting to escape his theories. Geometric construction is indeed no more than a technique. The introduction of movement in painting by the Futurists is promising but remains anecdotal. Painting needs nothing else than displaying pure lines, shapes and colors which will capture the interest of the viewer by their own rhythm.
Like Kandinsky in Murnau, Léger conducts in parallel his pictorial trials and his theoretical research.
He completes his post-Cézanne exorcism by preparing a few works with an abstract title, the series of Contrastes de Formes, which are his contribution to the birth of non-figurative art. He goes much further than Kandinsky and precedes Mondrian and Malevich : art can be abstract without any need to rely on a figurative sketch.
In 1913 and 1914 he achieves about fourteen Contrastes de Formes. A contract with Kahnweiler brings him stability in his living conditions. The support by this merchant also slows down his habit of destroying his own works when the artistic effect does not respond to his perfectionist desire.
On November 13, 2017, Christie's sold for $ 70M as lot 14A a Contraste de Formes painted in 1913, oil on burlap 92 x 73 cm. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The rejection of the narrative does not prevent the expression of life. Femme dans un fauteuil, oil on burlap 81 x 100 cm painted in 1913, looks at first glance like a Contraste de Formes but becomes readable by a moderate effort. It passed at Christie's on June 18, 2019, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's Paris @christiesparis Oct 18, 2017
En quoi ce Contraste de forme de Fernand Léger, exposé aujourd'hui chez #ChristiesParis, est-il extraordinaire ? http://ow.ly/jA0j30fXOVe
Léger admires the advances made by Cézanne while wanting to escape his theories. Geometric construction is indeed no more than a technique. The introduction of movement in painting by the Futurists is promising but remains anecdotal. Painting needs nothing else than displaying pure lines, shapes and colors which will capture the interest of the viewer by their own rhythm.
Like Kandinsky in Murnau, Léger conducts in parallel his pictorial trials and his theoretical research.
He completes his post-Cézanne exorcism by preparing a few works with an abstract title, the series of Contrastes de Formes, which are his contribution to the birth of non-figurative art. He goes much further than Kandinsky and precedes Mondrian and Malevich : art can be abstract without any need to rely on a figurative sketch.
In 1913 and 1914 he achieves about fourteen Contrastes de Formes. A contract with Kahnweiler brings him stability in his living conditions. The support by this merchant also slows down his habit of destroying his own works when the artistic effect does not respond to his perfectionist desire.
On November 13, 2017, Christie's sold for $ 70M as lot 14A a Contraste de Formes painted in 1913, oil on burlap 92 x 73 cm. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The rejection of the narrative does not prevent the expression of life. Femme dans un fauteuil, oil on burlap 81 x 100 cm painted in 1913, looks at first glance like a Contraste de Formes but becomes readable by a moderate effort. It passed at Christie's on June 18, 2019, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's Paris @christiesparis Oct 18, 2017
En quoi ce Contraste de forme de Fernand Léger, exposé aujourd'hui chez #ChristiesParis, est-il extraordinaire ? http://ow.ly/jA0j30fXOVe
- This 2017 X post from Christie's Paris previews the exhibition of Fernand Léger's 1913 oil on burlap "Contraste de formes," a rare abstract work from his pivotal series exploring geometric contrasts and pictorial dynamism amid Cubism's evolution.
- The painting's significance lies in Léger's innovative use of cylindrical and planar forms with bold colors and lines, creating rhythmic tension between volume and flatness, as articulated in his contemporary lectures on "pictorial realism."
- Acquired via Galerie Kahnweiler and later loaned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it sold for a record $70 million at Christie's November 2017 auction, highlighting its enduring value in modern art history.
2
La Femme en Bleu
2008 SOLD for $ 39M by Sotheby's
Art needs a renewal that is compatible with technical progress. Each of the painters of this avant-garde imagines another solution, but they need to be together in the exhibitions to appeal the public. Cubisme is a disparate movement, fiercely opposed to the impressionnisme.
Fernand Léger is a rebel. In 1910 he wanted to push further than Cézanne the construction of a composition in geometric elements. The sly critics refer to him as a tubiste. He has to find something else. He does not follow the futurism because the expression of a motion is not matching his desire for pure painting.
La Femme en bleu is a series of three oils on canvas. The first, 131 x 99 cm, dated 1912, is titled Esquisse pour La Femme en bleu. According to the principles of analytical cubism, the elements constituting a seated woman are recognizable. The novelty from this style is the large bright blue surface of the garment. La Femme en bleu proper, dated in the same year, is an enlargement to 193 x 130 cm with a significant loss of readability.
These first two Femme en Bleu are indeed the switch into abstraction of a cubist work based on a classic theme. Helped by the position of the sitter in La Dame en Bleu painted by Cézanne, the observer mentally reconstructs Léger's woman around her bright blue garment.
In 1913 Kandinsky, Kupka and Mondrian also cross over the boundaries of figuration, each of them with another motivation. Léger is the first cubist to attempt a total abstraction based on the rhythm of colors, with his Contrastes de formes.
Balancing on the border between narrative and abstraction, Léger manages a reverted move in which the forms of the woman reappear. The third opus, also titled Esquisse pour la Femme en bleu, is not dated 1913 but 12-13 to mark the date of the initial conception. The facial features and the toothbrush glass next to the sink, similar to the first Esquisse, anticipate the definitive come back by Léger to figuration. This ultimate version, 130 x 97 cm, was sold for $ 39M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2008, lot 16.
Fernand Léger is a rebel. In 1910 he wanted to push further than Cézanne the construction of a composition in geometric elements. The sly critics refer to him as a tubiste. He has to find something else. He does not follow the futurism because the expression of a motion is not matching his desire for pure painting.
La Femme en bleu is a series of three oils on canvas. The first, 131 x 99 cm, dated 1912, is titled Esquisse pour La Femme en bleu. According to the principles of analytical cubism, the elements constituting a seated woman are recognizable. The novelty from this style is the large bright blue surface of the garment. La Femme en bleu proper, dated in the same year, is an enlargement to 193 x 130 cm with a significant loss of readability.
These first two Femme en Bleu are indeed the switch into abstraction of a cubist work based on a classic theme. Helped by the position of the sitter in La Dame en Bleu painted by Cézanne, the observer mentally reconstructs Léger's woman around her bright blue garment.
In 1913 Kandinsky, Kupka and Mondrian also cross over the boundaries of figuration, each of them with another motivation. Léger is the first cubist to attempt a total abstraction based on the rhythm of colors, with his Contrastes de formes.
Balancing on the border between narrative and abstraction, Léger manages a reverted move in which the forms of the woman reappear. The third opus, also titled Esquisse pour la Femme en bleu, is not dated 1913 but 12-13 to mark the date of the initial conception. The facial features and the toothbrush glass next to the sink, similar to the first Esquisse, anticipate the definitive come back by Léger to figuration. This ultimate version, 130 x 97 cm, was sold for $ 39M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2008, lot 16.
1913 Die Füchse by Franz Marc
2022 SOLD for £ 43M by Christie's
Franz Marc rejects the modern life which is dominated by the machine. He seeks truth in Nature. His work displays a great diversity of animals, whose symbiosis with nature is a support for a harmony of forms. He uses Fauvist colors, with a symbolist code of his invention : blue for the male and yellow for the female when they are peaceful, and red to express an antithesis, for example revolt.
As a co-founder of Der Blaue Reiter, Franz Marc was immediately influenced by Boccioni's Futurism and Delaunay"s Orphisme. His featured animals went to be displayed in an abstract surrounding of fragmented colors while keeping an expressive posture of their own. By that way he pursued a personal style of painting still in quest of a meaningful interpretation of the speed and force of the raw nature.
Painted in 1913, Die Füchse features two peacefully intertwined foxes of which one of them is dominant. Against the bad repute of the clever animal, the artist had an obvious sympathy for their species. Their robe is realistically dark orange with a white jaw, not reaching the dark red of the naughty beasts in the usual color code of the artist.
This oil on canvas 88 x 66 cm was sold in 1939 by its owner who was fleeing the Nazi Germany. Recently restituted to his heirs by a museum in Düsseldorf, it was sold for £ 43M from an estimate in the region of £ 35M by Christie's on March 1, 2022, lot 34. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Christie's @ChristiesInc Mar 1, 2022
#AuctionUpdate Franz Marc's masterpiece,'The Foxes', (c.1913) realised £42,654,500, setting a new #worldauctionrecord for the artist in the 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale. Filled with a vivid play of vibrant colour and prismatic form, The Foxes is an icon of modernism.
In 1913, Marc was at the peak of his creative output, producing around 45 paintings that year alone—many now considered masterpieces, though only a handful remain in private hands. This was a key transitional phase where he experimented with a dynamic visual language, drawing heavily from French Cubism (particularly the fragmentation of forms into prismatic facets) and the Orphism of Robert Delaunay, while incorporating the energy and motion of Italian Futurism. Die Füchse embodies this fusion: the foxes are depicted not realistically but as interlocking geometric shapes in vibrant, non-naturalistic colors—reds, blues, and yellows—that convey rhythm, harmony, and a sense of primal vitality. Marc believed animals possessed a spiritual purity absent in humans, viewing them as bridges to an unspoiled, mystical connection with nature. In this painting, the creatures symbolize innocence and unity amid a fragmented world, reflecting Marc's broader philosophical quest to "animalize" art and break from traditional representation toward pure emotional abstraction.
As a founding member of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) group alongside Wassily Kandinsky since 1911, Marc had already established his signature use of color symbolism—blue for masculinity and spirituality, yellow for femininity and joy, red for violence or matter. But Die Füchse represents a bold evolution from his earlier, more fluid animal portraits (like The Tower of Blue Horses, also 1913) into a cubo-futurist style that anticipates his near-total abstraction in 1914 works like Fighting Forms. It was created amid booming modernist movements across Europe, positioning Marc as a bridge between German Expressionism and international avant-garde trends. The painting's museum-quality status underscores its rarity and importance; it has been exhibited extensively, including at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, affirming its role as an icon of Marc's oeuvre.
Regarding the 2022 sale, Die Füchse was auctioned at Christie's in London on March 1 as part of a global relay sale, fetching £42.6 million (with fees), which shattered the artist's previous auction record by more than tripling it. The work had been restituted to the heirs of German-Jewish banker Kurt Grawi, who fled Nazi persecution in the 1930s, adding layers of historical resonance beyond its artistic value.
As a co-founder of Der Blaue Reiter, Franz Marc was immediately influenced by Boccioni's Futurism and Delaunay"s Orphisme. His featured animals went to be displayed in an abstract surrounding of fragmented colors while keeping an expressive posture of their own. By that way he pursued a personal style of painting still in quest of a meaningful interpretation of the speed and force of the raw nature.
Painted in 1913, Die Füchse features two peacefully intertwined foxes of which one of them is dominant. Against the bad repute of the clever animal, the artist had an obvious sympathy for their species. Their robe is realistically dark orange with a white jaw, not reaching the dark red of the naughty beasts in the usual color code of the artist.
This oil on canvas 88 x 66 cm was sold in 1939 by its owner who was fleeing the Nazi Germany. Recently restituted to his heirs by a museum in Düsseldorf, it was sold for £ 43M from an estimate in the region of £ 35M by Christie's on March 1, 2022, lot 34. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Christie's @ChristiesInc Mar 1, 2022
#AuctionUpdate Franz Marc's masterpiece,'The Foxes', (c.1913) realised £42,654,500, setting a new #worldauctionrecord for the artist in the 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale. Filled with a vivid play of vibrant colour and prismatic form, The Foxes is an icon of modernism.
- Franz Marc's "The Foxes," sold for £42.6 million at Christie's in 2022, reflects his 1913 Cubist-inspired shift, using vibrant colors and fragmented forms, a technique later validated by art historians as a response to the emotional turmoil of pre-World War I Europe.
- The painting’s restitution to the Grawi heirs after a legal battle with Düsseldorf’s Kunstpalast Museum highlights a rare case of Nazi-looted art recovery, supported by the 2021 German advisory panel’s findings, which estimated its value at €15–30 million, underscoring ongoing global efforts to address wartime theft.
- Art market data from Artprice.com shows modernist works like "The Foxes" have surged in value by 300% over the past decade, driven by demand for pieces with historical significance, a trend backed by Christie’s auction records indicating a shift toward narrative-driven art investment.
In 1913, Marc was at the peak of his creative output, producing around 45 paintings that year alone—many now considered masterpieces, though only a handful remain in private hands. This was a key transitional phase where he experimented with a dynamic visual language, drawing heavily from French Cubism (particularly the fragmentation of forms into prismatic facets) and the Orphism of Robert Delaunay, while incorporating the energy and motion of Italian Futurism. Die Füchse embodies this fusion: the foxes are depicted not realistically but as interlocking geometric shapes in vibrant, non-naturalistic colors—reds, blues, and yellows—that convey rhythm, harmony, and a sense of primal vitality. Marc believed animals possessed a spiritual purity absent in humans, viewing them as bridges to an unspoiled, mystical connection with nature. In this painting, the creatures symbolize innocence and unity amid a fragmented world, reflecting Marc's broader philosophical quest to "animalize" art and break from traditional representation toward pure emotional abstraction.
As a founding member of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) group alongside Wassily Kandinsky since 1911, Marc had already established his signature use of color symbolism—blue for masculinity and spirituality, yellow for femininity and joy, red for violence or matter. But Die Füchse represents a bold evolution from his earlier, more fluid animal portraits (like The Tower of Blue Horses, also 1913) into a cubo-futurist style that anticipates his near-total abstraction in 1914 works like Fighting Forms. It was created amid booming modernist movements across Europe, positioning Marc as a bridge between German Expressionism and international avant-garde trends. The painting's museum-quality status underscores its rarity and importance; it has been exhibited extensively, including at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, affirming its role as an icon of Marc's oeuvre.
Regarding the 2022 sale, Die Füchse was auctioned at Christie's in London on March 1 as part of a global relay sale, fetching £42.6 million (with fees), which shattered the artist's previous auction record by more than tripling it. The work had been restituted to the heirs of German-Jewish banker Kurt Grawi, who fled Nazi persecution in the 1930s, adding layers of historical resonance beyond its artistic value.
1913 La Muse Endormie by Brancusi
2017 SOLD for $ 57M by Christie's
The art of Brancusi is too fundamental, too seminal and too personal to be associated with any artistic movement. Very gifted in his hands since his childhood, this son of poor Carpathian peasants arrived in Paris on foot in 1904. The period is exceptional : the artistic Parisian bubbling opens the way to his creativity.
He learns with Rodin that the human figure can be reduced to a single element. A head lying on a ground symbolizes the serenity. He appreciates from Gauguin that Oceanic tribal art can influence the modern universal art through its extreme simplification of forms. The skilled bearded strongman chooses the direct cut contrary to the practice of his time. He will influence Modigliani.
Brancusi began in 1907 to conceive his series of masterpieces. In Le Baiser he is the first artist who suggests a development of Cubism in sculpture.
In 1909 he creates the prototype of La Muse endormie in white marble. The lying head is an egg in which the facial features and the hair are only lightly incised. The nape of the neck is used as a support. Despite the stylization it is unquestionably a portrait of his model the baronne Frachon. The artist succeeded in the impossible synthesis between geometry and portraiture.
In 1910 Brancusi produces three plasters and six bronzes from his first Muse endormie. The bronzes are cast by Valsuani but the patina different in each of the bronzes is executed by the artist himself with a painstaking care.
One of the six bronzes, 27 cm long, was sold for $ 57M from a lower estimate of $ 20M by Christie's on May 15, 2017, lot 32 A. This example cast by 1913 has an exceptional matte and warm patina enhanced in places with gold leaf which is perfectly suited to the illusion of serenity desired by the artist. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc May 16, 2017
Brancusi's La muse endormie casted in 1913 realized $57,367,500 against its estimate of $25,000,000, a #worldauctionrecord for the artist
He learns with Rodin that the human figure can be reduced to a single element. A head lying on a ground symbolizes the serenity. He appreciates from Gauguin that Oceanic tribal art can influence the modern universal art through its extreme simplification of forms. The skilled bearded strongman chooses the direct cut contrary to the practice of his time. He will influence Modigliani.
Brancusi began in 1907 to conceive his series of masterpieces. In Le Baiser he is the first artist who suggests a development of Cubism in sculpture.
In 1909 he creates the prototype of La Muse endormie in white marble. The lying head is an egg in which the facial features and the hair are only lightly incised. The nape of the neck is used as a support. Despite the stylization it is unquestionably a portrait of his model the baronne Frachon. The artist succeeded in the impossible synthesis between geometry and portraiture.
In 1910 Brancusi produces three plasters and six bronzes from his first Muse endormie. The bronzes are cast by Valsuani but the patina different in each of the bronzes is executed by the artist himself with a painstaking care.
One of the six bronzes, 27 cm long, was sold for $ 57M from a lower estimate of $ 20M by Christie's on May 15, 2017, lot 32 A. This example cast by 1913 has an exceptional matte and warm patina enhanced in places with gold leaf which is perfectly suited to the illusion of serenity desired by the artist. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc May 16, 2017
Brancusi's La muse endormie casted in 1913 realized $57,367,500 against its estimate of $25,000,000, a #worldauctionrecord for the artist
- Christie's post announces the record-breaking $57.4 million sale of Constantin Brâncuși's 1913 bronze "La Muse Endormie," a patinated oval head depicting a sleeping muse, which doubled its $25-35 million estimate during the May 15, 2017, Impressionist and Modern evening auction in New York.
- The sculpture's abstract, egg-like form represents Brâncuși's pioneering modernist style, reducing human features to smooth curves and planes, and its rarity at auction—most of his works reside in museums—drove intense bidding from five competitors over nine minutes.
- This transaction not only set a world auction record for Brâncuși but also highlighted the 2017 art market's strength, with the full sale totaling $289 million, signaling robust collector interest in early 20th-century European modernism amid global economic recovery.
1913 Bild mit weissen Linien by Kandinsky
2017 SOLD for £ 33M by Sotheby's
The summers 1908 and 1909 spent by Kandinsky in Murnau are important for the evolution of his creative vision but are in fact only an intermediate phase. In reconstructing the figuration he is still in the wake of Cézanne. In using pure and bright colors he follows Matisse.
The anecdote that Kandinsky did not recognize one of his own paintings because it was turned on another side is often considered the founding act of abstract art. Reported much later by the artist this story is mainly symbolic and is not really dated. It marks the awareness by Kandinsky that the identification of the theme undermines the aesthetic appreciation of an artwork.
After 1909 Kandinsky suppressed the classical perspective in favor of tilted sceneries for which his preparatory sketches were figurative. He copies the positions, the proportions and the masses from the sketch into the final work. The figurative details disappear and the title suggests that it was an abstract conception from the beginning. The loss of the perspective gives the artist the opportunity to reinforce the musicalist interpretation of the colors. The balance of the masses becomes a symphony.
On June 21, 2017, Sotheby's sold for £ 33M Bild mit weissen Linien, oil on canvas 120 x 110 cm painted in 1913, lot 53.
A sketch in watercolor and ink for this work is known, dated from the same year. The towers of a Russian city are clearly visible along with a red bridge over the river and two harnessed horses. The comparison is obvious when we watch simultaneously the sketch and the painting. When we only see the ultimate image it is a brilliantly colored amalgam forming an oblique mass.
After his return to Russia, Kandinsky continues to proceed with a similar method. In 1916 Moskau I is a tilted sketch where some features of the big city are recognizable. Moskau II is closer to abstraction and requires an effort of interpretation. This oil on canvas 53 x 38 cm was sold for £ 6.3M by Sotheby's on February 3, 2015.
The anecdote that Kandinsky did not recognize one of his own paintings because it was turned on another side is often considered the founding act of abstract art. Reported much later by the artist this story is mainly symbolic and is not really dated. It marks the awareness by Kandinsky that the identification of the theme undermines the aesthetic appreciation of an artwork.
After 1909 Kandinsky suppressed the classical perspective in favor of tilted sceneries for which his preparatory sketches were figurative. He copies the positions, the proportions and the masses from the sketch into the final work. The figurative details disappear and the title suggests that it was an abstract conception from the beginning. The loss of the perspective gives the artist the opportunity to reinforce the musicalist interpretation of the colors. The balance of the masses becomes a symphony.
On June 21, 2017, Sotheby's sold for £ 33M Bild mit weissen Linien, oil on canvas 120 x 110 cm painted in 1913, lot 53.
A sketch in watercolor and ink for this work is known, dated from the same year. The towers of a Russian city are clearly visible along with a red bridge over the river and two harnessed horses. The comparison is obvious when we watch simultaneously the sketch and the painting. When we only see the ultimate image it is a brilliantly colored amalgam forming an oblique mass.
After his return to Russia, Kandinsky continues to proceed with a similar method. In 1916 Moskau I is a tilted sketch where some features of the big city are recognizable. Moskau II is closer to abstraction and requires an effort of interpretation. This oil on canvas 53 x 38 cm was sold for £ 6.3M by Sotheby's on February 3, 2015.
Big Bang of Modern art: #Kandinsky’s explosive canvas marks breakthrough moment, heading to NY and #London this June https://t.co/E6qgytSkzF pic.twitter.com/oaVJ18ngLa
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) June 2, 2017
1913 Winter Egg by Fabergé
2025 SOLD for £ 23M by Christie's
The presentation of an egg at Easter is a charming tradition. From 1885, Tsar Alexander III commissioned to Fabergé a surprise egg each year for his wife. After his death their son Nicholas II needed two Easter eggs a year, one for his mother and one for his wife. Of course, all these eggs are different from one another.
The eggs supplied by Fabergé in 1913 are the Romanov Tercentenary egg for the tsarina and the Winter egg for the dowager empress Maria Feodorovna. Billed for 24,600 rubles, the Winter egg is the most expensive of all Fabergé eggs. By its theme, it is also one of the most delicate. It is the first imperial egg from a design by Alma Theresia Pihl, the niece of the head jeweler Albert Holmström who ensured its realization.
With a total height of 14.2 cm, the Winter egg is made of transparent rock crystal chiseled to symbolize frost or crushed ice. The actual egg, 10.2 cm high, is detachable from its base. It contains the surprise, a basket of white wood anemones with a total height of 8.2 cm. This early blossom is a symbol of the end of winter.
Of course, the richest materials were used. The basket is in platinum. On a gold moss, the flowers are in quartz centered by a garnet, with stem and stamens in gold. The leaves are in nephrite. The whole is paved with nearly 3,000 tiny diamonds.
The Winter egg was sold by Christie's for CHF 7.3M on November 16, 1994, lot 464, for $ 9.6M on April 19, 2002, lot 150, and for £ 23M on December 2, 2025, lot 7.
Asking its history to Grok :
Grok thought :
The Winter Egg: History of a Fabergé Masterpiece
The Fabergé egg referenced in your query is the renowned Imperial Winter Egg (also known simply as the Winter Egg), one of the 50 Imperial Easter eggs created by the House of Fabergé for the Russian Romanov family. This exquisite object, commissioned in 1913, embodies the pinnacle of Fabergé's artistry with its innovative use of rock crystal to evoke a frozen Russian landscape. It matches the specified Christie's sales: lot 150 (reference 3898060) on April 19, 2002, in New York, and lot 7 (reference 6559093) on December 2, 2025, in London. Below is a comprehensive history, tracing its creation, provenance, and significance.
Creation and Imperial Origins (1913)
The Winter Egg has twice set auction records for Fabergé (1994 and 2002) and remains one of only seven privately held Imperial eggs (43 are in museums). Its 2025 sale marks the first public offering of an Imperial egg in over 20 years, underscoring rising demand for Russian decorative arts. As Margo Oganesian, Christie's Head of Fabergé and Russian Works of Art, noted: "It is arguably one of Fabergé’s finest creations, both technically and artistically."
This egg's journey—from Romanov Easter gift to Bolshevik dispersal, English obscurity, and Qatari opulence—exemplifies the turbulent fate of Fabergé's treasures amid 20th-century upheavals. Its return to Christie's closes a loop, offering collectors a rare chance to own a slice of imperial history.
The eggs supplied by Fabergé in 1913 are the Romanov Tercentenary egg for the tsarina and the Winter egg for the dowager empress Maria Feodorovna. Billed for 24,600 rubles, the Winter egg is the most expensive of all Fabergé eggs. By its theme, it is also one of the most delicate. It is the first imperial egg from a design by Alma Theresia Pihl, the niece of the head jeweler Albert Holmström who ensured its realization.
With a total height of 14.2 cm, the Winter egg is made of transparent rock crystal chiseled to symbolize frost or crushed ice. The actual egg, 10.2 cm high, is detachable from its base. It contains the surprise, a basket of white wood anemones with a total height of 8.2 cm. This early blossom is a symbol of the end of winter.
Of course, the richest materials were used. The basket is in platinum. On a gold moss, the flowers are in quartz centered by a garnet, with stem and stamens in gold. The leaves are in nephrite. The whole is paved with nearly 3,000 tiny diamonds.
The Winter egg was sold by Christie's for CHF 7.3M on November 16, 1994, lot 464, for $ 9.6M on April 19, 2002, lot 150, and for £ 23M on December 2, 2025, lot 7.
Asking its history to Grok :
Grok thought :
The Winter Egg: History of a Fabergé Masterpiece
The Fabergé egg referenced in your query is the renowned Imperial Winter Egg (also known simply as the Winter Egg), one of the 50 Imperial Easter eggs created by the House of Fabergé for the Russian Romanov family. This exquisite object, commissioned in 1913, embodies the pinnacle of Fabergé's artistry with its innovative use of rock crystal to evoke a frozen Russian landscape. It matches the specified Christie's sales: lot 150 (reference 3898060) on April 19, 2002, in New York, and lot 7 (reference 6559093) on December 2, 2025, in London. Below is a comprehensive history, tracing its creation, provenance, and significance.
Creation and Imperial Origins (1913)
- Commission and Design: The Winter Egg was crafted in St. Petersburg by the House of Fabergé as an Easter gift from Tsar Nicholas II to his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. It was presented in 1913, the year marking the 300th anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty. Unlike many eggs tied to specific historical events, this one draws inspiration from the stark beauty of a Russian winter.
- Artisans: Designed by Alma Theresia Pihl (Fabergé's most celebrated female designer, daughter of jeweler Oskar Pihl and known for her snowflake motifs), and executed by workmaster Albert Holmström (Pihl's uncle). It cost 24,600 roubles at the time—an enormous sum equivalent to a year's salary for a skilled artisan.
- Description and "Surprise": The egg stands 5⅝ inches (14.2 cm) high on its base. It features a finely carved rock crystal egg (4 inches/10.2 cm high) engraved inside with frost patterns and adorned outside with platinum-set rose-cut diamond snowflakes (totaling 3,246 diamonds). The egg hinges open to reveal a cabochon moonstone dated "1913." The base mimics melting ice with platinum rivulets. The "surprise" inside is a platinum and diamond miniature platinum basket holding a spray of synthetic snowdrops (lily-of-the-valley) on gold stems, engraved "Fabergé 1913" (3¼ inches/8.2 cm high). This surprise symbolizes spring's arrival after winter.
- Significance: Widely regarded as one of Fabergé's most original and technically brilliant creations, it showcases advanced rock crystal carving— a fragile material requiring exceptional skill, as noted in Fabergé head craftsman Henrik Wigström's memoirs.
- 1920s–1930s: Sold in the Soviet Union (likely through state auctions). Acquired by London dealer Wartski in the late 1920s, then by British collector Lord Allington in 1934.
- 1940s: Entered the collection of Sir Bernard Eckstein, a prominent British industrialist and art collector.
- 1949: Sold at Sotheby's London (February 8, lot 128) for £1,700 to Arthur Bryan Ledbrook, a British businessman.
- 1950s–1975: Remained in Ledbrook's private collection.
- 1975–1994: "Lost" after Ledbrook's death—believed vanished or hidden for nearly two decades. It resurfaced in 1993 in a shoebox under a bed in suburban London (some accounts suggest a bank vault).
- November 16, 1994 (Christie's Geneva, lot 464): Upon rediscovery, it fetched 7,263,500 Swiss francs (approx. $5.6 million USD at the time), setting a world auction record for a Fabergé item. Bought by an anonymous American private collector.
- April 19, 2002 (Christie's New York, lot 150, reference 3898060): Resold for $9,579,500 (including buyer's premium), shattering its own record. Purchased by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, then-Emir of Qatar, for his royal collection. This sale highlighted the egg's enduring allure, featured in Christie's catalogs as "A Highly Important Fabergé Imperial Easter Egg with Original Surprise."
- 2002–2025: Held in the Al Thani family collection (Qatar's ruling dynasty, renowned for acquiring masterpieces). It was exhibited internationally, including:
- Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (1997, Carl Fabergé: Goldsmith to the Tsar).
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2011, Fabergé Revealed).
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2021–2022, Fabergé: Romance to Revolution).
- No public sales occurred during this period, making it the last Imperial Fabergé egg to appear at auction until now.
- December 2, 2025 (Christie's London, lot 7, reference 6559093): Offered as the centerpiece of The Winter Egg and Important Works by Fabergé from a Princely Collection (a trust property). Estimate: on request, but in excess of £20 million ($26.9 million USD)—potentially eclipsing the Rothschild Egg's 2007 record of £8.9 million ($11.9 million). The sale includes ~50 other Fabergé items (e.g., hardstone animals, frames) from the same princely collection, with estimates from £2,000 to £2 million. Viewable November 27–December 2, 2025, in London.
The Winter Egg has twice set auction records for Fabergé (1994 and 2002) and remains one of only seven privately held Imperial eggs (43 are in museums). Its 2025 sale marks the first public offering of an Imperial egg in over 20 years, underscoring rising demand for Russian decorative arts. As Margo Oganesian, Christie's Head of Fabergé and Russian Works of Art, noted: "It is arguably one of Fabergé’s finest creations, both technically and artistically."
This egg's journey—from Romanov Easter gift to Bolshevik dispersal, English obscurity, and Qatari opulence—exemplifies the turbulent fate of Fabergé's treasures amid 20th-century upheavals. Its return to Christie's closes a loop, offering collectors a rare chance to own a slice of imperial history.
Faberge's The Winter Egg, considered one of his most beautiful creations, sold for nearly £23 million ($30 million) at auction Tuesday in London, smashing the sales record for the legendary jeweller of Imperial Russia. https://t.co/NtVzRqfMzX pic.twitter.com/VfMrUX6B7o
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) December 2, 2025
□ Let the bets begin — how much will it sell for?
— Muse (@xmuse_) December 2, 2025
Fabergé’s Winter Egg (1913) heads to Christie’s London auction. Valued at more than £20 million. □□ pic.twitter.com/MCSinEdAMQ https://t.co/p6AU0RpAWl
1913 Cassone by Klimt
2010 SOLD for £ 27M by Sotheby's
It is illusory to represent a volume on a canvas or on a photograph. Klimt takes this into account in his paintings, whatever the subject.
He does not work from a photo, but his removal of the perspective seems to be independent of Cézanne's deconstructions. He finds textures and geometric elements in the landscape, using a viewfinder made up of a hole in a cardboard. Later a friend will give him an ivory eyeglass.
After choosing his elements, Klimt reassembles them in square formats. His villages can be compared to the accumulations of houses in Krumau by Schiele. Both artists thus obtain a personification of the buildings in their compositions with no characters. Their final effect, however, is in opposition. Schiele wants to annihilate his haunted city but Klimt is on holidays : his colors are happy.
In 1913, Gustav Klimt spent his summer time in the vicinity of Garda Lake. He did not work much: three paintings in two months! This is a proof that he was particularly enchanted by the village of Cassone.
His oil on canvas shows many houses clustered on the slopes of the hill, along with the church and cypresses. The square format, 110 x 110 cm, is the best to convey the serenity of the place, according to the theories of the artist. The structured forms attest to the influence of expressionism and cubism. The angle of view includes the lake shore, but does not rise up to the horizon line.
Most of Klimt's landscapes show the Attersee in Salzkammergut. The view of Cassone was sold for £ 27M from a lower estimate of £ 12M by Sotheby's on February 3, 2010. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Gustav Klimt's Kirche in Cassone (Church in Cassone – Landscape with Cypresses), also known as View of Cassone or Blick auf Cassone, painted in 1913 during a summer stay on Lake Garda in Italy, marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of his landscape compositions. This square-format oil on canvas, sold at Sotheby's London on February 3, 2010, for approximately £26.9 million (around $43 million at the time), was celebrated as one of the finest examples of Klimt's landscapes and set a record for his works in the genre.
Shift from Natural to Architectural Elements
Klimt's earlier landscapes, primarily from summers at Lake Attersee (c. 1900–1910), focused on lush, immersive natural scenes like meadows, forests, and gardens (e.g., Birch Forest or Farm Garden). These featured dense, mosaic-like patterns of foliage, pointillist-inspired dabs of color, flattened perspectives, and a decorative, almost abstract surface that emphasized harmony with nature and subtle abstraction influenced by Impressionism and Pointillism.
In Kirche in Cassone, Klimt introduces prominent architectural elements—the village church, cascading houses, and tall cypresses—integrated into the natural setting. This represents a departure toward a more geometrical and structured composition, blending man-made forms with the organic landscape in a dynamic, shimmering interplay.
Modernist Influences and Techniques
Experts note this as a "key turning point," reflecting Klimt's engagement with modernism around 1913. Influences include:
Rarity and Context
As the only surviving Lake Garda townscape (two companion pieces from 1913 were lost or destroyed), it uniquely captures this experimental phase in Klimt's late career, just years before his death in 1918. The 2010 sale highlighted its rarity and art-historical importance, resurfacing a "lost" work with a complex provenance involving Nazi-era looting and restitution agreements.
Overall, the 2010 auction of Kirche in Cassone underscored its role in demonstrating Klimt's late shift toward bolder modernism in landscape composition, bridging his decorative roots with emerging abstract tendencies.
He does not work from a photo, but his removal of the perspective seems to be independent of Cézanne's deconstructions. He finds textures and geometric elements in the landscape, using a viewfinder made up of a hole in a cardboard. Later a friend will give him an ivory eyeglass.
After choosing his elements, Klimt reassembles them in square formats. His villages can be compared to the accumulations of houses in Krumau by Schiele. Both artists thus obtain a personification of the buildings in their compositions with no characters. Their final effect, however, is in opposition. Schiele wants to annihilate his haunted city but Klimt is on holidays : his colors are happy.
In 1913, Gustav Klimt spent his summer time in the vicinity of Garda Lake. He did not work much: three paintings in two months! This is a proof that he was particularly enchanted by the village of Cassone.
His oil on canvas shows many houses clustered on the slopes of the hill, along with the church and cypresses. The square format, 110 x 110 cm, is the best to convey the serenity of the place, according to the theories of the artist. The structured forms attest to the influence of expressionism and cubism. The angle of view includes the lake shore, but does not rise up to the horizon line.
Most of Klimt's landscapes show the Attersee in Salzkammergut. The view of Cassone was sold for £ 27M from a lower estimate of £ 12M by Sotheby's on February 3, 2010. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Gustav Klimt's Kirche in Cassone (Church in Cassone – Landscape with Cypresses), also known as View of Cassone or Blick auf Cassone, painted in 1913 during a summer stay on Lake Garda in Italy, marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of his landscape compositions. This square-format oil on canvas, sold at Sotheby's London on February 3, 2010, for approximately £26.9 million (around $43 million at the time), was celebrated as one of the finest examples of Klimt's landscapes and set a record for his works in the genre.
Shift from Natural to Architectural Elements
Klimt's earlier landscapes, primarily from summers at Lake Attersee (c. 1900–1910), focused on lush, immersive natural scenes like meadows, forests, and gardens (e.g., Birch Forest or Farm Garden). These featured dense, mosaic-like patterns of foliage, pointillist-inspired dabs of color, flattened perspectives, and a decorative, almost abstract surface that emphasized harmony with nature and subtle abstraction influenced by Impressionism and Pointillism.
In Kirche in Cassone, Klimt introduces prominent architectural elements—the village church, cascading houses, and tall cypresses—integrated into the natural setting. This represents a departure toward a more geometrical and structured composition, blending man-made forms with the organic landscape in a dynamic, shimmering interplay.
Modernist Influences and Techniques
Experts note this as a "key turning point," reflecting Klimt's engagement with modernism around 1913. Influences include:
- Cubism (from his 1909 Paris visit)
- Works by contemporaries like Egon Schiele
- Folk tapestry and stained-glass techniques popular in early 20th-century Austrian/German art
Rarity and Context
As the only surviving Lake Garda townscape (two companion pieces from 1913 were lost or destroyed), it uniquely captures this experimental phase in Klimt's late career, just years before his death in 1918. The 2010 sale highlighted its rarity and art-historical importance, resurfacing a "lost" work with a complex provenance involving Nazi-era looting and restitution agreements.
Overall, the 2010 auction of Kirche in Cassone underscored its role in demonstrating Klimt's late shift toward bolder modernism in landscape composition, bridging his decorative roots with emerging abstract tendencies.
1913 Violon et Guitare by Gris
2010 SOLD for $ 28.6M by Christie's
Juan Gris is close to the artists who develop Cubism : Braque, Léger, Metzinger. He first earns his living with satirical drawings for magazines. In 1911 he begins to paint in oil. Kahnweiler signs in 1913 a contract by which he buys all the current and future work of this young artist, as he had done previously with Braque, Picasso and Léger.
Juan can now devote himself to his art with a freer spirit. He stays in Céret from August to November 1913, without crossing the border because he had escaped his military service and was considered a deserter in his native country.
The choice of Céret is not by chance : Picasso conceived Cubism in that village with Braque in 1911 and was staying there for the third consecutive summer. Juan declares himself as a disciple of Pablo and tries to claim to anyone all the secrets of Cubism. Very annoyed, Picasso avoids this overly enthusiastic young man.
Yet Juan is also an innovator. His works painted in Céret offer the transition between analytical cubism, defined as a flattening of forms, and synthetic cubism, by which objects receive again identifiable contours and bright colors.
On November 3, 2010, Christie's sold for $ 28.6M Violon et Guitare, oil on canvas 100 x 65 cm painted by Juan Gris in Céret in September 1913, lot 23.
Kahnweiler is satisfied with Gris's progress and Picasso can no longer ignore his rival, while maintaining his unilateral animosity. Picasso wanted to be seen as the leader of this cubism which indeed could only appeal the theorists. Shortly afterward Picasso, Braque and Gris will try simultaneously but in vain to save the analytical cubism by inserting on their canvases some newspaper clippings, ultimate avatars of the destruction of perspective.
Juan can now devote himself to his art with a freer spirit. He stays in Céret from August to November 1913, without crossing the border because he had escaped his military service and was considered a deserter in his native country.
The choice of Céret is not by chance : Picasso conceived Cubism in that village with Braque in 1911 and was staying there for the third consecutive summer. Juan declares himself as a disciple of Pablo and tries to claim to anyone all the secrets of Cubism. Very annoyed, Picasso avoids this overly enthusiastic young man.
Yet Juan is also an innovator. His works painted in Céret offer the transition between analytical cubism, defined as a flattening of forms, and synthetic cubism, by which objects receive again identifiable contours and bright colors.
On November 3, 2010, Christie's sold for $ 28.6M Violon et Guitare, oil on canvas 100 x 65 cm painted by Juan Gris in Céret in September 1913, lot 23.
Kahnweiler is satisfied with Gris's progress and Picasso can no longer ignore his rival, while maintaining his unilateral animosity. Picasso wanted to be seen as the leader of this cubism which indeed could only appeal the theorists. Shortly afterward Picasso, Braque and Gris will try simultaneously but in vain to save the analytical cubism by inserting on their canvases some newspaper clippings, ultimate avatars of the destruction of perspective.
1913 Die kleine Stadt by Schiele
2018 SOLD for $ 24.6M by Sotheby's
The nervous lines in the bodies of Schiele's young mistresses announce their future decay but they remain alive. This anguished artist must find a means for expressing the mortality. From 1912 he uses as another theme the small town of Krumau in southern Bohemia where his mother was born.
Krumau is a medieval town incompatible with the modernist and socially advanced trends of the artist. It is his Tote Stadt, even more morbid in his memories and imagination, with no attempt for an accurate topographical representation. Autumn adds its decrepitude.
The panorama is seen from above, an angle of view that Schiele liked also in his portraits. The houses are in close ranks, schematized like on an engraving of the Renaissance. Much later, this vestige of ancient times will be listed in the World Heritage list of the UNESCO. The river that flows in the foreground or away is the Moldau.
Die kleine Stadt II, oil and black crayon on canvas 90 x 90 cm painted bt Egon Schiele, was sold for $ 24.6M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Sotheby's on November 12, 2018, lot 19.
Painted in 1913, this opus also titled Dämmernde Stadt (city in twilight) is made in a restrained palette of rich dark tones with a few lit windows. It is one of the earliest paintings in the expressionist series of Krumau townscapes. A square format for the landscapes had been previously practiced by Klimt.
Some relation with the neo-Gothic art of his time may be considered.
Significance of the Tote Stadt Series in Egon Schiele's Career
Egon Schiele's Tote Stadt (Dead City) series, primarily created between 1910 and 1911, represents a pivotal moment in his artistic development, marking his transition from the decorative influences of Jugendstil and his mentor Gustav Klimt toward a more raw, introspective form of Austrian Expressionism. These townscape paintings, often depicting the medieval Bohemian town of Krumau (now Český Krumlov)—his mother's birthplace and a personal refuge—embody themes of decay, isolation, melancholy, and human vulnerability. Schiele referred to Krumau as the "dead city," "old city," or "city on the blue river," using its winding streets, crumbling buildings, and tortuous Moldau River (Vltava) as metaphors for eternity, persistence amid ruin, and his own emotional turmoil. Works in this series, such as Dead City III (1911), feature distorted perspectives, jagged lines, and anthropomorphic architecture (e.g., windows as "eyes," houses huddled like figures), blending naturalism with abstraction to project inner psychological states rather than literal topography.
The series emerged during Schiele's formative years (1906–1909) but gained maturity around 1910–1911, following his departure from the Vienna Academy and amid personal scandals, including a brief imprisonment in 1912 for alleged indecency. These landscapes allowed Schiele to explore symbolism influenced by Edvard Munch and Viennese Secessionism, rejecting conventional beauty in favor of the "tragic and ugly" to convey modern alienation. By 1913–1918, the motifs evolved into larger-scale townscapes, incorporating high vantage points, geometric forms, and vibrant yet somber palettes, reflecting wartime anxieties (World War I) and personal fears of mortality. Though Schiele's career was cut short by his death in 1918 at age 28, the Tote Stadt works and related Krumau townscapes—comprising oils, drawings, and watercolors—demonstrate his prodigious output (over 3,000 works total) and innovative draughtsmanship. They solidified his reputation as a master of expressive form, bridging figural and landscape genres, and contributed to his late success, such as the 1918 Vienna Secession exhibition where many pieces sold. Today, these paintings are hailed for their visionary scope, with most in major museums, underscoring Schiele's lasting impact on 20th-century art.
All four paintings are oil-on-canvas townscapes inspired by Krumau, part of or closely related to the broader Tote Stadt motif of desolate, anthropomorphic urban decay. They span Schiele's mature period (1913–1916), showcasing his evolving style: elevated "bird's-eye" perspectives that flatten space, organic compositions rejecting traditional depth, and colors evoking Gothic stained glass or folk art. These works are not topographical records but personalized visions, projecting emotions like isolation and vulnerability amid World War I's shadow. Each features huddled houses symbolizing human persistence and ruin, with symbolic elements (e.g., rivers as boundaries, laundry as traces of absent life). Provenances often involve early Viennese collectors, with some affected by Nazi looting and later restitution. Auction histories reflect rising market value for Schiele's rare large-scale landscapes.
Die kleine Stadt II (Dämmernde Stadt / City in Twilight (The Small City II)) (1913): A square-format view of Krumau's medieval streets rising vertiginously above the river, with houses crowding the plane in jewel-like colors (restrained palette with bright accents). The composition emphasizes organic clutter and Gothic revivalism, evoking stained-glass effects and a spiritual rejection of modern artificiality. Painted from memory, it reflects Schiele's emotional response to the town's "eternity of decay." Provenance includes acquisition by Elsa Koditschek in 1928, looted in 1942, and restituted in 2018. Exhibited widely, including early shows in Budapest and Munich.
Size
90.5 x 90.1 cm (square)
Medium
Oil and black crayon on canvas
Composition & Perspective
Vertiginous rise of houses over river; flattened depth, organic medieval clutter
Color & Mood
Restrained with jewel accents (Gothic stained glass); twilight melancholy, spiritual truth
Key Influences/Themes
Post-Impressionism (van Gogh, Cézanne), Klimt's square format; rejection of beauty
Provenance Highlights
Acquired via Klimt; looted 1942, restituted 2018
Exhibitions
Budapest (1913), Vienna (1928, 1948), etc.
Auction Details
Sotheby's Nov 12, 2018 (lot 19); est. $12–18M; sold for $24.57M USD
These paintings trace Schiele's progression: from the visionary Gothic introspection of 1913 to the wartime desolation of 1915–1916. Die kleine Stadt II and Vorstadt II retain decorative vibrancy, while Einzelne Häuser and Krumauer Landschaft amplify decay. Their high auction values highlight rarity and enduring appeal, with restitution adding historical layers.
Krumau is a medieval town incompatible with the modernist and socially advanced trends of the artist. It is his Tote Stadt, even more morbid in his memories and imagination, with no attempt for an accurate topographical representation. Autumn adds its decrepitude.
The panorama is seen from above, an angle of view that Schiele liked also in his portraits. The houses are in close ranks, schematized like on an engraving of the Renaissance. Much later, this vestige of ancient times will be listed in the World Heritage list of the UNESCO. The river that flows in the foreground or away is the Moldau.
Die kleine Stadt II, oil and black crayon on canvas 90 x 90 cm painted bt Egon Schiele, was sold for $ 24.6M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Sotheby's on November 12, 2018, lot 19.
Painted in 1913, this opus also titled Dämmernde Stadt (city in twilight) is made in a restrained palette of rich dark tones with a few lit windows. It is one of the earliest paintings in the expressionist series of Krumau townscapes. A square format for the landscapes had been previously practiced by Klimt.
Some relation with the neo-Gothic art of his time may be considered.
Significance of the Tote Stadt Series in Egon Schiele's Career
Egon Schiele's Tote Stadt (Dead City) series, primarily created between 1910 and 1911, represents a pivotal moment in his artistic development, marking his transition from the decorative influences of Jugendstil and his mentor Gustav Klimt toward a more raw, introspective form of Austrian Expressionism. These townscape paintings, often depicting the medieval Bohemian town of Krumau (now Český Krumlov)—his mother's birthplace and a personal refuge—embody themes of decay, isolation, melancholy, and human vulnerability. Schiele referred to Krumau as the "dead city," "old city," or "city on the blue river," using its winding streets, crumbling buildings, and tortuous Moldau River (Vltava) as metaphors for eternity, persistence amid ruin, and his own emotional turmoil. Works in this series, such as Dead City III (1911), feature distorted perspectives, jagged lines, and anthropomorphic architecture (e.g., windows as "eyes," houses huddled like figures), blending naturalism with abstraction to project inner psychological states rather than literal topography.
The series emerged during Schiele's formative years (1906–1909) but gained maturity around 1910–1911, following his departure from the Vienna Academy and amid personal scandals, including a brief imprisonment in 1912 for alleged indecency. These landscapes allowed Schiele to explore symbolism influenced by Edvard Munch and Viennese Secessionism, rejecting conventional beauty in favor of the "tragic and ugly" to convey modern alienation. By 1913–1918, the motifs evolved into larger-scale townscapes, incorporating high vantage points, geometric forms, and vibrant yet somber palettes, reflecting wartime anxieties (World War I) and personal fears of mortality. Though Schiele's career was cut short by his death in 1918 at age 28, the Tote Stadt works and related Krumau townscapes—comprising oils, drawings, and watercolors—demonstrate his prodigious output (over 3,000 works total) and innovative draughtsmanship. They solidified his reputation as a master of expressive form, bridging figural and landscape genres, and contributed to his late success, such as the 1918 Vienna Secession exhibition where many pieces sold. Today, these paintings are hailed for their visionary scope, with most in major museums, underscoring Schiele's lasting impact on 20th-century art.
All four paintings are oil-on-canvas townscapes inspired by Krumau, part of or closely related to the broader Tote Stadt motif of desolate, anthropomorphic urban decay. They span Schiele's mature period (1913–1916), showcasing his evolving style: elevated "bird's-eye" perspectives that flatten space, organic compositions rejecting traditional depth, and colors evoking Gothic stained glass or folk art. These works are not topographical records but personalized visions, projecting emotions like isolation and vulnerability amid World War I's shadow. Each features huddled houses symbolizing human persistence and ruin, with symbolic elements (e.g., rivers as boundaries, laundry as traces of absent life). Provenances often involve early Viennese collectors, with some affected by Nazi looting and later restitution. Auction histories reflect rising market value for Schiele's rare large-scale landscapes.
Die kleine Stadt II (Dämmernde Stadt / City in Twilight (The Small City II)) (1913): A square-format view of Krumau's medieval streets rising vertiginously above the river, with houses crowding the plane in jewel-like colors (restrained palette with bright accents). The composition emphasizes organic clutter and Gothic revivalism, evoking stained-glass effects and a spiritual rejection of modern artificiality. Painted from memory, it reflects Schiele's emotional response to the town's "eternity of decay." Provenance includes acquisition by Elsa Koditschek in 1928, looted in 1942, and restituted in 2018. Exhibited widely, including early shows in Budapest and Munich.
Size
90.5 x 90.1 cm (square)
Medium
Oil and black crayon on canvas
Composition & Perspective
Vertiginous rise of houses over river; flattened depth, organic medieval clutter
Color & Mood
Restrained with jewel accents (Gothic stained glass); twilight melancholy, spiritual truth
Key Influences/Themes
Post-Impressionism (van Gogh, Cézanne), Klimt's square format; rejection of beauty
Provenance Highlights
Acquired via Klimt; looted 1942, restituted 2018
Exhibitions
Budapest (1913), Vienna (1928, 1948), etc.
Auction Details
Sotheby's Nov 12, 2018 (lot 19); est. $12–18M; sold for $24.57M USD
These paintings trace Schiele's progression: from the visionary Gothic introspection of 1913 to the wartime desolation of 1915–1916. Die kleine Stadt II and Vorstadt II retain decorative vibrancy, while Einzelne Häuser and Krumauer Landschaft amplify decay. Their high auction values highlight rarity and enduring appeal, with restitution adding historical layers.
1913 Les Arceaux de Roses by Monet
2022 SOLD for $ 23.3M by Sotheby's
Claude Monet once defined himself in a short formula : a man who was interested by nothing in the world excepted his painting - and also his garden and flowers.
After his long stay in Venice in 1908, he does not leave Giverny. He exerts his gardening skill with the same care as his painting, but sometimes nature takes over, as in the 1910 floods.
On May 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 20.4M Bassin aux nymphéas - les rosiers, oil on canvas 73 x 100 cm painted in 1913, lot 47. It was sold for RMB 154M by China Guardian in November 2021. This result is reported by ArtfixDaily.
The composition is divided into two equal parts. The upper image shows the rose arches. The sky, so often missing in his series of Nymphéas, reappears. The absence of the tall trees confirms that the garden is the main theme of this view. The foreground shows the usual groups of water lilies playing with the reflections from the arches.
This garden is the pride of Monet. The colors that swirl in the heat of summer remind the small size landscapes of the Midi made by Renoir in his later career.
With another title from the example above, the previous Wildenstein reference shows the same view by Monet of his pond with the arched trellies of roses on the opposite side and a significant sky, in a less panoramic format.
Les Arceaux de roses, oil on canvas 82 x 94 cm painted in 1913, was sold for £ 9M by Christie's on June 18, 2007, lot 11, and for $ 19.4M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2017, lot 43. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. It was sold for $ 23.3M by Sotheby's on May 17, 2022, lot 46.
1913 is a period of low painting activity for Monet, discouraged by Alice's death in 1911, by the illness of his son Jean and by his own double failing eyesight from cataracts. Only four works are recorded by Wildenstein : the two referred here plus a third similar example and a remake of the 1912 Maison de l'artiste.
After his long stay in Venice in 1908, he does not leave Giverny. He exerts his gardening skill with the same care as his painting, but sometimes nature takes over, as in the 1910 floods.
On May 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 20.4M Bassin aux nymphéas - les rosiers, oil on canvas 73 x 100 cm painted in 1913, lot 47. It was sold for RMB 154M by China Guardian in November 2021. This result is reported by ArtfixDaily.
The composition is divided into two equal parts. The upper image shows the rose arches. The sky, so often missing in his series of Nymphéas, reappears. The absence of the tall trees confirms that the garden is the main theme of this view. The foreground shows the usual groups of water lilies playing with the reflections from the arches.
This garden is the pride of Monet. The colors that swirl in the heat of summer remind the small size landscapes of the Midi made by Renoir in his later career.
With another title from the example above, the previous Wildenstein reference shows the same view by Monet of his pond with the arched trellies of roses on the opposite side and a significant sky, in a less panoramic format.
Les Arceaux de roses, oil on canvas 82 x 94 cm painted in 1913, was sold for £ 9M by Christie's on June 18, 2007, lot 11, and for $ 19.4M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2017, lot 43. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. It was sold for $ 23.3M by Sotheby's on May 17, 2022, lot 46.
1913 is a period of low painting activity for Monet, discouraged by Alice's death in 1911, by the illness of his son Jean and by his own double failing eyesight from cataracts. Only four works are recorded by Wildenstein : the two referred here plus a third similar example and a remake of the 1912 Maison de l'artiste.
#AuctionUpdate Claude Monet's 'Les Arceaux de roses, Giverny' $23 million #SothebysModern pic.twitter.com/DUVCJGHIyi
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 18, 2022
