1925
1925 Twelve Landscapes by Qi Baishi
2017 SOLD for RMB 930M including premium by Poly
narrated in 2020
The traditional Chinese graphic art is an uninterrupted series of imitations of the old masters. Bada Shanren's eccentric approach at the very beginning of the Qing dynasty is a rare exception.
Born in Hunan province into a family of poor peasants, Qi Baishi was self-taught. Settled in Beijing at the age of 53 in 1917, he drew inspiration from Bada Shanren to develop a vigorous and spontaneous line, reaching poetry through a free realism. His greatest innovation is the use of inks in very bright colors.
His themes are varied while being ordinary and peaceful : landscapes, trees, countless small things. He paints according to his own observations, is not interested in symbols and allegories and does not follow Bada Shanren in the rebellion. Far away from politics, he will never be threatened.
On December 17, 2017, Poly sold in Beijing for RMB 930M including premium, worth US $ 144M at that time, a monumental suite of twelve screens 180 x 47 cm each. They were painted by Qi in 1925 in light blue, gray, brown and pink on the theme of mountains, villages and blossoming trees.
This result rewards a major work from the seminal period of modern Chinese art of which Qi was one of the greatest influencers. It is to date (2020) the highest price recorded at auction outside New York and the highest price for Chinese art.
The twelve panels are illustrated side by side in the CTV News article announcing their display at the Poly Culture Art Center in Vancouver in October 2017 with an estimate of US $ 100M.
There is only one other similar set by Qi. Painted in 1932, it is kept in a museum in Chongqing.
Born in Hunan province into a family of poor peasants, Qi Baishi was self-taught. Settled in Beijing at the age of 53 in 1917, he drew inspiration from Bada Shanren to develop a vigorous and spontaneous line, reaching poetry through a free realism. His greatest innovation is the use of inks in very bright colors.
His themes are varied while being ordinary and peaceful : landscapes, trees, countless small things. He paints according to his own observations, is not interested in symbols and allegories and does not follow Bada Shanren in the rebellion. Far away from politics, he will never be threatened.
On December 17, 2017, Poly sold in Beijing for RMB 930M including premium, worth US $ 144M at that time, a monumental suite of twelve screens 180 x 47 cm each. They were painted by Qi in 1925 in light blue, gray, brown and pink on the theme of mountains, villages and blossoming trees.
This result rewards a major work from the seminal period of modern Chinese art of which Qi was one of the greatest influencers. It is to date (2020) the highest price recorded at auction outside New York and the highest price for Chinese art.
The twelve panels are illustrated side by side in the CTV News article announcing their display at the Poly Culture Art Center in Vancouver in October 2017 with an estimate of US $ 100M.
There is only one other similar set by Qi. Painted in 1932, it is kept in a museum in Chongqing.
1925 Miro's Hallucinations
2012 SOLD 17 M£ including premium
In 1924, Joan Miro is one of the signatories of the Manifeste du Surréalisme. The artist receives the highest possible compliment of André Breton: "Miro is the most surrealist of ourselves."
Indeed, the artist has lost interest in realism and is exploring the dream and the subconscious. Miro's approach is deeply original and will be recognized as such by Picasso. He is the first surrealist to transcend the boundaries between poetry and painting.
The literary and artistic expression must be free from conventions, but not indispensably spontaneous. The words of the poem escape without building a usual phrase. The language of the image, close to abstraction, invites for multiple interpretations.
If the poem deals with the female body, for example, the observer led on by the erotic force of the words will look for some marks, and find and lose. Those two spots of color : are they the breasts or are they the eyes?
Miro is no longer interested in reality. His themes are inspired by other poems or songs. On February 7 in London, Christie's sells "le corps de ma brune", estimated £ 6M. So amazing for its time, this oil on canvas made in 1925, 130 x 96 cm, is superimposing text and colors. The layout of the words is free, like in a poem of Apollinaire. Here is the link to the catalog.
This painting provides the key to all the later work, so often hermetic but always dreamlike, of Miro. When the letters will disappear from the field, the title will provide the link between the image and its multiple interpretations.
POST SALE COMMENT
This is one of the most outstanding and rarest works of early Surrealism. It was sold for £ 17M including premium.
Indeed, the artist has lost interest in realism and is exploring the dream and the subconscious. Miro's approach is deeply original and will be recognized as such by Picasso. He is the first surrealist to transcend the boundaries between poetry and painting.
The literary and artistic expression must be free from conventions, but not indispensably spontaneous. The words of the poem escape without building a usual phrase. The language of the image, close to abstraction, invites for multiple interpretations.
If the poem deals with the female body, for example, the observer led on by the erotic force of the words will look for some marks, and find and lose. Those two spots of color : are they the breasts or are they the eyes?
Miro is no longer interested in reality. His themes are inspired by other poems or songs. On February 7 in London, Christie's sells "le corps de ma brune", estimated £ 6M. So amazing for its time, this oil on canvas made in 1925, 130 x 96 cm, is superimposing text and colors. The layout of the words is free, like in a poem of Apollinaire. Here is the link to the catalog.
This painting provides the key to all the later work, so often hermetic but always dreamlike, of Miro. When the letters will disappear from the field, the title will provide the link between the image and its multiple interpretations.
POST SALE COMMENT
This is one of the most outstanding and rarest works of early Surrealism. It was sold for £ 17M including premium.
1925 Rue Blomet Style
2021 SOLD for £ 10.2M including premium
Surrealism is the expression of the subconscious. In 1924 André Breton explains the new literary theories. Joan Miro has his studio on rue Blomet, next to André Masson's. A sort of cenacle of young poets is formed, including Aragon, Eluard, Desnos, Leiris, Queneau.
Miro knew how to stage colorful symbols in a landscape environment. The influence of his new friends leads him to dreamlike abstraction. The colors he distributes on his canvases are the mirror of his subconscious. In 1925 he reflects his great personal concern of that time, the search for a woman.
The public loves these warm colors interspersed with biomorphic details that are not identifiable. He would later say that he was more inspired by poets than by painters. His abstraction completely escapes the geometries of Kandinsky, Malevich and Mondrian. His art is Peinture, and he often uses this French title.
Peinture, oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm painted in 1925, is estimated £ 9M for sale by Christie's in London on March 23, lot 106. The space is filled with undulating abstract lines of great thinness, prefiguring his crypto-figurations which will culminate in 1927 with the blue period and in 1940 with the Constellations series.
Also painted in 1925 in similar hues, Le Corps de ma Brune, oil on canvas 130 x 96 cm, superimposes an automatic poem on the abstract composition. This erotic-inspired composite artwork was sold for £ 17M including premium by Christie's on February 7, 2012.
Miro knew how to stage colorful symbols in a landscape environment. The influence of his new friends leads him to dreamlike abstraction. The colors he distributes on his canvases are the mirror of his subconscious. In 1925 he reflects his great personal concern of that time, the search for a woman.
The public loves these warm colors interspersed with biomorphic details that are not identifiable. He would later say that he was more inspired by poets than by painters. His abstraction completely escapes the geometries of Kandinsky, Malevich and Mondrian. His art is Peinture, and he often uses this French title.
Peinture, oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm painted in 1925, is estimated £ 9M for sale by Christie's in London on March 23, lot 106. The space is filled with undulating abstract lines of great thinness, prefiguring his crypto-figurations which will culminate in 1927 with the blue period and in 1940 with the Constellations series.
Also painted in 1925 in similar hues, Le Corps de ma Brune, oil on canvas 130 x 96 cm, superimposes an automatic poem on the abstract composition. This erotic-inspired composite artwork was sold for £ 17M including premium by Christie's on February 7, 2012.
1925 Miro walking into Pataphysics
2012 SOLD 13.7 M$ including premium
In his studio located Rue Blomet, Miro is a neighbor of the most original intellectuals of Paris. In 1925, these young people are not satisfied with any academicism and wish to integrate the absurd within their system of thought.
Surrealism is just born but pataphysics, that parody of metaphysics and of all serious systems, had been started in 1898 by Alfred Jarry with his calculation of the area of God.
Miro wants to push his work into a new semiotic and manages to attract the admiration of Breton. He is young and single, and when walking in the streets of Paris he seeks to decipher the mystery of the woman.
On November 7 in New York, Christie's sells an oil on canvas, 92 x 73 cm, entitled Peinture (femme, journal, chien), estimated $ 12M. At that time, the title is of considerable importance in the art of Miro. In the first reading of this work, the image and the word are matching.
It is a painting, of course. The woman is a silhouette in bodice and skirt, the other elements are stylized including an absurd hat and the head replaced by a red heart that reflects the desires of the artist. She is walking the dog and waving the newspaper, a trapezoid whose text is limited to three letters, JOU, common start for JOUrnal (newspaper) and JOUeur (player).
The first owner of this painting was Raymond Queneau, who will be the most important pataphysician and a great shaker of the French language. Aged 22 in 1925, he was already frequenting the circle of the Surrealists. Finding a meaning to the mysterious JOU and to the symbolism of the heart-head certainly amazed him.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price for this nice painting that well demonstrates the intellectual brainstorms of its time: $ 13.7 million including premium.
Surrealism is just born but pataphysics, that parody of metaphysics and of all serious systems, had been started in 1898 by Alfred Jarry with his calculation of the area of God.
Miro wants to push his work into a new semiotic and manages to attract the admiration of Breton. He is young and single, and when walking in the streets of Paris he seeks to decipher the mystery of the woman.
On November 7 in New York, Christie's sells an oil on canvas, 92 x 73 cm, entitled Peinture (femme, journal, chien), estimated $ 12M. At that time, the title is of considerable importance in the art of Miro. In the first reading of this work, the image and the word are matching.
It is a painting, of course. The woman is a silhouette in bodice and skirt, the other elements are stylized including an absurd hat and the head replaced by a red heart that reflects the desires of the artist. She is walking the dog and waving the newspaper, a trapezoid whose text is limited to three letters, JOU, common start for JOUrnal (newspaper) and JOUeur (player).
The first owner of this painting was Raymond Queneau, who will be the most important pataphysician and a great shaker of the French language. Aged 22 in 1925, he was already frequenting the circle of the Surrealists. Finding a meaning to the mysterious JOU and to the symbolism of the heart-head certainly amazed him.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price for this nice painting that well demonstrates the intellectual brainstorms of its time: $ 13.7 million including premium.
1925 Chaim Soutine, the Secret Painter
2012 SOLD 9.4 M$ including premium
Soutine has all the qualities of a true artist. He followed his own path, leaving no writings, destroying progressively his works that did not please him anymore.
He listened only to his inspiration exacerbated by his stomach ulcer, and his themes are new. Yet he had a predecessor: Modigliani, another Jew in Paris, his drinking companion in Montparnasse, who died in 1920.
The portraits by Modigliani show anonymous characters from chance encounters. The beauty of the line and the balance of the composition make them masterpieces. Soutine too shows half-length figures, adding the extreme violence of the colors and the extreme hardness of the line.
On his arrival in Paris, Soutine had a job of luggage carrier at Montparnasse railway station. He took as subjects of his portraits the petty employees of hotels or restaurants, these people who help wealthy customers but are never considered by anyone.
Le Chasseur de chez Maxim's (Maxim's Groom), oil on canvas 82 x 75 cm made circa 1925, was sold for $ 6.7 million including premium on 4 November 2004 at Sotheby's. Here is the link to this result in the Artvalue database.
This painting comes again for sale in the estate of the purchaser of that time. It is now estimated $ 10M, for sale on May 2 by Sotheby's in New York. Since 2004, the art market was becoming aware of the exceptional expressive interest and of the rarity of the best works by Soutine.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 9.4 million including premium, does not reach the estimate but is still extremely interesting. Sotheby's had rightly hoped a significant gain on this painting since 2004.The emotionally charged artworks are becoming better appreciated in the market.
He listened only to his inspiration exacerbated by his stomach ulcer, and his themes are new. Yet he had a predecessor: Modigliani, another Jew in Paris, his drinking companion in Montparnasse, who died in 1920.
The portraits by Modigliani show anonymous characters from chance encounters. The beauty of the line and the balance of the composition make them masterpieces. Soutine too shows half-length figures, adding the extreme violence of the colors and the extreme hardness of the line.
On his arrival in Paris, Soutine had a job of luggage carrier at Montparnasse railway station. He took as subjects of his portraits the petty employees of hotels or restaurants, these people who help wealthy customers but are never considered by anyone.
Le Chasseur de chez Maxim's (Maxim's Groom), oil on canvas 82 x 75 cm made circa 1925, was sold for $ 6.7 million including premium on 4 November 2004 at Sotheby's. Here is the link to this result in the Artvalue database.
This painting comes again for sale in the estate of the purchaser of that time. It is now estimated $ 10M, for sale on May 2 by Sotheby's in New York. Since 2004, the art market was becoming aware of the exceptional expressive interest and of the rarity of the best works by Soutine.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 9.4 million including premium, does not reach the estimate but is still extremely interesting. Sotheby's had rightly hoped a significant gain on this painting since 2004.The emotionally charged artworks are becoming better appreciated in the market.
1925 The Supremacy of Colors
2019 SOLD for £ 4.9M including premium
Throughout Europe, the artistic and literary avant-gardes of the early twentieth century start from the observation of the rapid changes in society and in the living conditions. The past must be annihilated, no tolerance is accepted.
Ivan Kliun met Malevich in 1907. Around 1914, he painted Cubo-Futurist works, bringing bright colors to the analytical Cubist style of Braque and Picasso. He is one of the first Suprematist artists, participating in Petrograd in 1915 at the 0,10 exhibition where Malevich unveils his Black Square.
A painting is no longer a representation of nature but an autonomous object. Suprematists promote the simulation of movement through forms and colors, with a total deletion of perspective.
In 1921 Kliun reintroduces the light. His art remains non-objective but he uses in his new research the projection of spheres on the surface, revealing the reflections. Malevich states that this new approach is a step backwards. In 1932 the Soviet government put an end to Suprematism by banning abstract art.
Very few major works by Kliun have survived. On November 26 in London, Sotheby's sells an oil on board 102 x 70 cm, lot 51 estimated £ 2.5M. The source of light is shown at the upper left corner. Typical of the Spherical Suprematism, it is probably one of the three examples of this variant of Suprematism that were exhibited in Moscow in 1925. The tweet shows a detail.
Ivan Kliun met Malevich in 1907. Around 1914, he painted Cubo-Futurist works, bringing bright colors to the analytical Cubist style of Braque and Picasso. He is one of the first Suprematist artists, participating in Petrograd in 1915 at the 0,10 exhibition where Malevich unveils his Black Square.
A painting is no longer a representation of nature but an autonomous object. Suprematists promote the simulation of movement through forms and colors, with a total deletion of perspective.
In 1921 Kliun reintroduces the light. His art remains non-objective but he uses in his new research the projection of spheres on the surface, revealing the reflections. Malevich states that this new approach is a step backwards. In 1932 the Soviet government put an end to Suprematism by banning abstract art.
Very few major works by Kliun have survived. On November 26 in London, Sotheby's sells an oil on board 102 x 70 cm, lot 51 estimated £ 2.5M. The source of light is shown at the upper left corner. Typical of the Spherical Suprematism, it is probably one of the three examples of this variant of Suprematism that were exhibited in Moscow in 1925. The tweet shows a detail.
1925 Nu adossé by Lempicka
2012 SOLD for $ 5.5M including premium by Sotheby's
Link to catalogue.
1925 Marquis d'Afflito by Lempicka
2012 SOLD for $ 4.6M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2016 before the auction of another painting by Sotheby's (see below)
Maria Gorska led her artistic career as no woman had done before her. She desired a free, rich and worldly life. Aged 18, she chooses a husband who can offer such criteria and becomes Maria Lempicka. Pushed away by the Russian revolution, they arrive in Paris. She takes as her artist name Tamara de Lempicka, sometimes spelled Lempitzka for inviting to the correct pronunciation of her name in French.
The openly bisexual young woman appeals the wealthy clients to whom she proposes to realize their portraits. She studies the paintings of the Italian Renaissance and offers soft colors and sharp realistic lines barely altered by the cubism that André Lhote had taught to her.
The elite conquered by Tamara dresses according to fashion. In addition to their pictorial quality, her paintings remain a testimony and even a symbol of the Roaring Twenties.
The reputation of sexual freedom of the Italian aristocracy suits her purpose. In 1925, she leaves for new adventures. It succeeded : the young dandies invite her in their bed.
The portraits are made with bold angles. The Marquis d'Afflito is nonchalant, slumped on a sofa, but he is handsome and ready to intervene. This oil on canvas 81 x 130 cm was sold for $ 4.6M including premium by Christie's on November 7, 2012, lot 61.
A portrait of the Marquis Sommi passed at Sotheby's on November 14, 2016.
The openly bisexual young woman appeals the wealthy clients to whom she proposes to realize their portraits. She studies the paintings of the Italian Renaissance and offers soft colors and sharp realistic lines barely altered by the cubism that André Lhote had taught to her.
The elite conquered by Tamara dresses according to fashion. In addition to their pictorial quality, her paintings remain a testimony and even a symbol of the Roaring Twenties.
The reputation of sexual freedom of the Italian aristocracy suits her purpose. In 1925, she leaves for new adventures. It succeeded : the young dandies invite her in their bed.
The portraits are made with bold angles. The Marquis d'Afflito is nonchalant, slumped on a sofa, but he is handsome and ready to intervene. This oil on canvas 81 x 130 cm was sold for $ 4.6M including premium by Christie's on November 7, 2012, lot 61.
A portrait of the Marquis Sommi passed at Sotheby's on November 14, 2016.
1925 Duchesse de La Salle by Lempicka
2009 SOLD for $ 4.45M by Sotheby's
In the roaring twenties (in French the années folles), Tamara de Lempicka is the illustrator of dandies and of what was called the new woman.
While cultivating her own glamour, the artist appreciated the grand life that daring women managed to live in full visibility and exuberance. Her portrait of the Duchesse de la Salle dressed for horse riding in a masculine fashion with an open collar, oil on canvas 162 x 97 cm painted in 1925, is typical. It was sold for $ 4.45M by Sotheby's on May 5, 2009, lot 26.
That 38 year old Greek born androgynous Lady was not a fancy duchess but a former duchess, having divorced in 1911 from the duc de la Salle de Rochemaure. Her full length portrait is both inspired from 16th or 17th Mannerism in her attitude and staging and of Cubism in the stylized nocturnal cityscape.
In the same 2009 sale, the Portrait de Marjorie Ferry, 100 x 65 painted in 1932, was sold for $ 4.9M. Marjorie is represented as a blonde goddess in an antique draped and architecture, with a naked back. She turns to us for aguiche.
While cultivating her own glamour, the artist appreciated the grand life that daring women managed to live in full visibility and exuberance. Her portrait of the Duchesse de la Salle dressed for horse riding in a masculine fashion with an open collar, oil on canvas 162 x 97 cm painted in 1925, is typical. It was sold for $ 4.45M by Sotheby's on May 5, 2009, lot 26.
That 38 year old Greek born androgynous Lady was not a fancy duchess but a former duchess, having divorced in 1911 from the duc de la Salle de Rochemaure. Her full length portrait is both inspired from 16th or 17th Mannerism in her attitude and staging and of Cubism in the stylized nocturnal cityscape.
In the same 2009 sale, the Portrait de Marjorie Ferry, 100 x 65 painted in 1932, was sold for $ 4.9M. Marjorie is represented as a blonde goddess in an antique draped and architecture, with a naked back. She turns to us for aguiche.
1925 Marquis Sommi by Lempicka
2009 SOLD for $ 4.3M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2016 before the sale of another portrait by Sotheby's (see below)
The elite conquered by Tamara de Lempicka dresses according to fashion. In addition to their pictorial quality, her paintings remain a testimony and even a symbol of the Roaring Twenties.
The reputation of sexual freedom of the Italian aristocracy suits her purpose. In 1925, she leaves for new adventures. It succeeded : the young dandies invite her in their bed.
The portraits are made with bold angles. The Marquis d'Afflito is nonchalant, slumped on a sofa, but he is handsome and ready to intervene. This oil on canvas 81 x 130 cm was sold for $ 4.6M including premium by Christie's on November 7, 2012.
Tamara made two portraits of the Marquis Sommi who was one of her lovers in the same Italian getaway. The vertical format is more sober and may be compared with Zborowski's friends painted by Modigliani in the previous decade. One of them, oil on canvas 100 x 73 cm, was sold for $ 4.3M including premium by Christie's on 3 November 2009, lot 34 (not illustrated).
The other portrait of Sommi, 135 x 71 cm, passed at Sotheby's on November 14, 2016.
The reputation of sexual freedom of the Italian aristocracy suits her purpose. In 1925, she leaves for new adventures. It succeeded : the young dandies invite her in their bed.
The portraits are made with bold angles. The Marquis d'Afflito is nonchalant, slumped on a sofa, but he is handsome and ready to intervene. This oil on canvas 81 x 130 cm was sold for $ 4.6M including premium by Christie's on November 7, 2012.
Tamara made two portraits of the Marquis Sommi who was one of her lovers in the same Italian getaway. The vertical format is more sober and may be compared with Zborowski's friends painted by Modigliani in the previous decade. One of them, oil on canvas 100 x 73 cm, was sold for $ 4.3M including premium by Christie's on 3 November 2009, lot 34 (not illustrated).
The other portrait of Sommi, 135 x 71 cm, passed at Sotheby's on November 14, 2016.
1925 Suspension Satellite by Eileen Gray
2009 SOLD for € 3M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1925 La Femme à la Toilette by Léger
2021 SOLD for $ 4.7M by Christie's
Link to lot 48C.
1925 Bugatti for a Ziegfeld Girl
2017 SOLD for $ 3.3M including premium
The Bugatti 35 Grand Prix made a hit at its very first appearance in Lyon in 1924 when the first five cars of this type dominated the Grand Prix of the Automobile Club de France.
From a technological point of view the 35 offers a very light chassis and a streamlined body that is also simple and elegant. Its decisive advance compared to its competitors in endurance racing is the brake system specially designed to resist wear. In the opposite the weakness of the tires impairs the competition record.
The Bugatti Type 35 is a great commercial success. By supplying its wealthy customers with cars of the same performance as the factory engaged cars, Bugatti is a pioneer of the sports car. The 35 is a two-seater car in accordance with the regulations applicable to the Grand Prix of that period.
During the first year the brand produced only 16 Bugatti Type 35. In 1925 production accelerated.
A Bugatti 35 of the initial variant, sometimes identified as Bugatti 35 Lyon, was bought in 1925 in Paris by a wealthy American during his honeymoon with a former dancer from the Ziegfeld Follies. The car was used in competition by him with parsimony.
After more than 90 years, this Bugatti still has only three owners from new. Its originality and its condition are sensational for a car of that time. It is estimated $ 2.6M for sale by Gooding in Scottsdale on January 20, lot 022. Here is the link to the press release.
From a technological point of view the 35 offers a very light chassis and a streamlined body that is also simple and elegant. Its decisive advance compared to its competitors in endurance racing is the brake system specially designed to resist wear. In the opposite the weakness of the tires impairs the competition record.
The Bugatti Type 35 is a great commercial success. By supplying its wealthy customers with cars of the same performance as the factory engaged cars, Bugatti is a pioneer of the sports car. The 35 is a two-seater car in accordance with the regulations applicable to the Grand Prix of that period.
During the first year the brand produced only 16 Bugatti Type 35. In 1925 production accelerated.
A Bugatti 35 of the initial variant, sometimes identified as Bugatti 35 Lyon, was bought in 1925 in Paris by a wealthy American during his honeymoon with a former dancer from the Ziegfeld Follies. The car was used in competition by him with parsimony.
After more than 90 years, this Bugatti still has only three owners from new. Its originality and its condition are sensational for a car of that time. It is estimated $ 2.6M for sale by Gooding in Scottsdale on January 20, lot 022. Here is the link to the press release.
Excitement can be felt in the room as the exceptional, early-production 1925 #Bugatti #Type35 #GrandPrix takes the stage! #GCoAZ @Bugatti pic.twitter.com/XTo7FYsiTL
— Gooding & Company (@goodingandco) January 20, 2017
