1924
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Matisse Kandinsky Chagall Soutine Photo Photos 1920s 1930s
See also : Matisse Kandinsky Chagall Soutine Photo Photos 1920s 1930s
1924 Tiefes Braun by Kandinsky
2022 SOLD for $ 23.3M by Christie's
Founded in 1919 by Gropius in Weimar, the Bauhaus first focused on a synthesis between art and crafts for an application to architecture. In keeping with the progress of that time, the technique is gradually taking the place of the craftsmanship.
The Bauhaus was the place to be for Wassily Kandinsky. Invited by Gropius, he joined that school in 1922 to reside as a Meister, teaching both the basics of design for beginners and the advanced theories.
Originally a painter of landscapes and epic improvisations, he now becomes the theoretician of abstract art, questioning the usefulness of figuration in art.
Kandinsky was throughout his career a theorist in search of the absolute art. At the time of the Blaue Reiter, the predominance of the colors and of the lines of force led him to abstraction, although he willfully ignored Malevich's Suprematism. In the Bauhaus he advances his theories by a detailed analysis of the basic forms : plane, straight line, angle, circle, semicircle, and of their relation with the colors. His own palette integrates additional colors.
Tiefes Braun was painted in 1924 by Kandinsky for his teaching. The arrangement of the figures assesses that he now integrates the Suprematism. This oil in canvas 83 x 73 cm was sold for $ 23.3M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 48.
The Bauhaus was the place to be for Wassily Kandinsky. Invited by Gropius, he joined that school in 1922 to reside as a Meister, teaching both the basics of design for beginners and the advanced theories.
Originally a painter of landscapes and epic improvisations, he now becomes the theoretician of abstract art, questioning the usefulness of figuration in art.
Kandinsky was throughout his career a theorist in search of the absolute art. At the time of the Blaue Reiter, the predominance of the colors and of the lines of force led him to abstraction, although he willfully ignored Malevich's Suprematism. In the Bauhaus he advances his theories by a detailed analysis of the basic forms : plane, straight line, angle, circle, semicircle, and of their relation with the colors. His own palette integrates additional colors.
Tiefes Braun was painted in 1924 by Kandinsky for his teaching. The arrangement of the figures assesses that he now integrates the Suprematism. This oil in canvas 83 x 73 cm was sold for $ 23.3M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 48.
1924 MATISSE
1
La Séance du Matin
2014 SOLD for $ 19.2M by Sotheby's
After devoting his efforts to lead the avant-gardes, Matisse sought to develop an art altogether more emotional and more decorative. He needs a quieter life. He knows that he will meet this purpose in Nice, where he set up his studio permanently in 1921.
The main subject of the paintings by Matisse is the harmony of colors. Inspired by the interior design, he does not follow the way of Van Gogh, Gauguin or the Blaue Reiter. He assembles some themes where the observer does not contradict his choice of colors, such as fabrics, wallpaper or vases.
The war also had left its mark. This is the period of the come back of Matisse, Picasso, Derain, Vlaminck to classic styles. Matisse focuses on the theme of the timeless woman, in the nude and as an odalisque.
Picasso works mostly by imagination, but Matisse paints from nature. He gets as a model and assistant a young woman with perfect curves and proportions, Henriette Darricarrère, who works with him from 1920 to 1927. She loved music and art and Matisse encouraged her artistic talents.
This happy period of creation in the beautiful light of the Côte d' Azur has the effect of making the art of Matisse loved by the public who ever prefers simple drawings and bright colors and does not reject the use of visible geometric patterns.
On May 7, 2014, Sotheby's sold for $ 19.2M La séance du matin (the morning session), oil on canvas 74 x 61 cm painted in 1924, lot 8.
Henriette busy to paint is dutifully sitting in front of another chair used as an easel. She turns her back to the window through which the clear blue of the sky and the bright blue of the Mediterranea can be seen. Her garment that is undoubtedly a night dress has vertical stripes that clash with the louvered window shutter, creating the strong point of the composition and drawing the attention to the character.
The main subject of the paintings by Matisse is the harmony of colors. Inspired by the interior design, he does not follow the way of Van Gogh, Gauguin or the Blaue Reiter. He assembles some themes where the observer does not contradict his choice of colors, such as fabrics, wallpaper or vases.
The war also had left its mark. This is the period of the come back of Matisse, Picasso, Derain, Vlaminck to classic styles. Matisse focuses on the theme of the timeless woman, in the nude and as an odalisque.
Picasso works mostly by imagination, but Matisse paints from nature. He gets as a model and assistant a young woman with perfect curves and proportions, Henriette Darricarrère, who works with him from 1920 to 1927. She loved music and art and Matisse encouraged her artistic talents.
This happy period of creation in the beautiful light of the Côte d' Azur has the effect of making the art of Matisse loved by the public who ever prefers simple drawings and bright colors and does not reject the use of visible geometric patterns.
On May 7, 2014, Sotheby's sold for $ 19.2M La séance du matin (the morning session), oil on canvas 74 x 61 cm painted in 1924, lot 8.
Henriette busy to paint is dutifully sitting in front of another chair used as an easel. She turns her back to the window through which the clear blue of the sky and the bright blue of the Mediterranea can be seen. Her garment that is undoubtedly a night dress has vertical stripes that clash with the louvered window shutter, creating the strong point of the composition and drawing the attention to the character.
2
Nu au Coussin Bleu
2010 SOLD for $ 15M by Christie's
There is a direct relationship between the arts of painting and of drawing in the work of Matisse. The drawing of female nude was another specialty of the artist, also well-popularized in prints. The sharp and precise curves give life to the subject with great clarity.
Painted in 1924, a sitting nude with a blue cushion is a synthesis of all of this. The woman is well proportioned (which is not always the case in the works of this master) and the realistic color of the flesh is highlighting the background of the apartment. The model is caught in a moment of trust and relaxation, arms crossed above her head, one leg lifted.
This appealing and friendly oil on canvas 72 x 58 cm was sold for $ 15M by Christie's on May 4, 2010.
The black and white lithograph print titled Nu au coussin bleu près d'une cheminée (Nude with blue cushion near a fireplace) is an almost identical figure as that painting. A copy edited in 1925, image size 64 x 48 cm, was sold by Christie's for £ 54K on March 31, 2010.
Painted in 1924, a sitting nude with a blue cushion is a synthesis of all of this. The woman is well proportioned (which is not always the case in the works of this master) and the realistic color of the flesh is highlighting the background of the apartment. The model is caught in a moment of trust and relaxation, arms crossed above her head, one leg lifted.
This appealing and friendly oil on canvas 72 x 58 cm was sold for $ 15M by Christie's on May 4, 2010.
The black and white lithograph print titled Nu au coussin bleu près d'une cheminée (Nude with blue cushion near a fireplace) is an almost identical figure as that painting. A copy edited in 1925, image size 64 x 48 cm, was sold by Christie's for £ 54K on March 31, 2010.
1918-1924 Le Pont Japonais by MONET
1
W 1921a
2014 SOLD for $ 15.8M by Sotheby's
The series of the Nymphéas was acclaimed by the connoisseurs and Claude Monet was already famous. In 1918, aged 78, he innovates once more by returning to the theme of the Japanese bridge. He did not need an addendum to his glory, and this confidential series was used to satisfy his desire to create.
These 24 oils on canvas made up to 1924 cannot be dated with accuracy, excepted one example sold in 1919 to Bernheim-Jeune. None other was exhibited in Monet's lifetime. He certainly reworked most of them in parallel, especially after 1923 when his cataract had been corrected by three surgery operations and a new pair of glasses, amending his vision of the colors. L'Allée de Rosiers is a series of 6 from the same period.
The curved bridge over the water lilies is an idea of the artist, inspired by Japanese prints and realized in 1893 in the development phase of the pond. Monet enjoyed to be photographed at this place of his garden and made an interesting series of 18 Impressionist paintings in 1899.
The art of Monet is a continuous learning of artistic creation that spans over half a century. In this last series of the Japanese Bridges, we find the subtle variations of light from a work to another, from flaming to night. There are also the loss of the horizon, as in the Nymphéas, or the sketch of a fading bridge like Waterloo's in London.
However, this series is not a synthesis but a new evolution, once again too ahead of its time to be understood by his contemporaries. The figurative line disappears almost completely in favor of the exploding colors.
The technique also is new. The material is thick, worked by the addition of new layers on still wet surfaces. The result of this sublime magma is an environment in which the viewer can be wrapped. These ultimate Japanese bridges by Monet merging sky, land and water anticipate Rothko's abstract expressionism by three decades with a practice of progressive mixing of colors that is close to what Richter will do much later.
A Pont Japonais from this series, oil on canvas 90 x 116 cm, was sold for $ 15.8M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014, lot 28. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Seen from afar, this work is a nice figurative sketch. Seen at any distance, it is a very good demonstration of the essential role of color in the expressionist art of the twentieth century.
These 24 oils on canvas made up to 1924 cannot be dated with accuracy, excepted one example sold in 1919 to Bernheim-Jeune. None other was exhibited in Monet's lifetime. He certainly reworked most of them in parallel, especially after 1923 when his cataract had been corrected by three surgery operations and a new pair of glasses, amending his vision of the colors. L'Allée de Rosiers is a series of 6 from the same period.
The curved bridge over the water lilies is an idea of the artist, inspired by Japanese prints and realized in 1893 in the development phase of the pond. Monet enjoyed to be photographed at this place of his garden and made an interesting series of 18 Impressionist paintings in 1899.
The art of Monet is a continuous learning of artistic creation that spans over half a century. In this last series of the Japanese Bridges, we find the subtle variations of light from a work to another, from flaming to night. There are also the loss of the horizon, as in the Nymphéas, or the sketch of a fading bridge like Waterloo's in London.
However, this series is not a synthesis but a new evolution, once again too ahead of its time to be understood by his contemporaries. The figurative line disappears almost completely in favor of the exploding colors.
The technique also is new. The material is thick, worked by the addition of new layers on still wet surfaces. The result of this sublime magma is an environment in which the viewer can be wrapped. These ultimate Japanese bridges by Monet merging sky, land and water anticipate Rothko's abstract expressionism by three decades with a practice of progressive mixing of colors that is close to what Richter will do much later.
A Pont Japonais from this series, oil on canvas 90 x 116 cm, was sold for $ 15.8M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014, lot 28. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Seen from afar, this work is a nice figurative sketch. Seen at any distance, it is a very good demonstration of the essential role of color in the expressionist art of the twentieth century.
2
W 1915
2019 SOLD for $ 12.8M by Christie's
A smaller Pont Japonais, oil on canvas 73 x 100 cm, was sold for $ 12.8M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 36A. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The blue-green foliage with touches of violet interprets the early morning while a white mist had settled on the pond. Another viewpoint was operated for the afternoon views.
The blue-green foliage with touches of violet interprets the early morning while a white mist had settled on the pond. Another viewpoint was operated for the afternoon views.
1924 SOUTINE
1
La Communiante
2015 SOLD for $ 15.6M by Christie's
A single work was made by the Jewish artist Chaim Soutine on the theme of the Christian communion, a ritual ceremony for awakening children by providing the Eucharist.
This oil on canvas 82 x 48 cm painted ca 1924 was sold for $ 15.6M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on May 14, 2015, lot 29C.
The face of that young girl from a lower class is banal and bemused. The real theme is the application of translucent white improved by various pale hues on the wide surface of the ceremonial attire including dress, veil and gloves. Similar hues were also applied in the overcoats of the pastry cooks. This experience took place ca 1924, just after Soutine had been encouraged by the highlighting of his skills by Barnes.
Soutine never painted an identifiable Jewish subject. During his Céret phase he had observed elderly praying men as a sign of the Catholic faith in French culture. He will later paint also a few portraits of choir boys.
This oil on canvas 82 x 48 cm painted ca 1924 was sold for $ 15.6M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on May 14, 2015, lot 29C.
The face of that young girl from a lower class is banal and bemused. The real theme is the application of translucent white improved by various pale hues on the wide surface of the ceremonial attire including dress, veil and gloves. Similar hues were also applied in the overcoats of the pastry cooks. This experience took place ca 1924, just after Soutine had been encouraged by the highlighting of his skills by Barnes.
Soutine never painted an identifiable Jewish subject. During his Céret phase he had observed elderly praying men as a sign of the Catholic faith in French culture. He will later paint also a few portraits of choir boys.
2
1924 La Femme en Rouge
2019 SOLD for $ 11M by Sotheby's
A highly independent artist, Chaim Soutine has his place in the creation of modern art. The distorsion of his landscapes at Céret are post-Cubist. His quest for rare colors are influenced by his late friend Modigliani. Their application in dyed fabrics, clothing and wallpaper, without a reference to nature, are reminiscent of Matisse.
Soutine also applies his distorsions to the human body, including the face. Femme en rose, oil on canvas 73 x 54 cm painted ca 1924, is kept at the Saint Louis Art Museum. It is made of red, coral and yellow within its full format.
Another seated woman from the same period was painted in a slightly larger size. That Femme en rouge, oil on canvas 91 x 65 cm, was sold for $ 11M from a lower estimate of $ 6M by Sotheby's on May 14, 2019, lot 26. The colors mingle oranges and reds with additions of green. The twisted face with a large smile is friendly but does not look intelligent.
Soutine also applies his distorsions to the human body, including the face. Femme en rose, oil on canvas 73 x 54 cm painted ca 1924, is kept at the Saint Louis Art Museum. It is made of red, coral and yellow within its full format.
Another seated woman from the same period was painted in a slightly larger size. That Femme en rouge, oil on canvas 91 x 65 cm, was sold for $ 11M from a lower estimate of $ 6M by Sotheby's on May 14, 2019, lot 26. The colors mingle oranges and reds with additions of green. The twisted face with a large smile is friendly but does not look intelligent.
3
for reference
1924 La Femme en Rose
Saint Louis Art Museum
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1924 Au-dessus de la Ville by Chagall
2023 SOLD for $ 15.6M by Sotheby's
Marc Chagall and Bella fell in love in 1909 in their hometown Vitebsk. They parted from one another from 1910 when Marc moved to Paris and Bella was a student in Moscow. Back in Russia in 1914, they were re-united in a still intact deep love.
Au-dessus de la Ville, conceived in 1914, expresses in joyous colors their dreamlike bliss. Marc is gently holding his fiancée in a horizontal floating in the blue sky high above the Vitebsk cityscape. Her outstretched arm is leading the way to happiness. Breton was to acknowledge Chagall as a forerunner of surréalisme. This gouache, distemper, black crayon and paper 36 x 50 cm was sold for £ 1.8M by Sotheby's on June 22, 2011, lot 4.
The couple married in 1915. A very similar remake from that year in oil on board 48 x 70 cm was sold for $ 9.9M by Christie's on May 15, 1990.
A large size oil on canvas 140 x 200 cm is dated ca 1914-1918.
Marc and Bella moved from Moscow to France in 1923. In 1924 in Paris, Marc painted a brighter remake of Au-dessus de la ville. This oil on canvas 68 x 91 cm was sold for $ 15.6M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Sotheby's on November 13, 2023, lot 5.
Au-dessus de la Ville, conceived in 1914, expresses in joyous colors their dreamlike bliss. Marc is gently holding his fiancée in a horizontal floating in the blue sky high above the Vitebsk cityscape. Her outstretched arm is leading the way to happiness. Breton was to acknowledge Chagall as a forerunner of surréalisme. This gouache, distemper, black crayon and paper 36 x 50 cm was sold for £ 1.8M by Sotheby's on June 22, 2011, lot 4.
The couple married in 1915. A very similar remake from that year in oil on board 48 x 70 cm was sold for $ 9.9M by Christie's on May 15, 1990.
A large size oil on canvas 140 x 200 cm is dated ca 1914-1918.
Marc and Bella moved from Moscow to France in 1923. In 1924 in Paris, Marc painted a brighter remake of Au-dessus de la ville. This oil on canvas 68 x 91 cm was sold for $ 15.6M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Sotheby's on November 13, 2023, lot 5.
1924 Portrait de Mme K by Miro
2001 SOLD for $ 12.7M by Christie's
Joan Miro first visited Paris in 1920 after appreciating the Dada movement in periodicals. Back to Paris in the next year, he was lent a studio by Gargallo next door to André Masson.
At that time avant-garde poets sought the automatic writing through the subconscious. At the end of 1923 Miro transposes these conceptions to pictorial art, anticipating by a few years Picasso's commitment to surrealism and Dali's obsessions.
Miro already considers his work to be anti-art, at the opposite of all conventions. He renounces all realism to express lyricism. His landscapes are populated with figures stylized like children's drawings. The eye is appealed by a few splashes of color on a pale monochrome background. Elements of body are dispersed within the dreamlike compositions.
In 1924 his preoccupation is pornographic. He is 31 years old and needs a woman.
The work titled Portrait de Mme K is prepared in Paris from March 1924. The most visible element of the disintegrated portrait is the oversized sex with pubic hair. The head is a black silhouette with a hanging cigarette holder. The burning heart is shaped like a bunch of flowing spermatozoids. A love arrow hits the body column.
Acquired from Max Ernst by René Gaffé in 1926, this charcoal, colored crayon, pastel, sanguine, white chalk and pencil on blanc de Meudon primed canvas 116 x 91 cm was sold from the latter's estate for $ 12.7M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Christie's on November 6, 2001, lot 14.
Danseuse Espagnole is a simplified monochrome work of the same theme, prepared at the same time. Dominated by the black head and the diagonal cigarette holder, it includes a jeweled forearm with its hand, and a pierced breast. This monumental mixed technique on canvas 240 x 150 cm was sold by Christie's for $ 9M in the same sale of the Gaffé collection, lot 16.
He develops the symbol of the man-tree, which is a link between ground and sky. The roots are replaced by bare legs below a stretched male sex. The arms are made of small side branches. The top of the figure is a mix between head and sun, with a single eye and cat whiskers. Le Piège, painted in Miro's Montroig Catalan home farm during the summer of 1924, is a demonstrator of the new style.
The work is preceded by a preparatory drawing which facilitates its deciphering. The trap on the beach is a kind of lobster rack in the shape of a female sex. It is beyond the reach of the sperm stream but awaits the rabbit and the hen which are walking in the foreground like innocent victims.
Breton is delighted. He immediately acquires the painting that he would keep throughout his life. This 92 x 73 cm oil, charcoal and graphite on canvas was sold for £ 5.3M by Christie's on March 23, 2021, lot 115.
At that time avant-garde poets sought the automatic writing through the subconscious. At the end of 1923 Miro transposes these conceptions to pictorial art, anticipating by a few years Picasso's commitment to surrealism and Dali's obsessions.
Miro already considers his work to be anti-art, at the opposite of all conventions. He renounces all realism to express lyricism. His landscapes are populated with figures stylized like children's drawings. The eye is appealed by a few splashes of color on a pale monochrome background. Elements of body are dispersed within the dreamlike compositions.
In 1924 his preoccupation is pornographic. He is 31 years old and needs a woman.
The work titled Portrait de Mme K is prepared in Paris from March 1924. The most visible element of the disintegrated portrait is the oversized sex with pubic hair. The head is a black silhouette with a hanging cigarette holder. The burning heart is shaped like a bunch of flowing spermatozoids. A love arrow hits the body column.
Acquired from Max Ernst by René Gaffé in 1926, this charcoal, colored crayon, pastel, sanguine, white chalk and pencil on blanc de Meudon primed canvas 116 x 91 cm was sold from the latter's estate for $ 12.7M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Christie's on November 6, 2001, lot 14.
Danseuse Espagnole is a simplified monochrome work of the same theme, prepared at the same time. Dominated by the black head and the diagonal cigarette holder, it includes a jeweled forearm with its hand, and a pierced breast. This monumental mixed technique on canvas 240 x 150 cm was sold by Christie's for $ 9M in the same sale of the Gaffé collection, lot 16.
He develops the symbol of the man-tree, which is a link between ground and sky. The roots are replaced by bare legs below a stretched male sex. The arms are made of small side branches. The top of the figure is a mix between head and sun, with a single eye and cat whiskers. Le Piège, painted in Miro's Montroig Catalan home farm during the summer of 1924, is a demonstrator of the new style.
The work is preceded by a preparatory drawing which facilitates its deciphering. The trap on the beach is a kind of lobster rack in the shape of a female sex. It is beyond the reach of the sperm stream but awaits the rabbit and the hen which are walking in the foreground like innocent victims.
Breton is delighted. He immediately acquires the painting that he would keep throughout his life. This 92 x 73 cm oil, charcoal and graphite on canvas was sold for £ 5.3M by Christie's on March 23, 2021, lot 115.
1924 Le Violon d'Ingres by Man Ray
2022 SOLD for $ 12.4M by Christie's
Le Violon d'Ingres, a surrealist photo conceived by Man Ray in 1924, has a striking impact by its simple geometry, glamorous display and intriguing title.
It features his model and lover Kiki de Montparnasse seated from the back. The head turned to her left is wearing a Turkish turban and an ear pendant. The voluptuous body in strong contrast with the black background is naked down to the draped hips.
Kiki is here performing the nude Grande Baigneuse by Ingres, later a central figure in le Bain Turc. The title of Man Ray's photo refers to the skill of Ingres for playing the violin, that became a French expression equivalent to the English 'hobby'.
The comparison of the female shape with a violin is reinforced by the fact that the arms are hidden and by the f-holes impressed on her back by reprocessing the original state with Man Ray's own rayograph technique.
The original print finished with the f-holes is a unique gelatin silver print 48.5 x 37.5 cm ink signed and dated 1924 by Man Ray. After being kept for half a century in the collection of its late owners, it was sold for $ 12.4M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on May 14, 2022, lot 615.
For further prints the artist rephotographed the original rayogramme with a 5 x 7 inch camera. One of them was used by André Breton to illustrate his dada oriented Littérature magazine in 1924. A silver copy 31 x 25 cm that belonged to Breton was purchased in 1993 by Centre Pompidou.
It was to participate to the tattoo craze when young women had applied Man Ray's f-holes on their back.
It features his model and lover Kiki de Montparnasse seated from the back. The head turned to her left is wearing a Turkish turban and an ear pendant. The voluptuous body in strong contrast with the black background is naked down to the draped hips.
Kiki is here performing the nude Grande Baigneuse by Ingres, later a central figure in le Bain Turc. The title of Man Ray's photo refers to the skill of Ingres for playing the violin, that became a French expression equivalent to the English 'hobby'.
The comparison of the female shape with a violin is reinforced by the fact that the arms are hidden and by the f-holes impressed on her back by reprocessing the original state with Man Ray's own rayograph technique.
The original print finished with the f-holes is a unique gelatin silver print 48.5 x 37.5 cm ink signed and dated 1924 by Man Ray. After being kept for half a century in the collection of its late owners, it was sold for $ 12.4M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on May 14, 2022, lot 615.
For further prints the artist rephotographed the original rayogramme with a 5 x 7 inch camera. One of them was used by André Breton to illustrate his dada oriented Littérature magazine in 1924. A silver copy 31 x 25 cm that belonged to Breton was purchased in 1993 by Centre Pompidou.
It was to participate to the tattoo craze when young women had applied Man Ray's f-holes on their back.
