1934
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Picasso later 1930s US painting < 1940 Hopper Cars 1930s Cars 1934-36 Bugatti
See also : Picasso later 1930s US painting < 1940 Hopper Cars 1930s Cars 1934-36 Bugatti
1934 PICASSO
1
March 26 Femme écrivant
2017 SOLD for £ 35M by Christie's
Picasso is married to Olga and madly in love with Marie-Thérèse. The two lovers do not live together but maintain their passion in daily letters with inflamed phrases. Marie-Thérèse will continue to write to Pablo for many years, even when the artist had left with new muses.
On June 27, 2017, Christie's sold for £ 35M from a lower estimate of £ 25M Femme écrivant, oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm painted on March 26, 1934 at their nest of love in Boisgeloup, lot 8.
Painted with joyful colors, Femme écrivant is one of the most emotional portraits of Marie-Thérèse. Beyond the beauty of her face and body that triggered the eroticism of the 1932 paintings, beyond also the contemplation of a sweet and sleepy woman who made herself gently admired, this painting expresses the authenticity of their relationship.
Turning her back to the window, Marie-Thérèse is focusing on her writing. Pablo knows that at this moment she thinks only of him. Her unstructured head becomes transparent before the blue of the sky. The eyes have the romantic shape of moon crescents.
Pablo is in full creativity. From the next day 27 of March he begins La Lecture which will be a series of six paintings demonstrating the variety of his styles. Breaking the secret intimacy of the Femme écrivant, Marie-Thérèse is accompanied by another woman.
Picasso knew that Femme écrivant was one of his masterpieces among the many portraits of Marie-Thérèse : he kept it until 1961. Please watch the video shared by Christie's in which the artwork is discussed with sensitivity by Diana Widmaier-Picasso, the granddaughter of Pablo and Marie-Thèrèse, as blond haired as her grandmother.
On June 27, 2017, Christie's sold for £ 35M from a lower estimate of £ 25M Femme écrivant, oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm painted on March 26, 1934 at their nest of love in Boisgeloup, lot 8.
Painted with joyful colors, Femme écrivant is one of the most emotional portraits of Marie-Thérèse. Beyond the beauty of her face and body that triggered the eroticism of the 1932 paintings, beyond also the contemplation of a sweet and sleepy woman who made herself gently admired, this painting expresses the authenticity of their relationship.
Turning her back to the window, Marie-Thérèse is focusing on her writing. Pablo knows that at this moment she thinks only of him. Her unstructured head becomes transparent before the blue of the sky. The eyes have the romantic shape of moon crescents.
Pablo is in full creativity. From the next day 27 of March he begins La Lecture which will be a series of six paintings demonstrating the variety of his styles. Breaking the secret intimacy of the Femme écrivant, Marie-Thérèse is accompanied by another woman.
Picasso knew that Femme écrivant was one of his masterpieces among the many portraits of Marie-Thérèse : he kept it until 1961. Please watch the video shared by Christie's in which the artwork is discussed with sensitivity by Diana Widmaier-Picasso, the granddaughter of Pablo and Marie-Thèrèse, as blond haired as her grandmother.
2
March 27 Femmes lisant (Deux Personnages)
2011 SOLD for $ 21.3M by Sotheby's
Picasso made in 1934 a series of six paintings portraying Marie-Thérèse and a woman looking together at a book or a letter in an atmosphere of mutual trust.
The opening opus, an oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm made on March 27, 1934, was sold for $ 21.3M by Sotheby's on May 3, 2011, lot 21.
It is close to a child's drawing but with flat areas of color that compete with Léger and Matisse. One of the women, with a blue sky skin, is Marie-Thérèse. Or so we are told : the unstructured face is not really recognizable.
Who is the woman? The subtitle of the sixth painting, Marie-Thérèse et sa soeur lisant, provides a key that does not close the issue because Marie-Thérèse had two sisters!
What then does the artist wish to tell with this intimacy that does not relate to him, if not expressing his desire to create a new family ? In the following year, Pablo left Olga and Marie-Thérèse gave him Maya. In the same period, he began to identify himself with the Minotaur. Times change, and also his artistic themes.
The opening opus, an oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm made on March 27, 1934, was sold for $ 21.3M by Sotheby's on May 3, 2011, lot 21.
It is close to a child's drawing but with flat areas of color that compete with Léger and Matisse. One of the women, with a blue sky skin, is Marie-Thérèse. Or so we are told : the unstructured face is not really recognizable.
Who is the woman? The subtitle of the sixth painting, Marie-Thérèse et sa soeur lisant, provides a key that does not close the issue because Marie-Thérèse had two sisters!
What then does the artist wish to tell with this intimacy that does not relate to him, if not expressing his desire to create a new family ? In the following year, Pablo left Olga and Marie-Thérèse gave him Maya. In the same period, he began to identify himself with the Minotaur. Times change, and also his artistic themes.
3
March 30 Deux Personnages (La Lecture)
2015 SOLD for £ 16.4M by Sotheby's
The styles of the Deux Personnages series are a review of the art of Picasso in an increasing complexity.
On June 24, 2015, Sotheby's sold for £ 16.4M the fourth opus painted on March 30, 81 x 65 cm, lot 22. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The juvenile portrait of the reader does not require Cubism to express her studious involvement. The other woman, shared between the desires to help and to let go, is Cubist. The strong parts of the image are enhanced by a working of color with the knife.
Does the book have the same meaning as in the erotic Lecture of 1932 where it covered the sex of the naked dozing woman? In my opinion: no. In the second painting from the series of 1934, made on 28 March, the reader is a child. These tranquil scenes simply express the confidence of the artist in the intellectual learning of his muse.
On June 24, 2015, Sotheby's sold for £ 16.4M the fourth opus painted on March 30, 81 x 65 cm, lot 22. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The juvenile portrait of the reader does not require Cubism to express her studious involvement. The other woman, shared between the desires to help and to let go, is Cubist. The strong parts of the image are enhanced by a working of color with the knife.
Does the book have the same meaning as in the erotic Lecture of 1932 where it covered the sex of the naked dozing woman? In my opinion: no. In the second painting from the series of 1934, made on 28 March, the reader is a child. These tranquil scenes simply express the confidence of the artist in the intellectual learning of his muse.
4
April 10 Deux Personnages (Marie-Thérèse et sa soeur lisant)
2008 SOLD for $ 18M by Christie's
The sixth painting, on April 10, 1934 offers the latest style of the artist with a priority to the attitude. All realism was replaced by a bizarre symbolism.
It was sold for $ 18M by Christie's on November 6, 2008.
It was sold for $ 18M by Christie's on November 6, 2008.
5
July 12 Tête de Femme Endormie
2020 SOLD for $ 11.2M by Sotheby's
Marie-Thérèse is Picasso's sleeping muse, sometimes passively reading or writing. July is beach time.
Tête de femme endormie displays the head of the snoozing woman reclining on sand. The filtered sun light is an excuse for a radiant geometric figure that echoes the lines of the beach tent. A breast is nude. A necklace of round gems adds to the balance of the composition. The palette includes a variety of bright colors : yellow, violet, blue and soft rose for the flesh ahead of the red and yellow of the tent and the pattern of deep red lines of the sea.
This well preserved small impastoed oil on canvas 33 x 46 cm painted in Boisgeloup on July 12, 1934 was sold for $ 11.2M by Sotheby's on June 29, 2020, lot 1014. Please watch the video. shared by the auction house.
This painting expresses the quietness of their lover's life in Boisgeloup while an upset Olga had left the family home a few months before.
Tête de femme endormie displays the head of the snoozing woman reclining on sand. The filtered sun light is an excuse for a radiant geometric figure that echoes the lines of the beach tent. A breast is nude. A necklace of round gems adds to the balance of the composition. The palette includes a variety of bright colors : yellow, violet, blue and soft rose for the flesh ahead of the red and yellow of the tent and the pattern of deep red lines of the sea.
This well preserved small impastoed oil on canvas 33 x 46 cm painted in Boisgeloup on July 12, 1934 was sold for $ 11.2M by Sotheby's on June 29, 2020, lot 1014. Please watch the video. shared by the auction house.
This painting expresses the quietness of their lover's life in Boisgeloup while an upset Olga had left the family home a few months before.
6
July 17 Femme Endormie
2023 SOLD for $ 43M by Christie's
On July 17, 1934 in Boisgeloup, Picasso painted in parallel three bust length figures of Marie-Thérèse, with the same palette but in different styles.
Femme endormie, oil on canvas 72 x 54 cm, features the quietly sleeping muse in the follow of the the Tête de femme endormie executed five days earlier, narrated above. The young woman had moved from the beach to the bedroom. She is resting on a pillow in a bed sheet and blanket, her arms overlapping on the foreground.
This painting was sold for $ 43M from a lower estimate of $ 25M by Christie's on November 9, 2023, lot 22 B.
Femme endormie, oil on canvas 72 x 54 cm, features the quietly sleeping muse in the follow of the the Tête de femme endormie executed five days earlier, narrated above. The young woman had moved from the beach to the bedroom. She is resting on a pillow in a bed sheet and blanket, her arms overlapping on the foreground.
This painting was sold for $ 43M from a lower estimate of $ 25M by Christie's on November 9, 2023, lot 22 B.
1934 East Wind over Weehawken by Hopper
2013 SOLD for $ 40.5M by Christie's
The house is for Hopper the theme that ensures the continuity of civilization. It symbolizes the past by surviving after the move or death of its residents. The 1929 crisis could only exacerbate his reluctant vision of the modern world.
Hopper is the most famous car user in the history of art. He tirelessly revisits the same places to perform sketches which he then reworks in his workshop in the form of large oil paintings.
Painted in 1934, East Wind over Weehawken, 86 x 128 cm, shows houses viewed from a small crossing of streets in suburban New Jersey. This place should support life but the streets are empty. These houses are promoted to the rank of major characters in the drama and wait for who knows what.
In the foreground, a tall unsightly city lamp divides the picture as if it were the keeper of nothingness. Seeking other marks, we see a sign at the limit of readability announcing For Sale. The moment before or after can reveal life. Two very small spots on far left edge are characters. Or not. Mankind does not matter.
This painting was sold for $ 40.5M from a lower estimate of $ 22M by Christie's on December 5, 2013.
Hopper is the most famous car user in the history of art. He tirelessly revisits the same places to perform sketches which he then reworks in his workshop in the form of large oil paintings.
Painted in 1934, East Wind over Weehawken, 86 x 128 cm, shows houses viewed from a small crossing of streets in suburban New Jersey. This place should support life but the streets are empty. These houses are promoted to the rank of major characters in the drama and wait for who knows what.
In the foreground, a tall unsightly city lamp divides the picture as if it were the keeper of nothingness. Seeking other marks, we see a sign at the limit of readability announcing For Sale. The moment before or after can reveal life. Two very small spots on far left edge are characters. Or not. Mankind does not matter.
This painting was sold for $ 40.5M from a lower estimate of $ 22M by Christie's on December 5, 2013.
1934 Bugatti 59 Grand-Mère
2020 SOLD for £ 9.5M by Gooding
The era when Bugatti was invincible in the Grand Prix is over. Faced with the Alfa Romeo Tipo B supported by the Italian government, the Types 51 and 54 are not competitive. To stop this decline, Bugatti develops the Type 59. Six cars are built in 1934.
The 59 only wins two Grand Prix : at Spa because the Alfa Romeos had a crash and, more deservingly, in Algeria. The traceability of the Grand Prix Bugattis is based on the engines and not on the chassis, and it is impossible to discriminate between the individual cars their participations in the competitions.
These discouraging results could have been anticipated : the 59 is too heavy, too rigid, not powerful enough, with an outdated gearbox and poor brakes. It will not be replaced : following the success of his high-end sports car, the Type 55, Jean Bugatti gives priority to the roadsters.
In 1935 four 59 were sold to English customers. The car with the No. 5 engine undergoes a long series of modifications at the factory. Accustomed to its presence in their premises, the mechanics affectionately nicknamed it Grand-Mère.
Grand-Mère is now a Bugatti 59 Sports, bodyworked as a two-seaters for competitions on French roads where the Alfa Romeos do not come. Driven by Wimille, it achieves many successes in 1937. Significantly, its new chassis had been numbered like a 57, ultimately erasing the page of the 59s.
A great lover of luxury cars and an outstanding patron of the brand, Léopold III of Belgium acquires this one-off 59 Sports in 1938. Rediscovered in the former royal garage in 1967, it remains authentic in the configuration of its delivery by Bugatti to the king.
Grand-Mère was sold for £ 9.5M by Gooding on September 5, 2020, lot 4. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. Its image at Goodwood in 2012 is shared by Wikimedia with attribution : David Merrett from Daventry, England [CC BY].
The 59 only wins two Grand Prix : at Spa because the Alfa Romeos had a crash and, more deservingly, in Algeria. The traceability of the Grand Prix Bugattis is based on the engines and not on the chassis, and it is impossible to discriminate between the individual cars their participations in the competitions.
These discouraging results could have been anticipated : the 59 is too heavy, too rigid, not powerful enough, with an outdated gearbox and poor brakes. It will not be replaced : following the success of his high-end sports car, the Type 55, Jean Bugatti gives priority to the roadsters.
In 1935 four 59 were sold to English customers. The car with the No. 5 engine undergoes a long series of modifications at the factory. Accustomed to its presence in their premises, the mechanics affectionately nicknamed it Grand-Mère.
Grand-Mère is now a Bugatti 59 Sports, bodyworked as a two-seaters for competitions on French roads where the Alfa Romeos do not come. Driven by Wimille, it achieves many successes in 1937. Significantly, its new chassis had been numbered like a 57, ultimately erasing the page of the 59s.
A great lover of luxury cars and an outstanding patron of the brand, Léopold III of Belgium acquires this one-off 59 Sports in 1938. Rediscovered in the former royal garage in 1967, it remains authentic in the configuration of its delivery by Bugatti to the king.
Grand-Mère was sold for £ 9.5M by Gooding on September 5, 2020, lot 4. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. Its image at Goodwood in 2012 is shared by Wikimedia with attribution : David Merrett from Daventry, England [CC BY].
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1934 Black and White with Double Lines by Mondrian
2009 SOLD for $ 9.3M by Sotheby's
Eager to manage altogether simplicity and clarity, Mondrian introduced in 1932 the double line by which some horizontal of vertical black lines, or all of them, are repeated at some distance by another identical line, circumscribing a new planar field.
In 1934, due to health issues that prevented the time consuming application of subsequent layers of pigment after long periods of drying, several paintings were left unfinished. Such examples provide through the remaining charcoal a view on the painstaking process of the line placement by the artist.
Black and White with Double Lines, an oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm painted in 1934, was sold for $ 9.3M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Sotheby's on May 5, 2009, lot 10. It is made of two pairs of crossing double lines, one from side to side and the other one limited within the lower right field. The gleaming white background has no colored overpainting. It is finished as such and signed and dated by the artist.
Painted in the same year, an unfinished Composition with Double Line and Yellow, oil on canvas 61 x 50 cm, was sold for $ 6.3M by Christie's on November 17, 2022, lot 28. Two full length horizontal lines intersect with a single nearly centered full length vertical. A yellow field stands at the top left corner and the rest is blank or left in non-colors.
Another unfinished before the decision on the line width and before any application of color passed at Sotheby's on November 6, 2013, lot 14.
In 1934, due to health issues that prevented the time consuming application of subsequent layers of pigment after long periods of drying, several paintings were left unfinished. Such examples provide through the remaining charcoal a view on the painstaking process of the line placement by the artist.
Black and White with Double Lines, an oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm painted in 1934, was sold for $ 9.3M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Sotheby's on May 5, 2009, lot 10. It is made of two pairs of crossing double lines, one from side to side and the other one limited within the lower right field. The gleaming white background has no colored overpainting. It is finished as such and signed and dated by the artist.
Painted in the same year, an unfinished Composition with Double Line and Yellow, oil on canvas 61 x 50 cm, was sold for $ 6.3M by Christie's on November 17, 2022, lot 28. Two full length horizontal lines intersect with a single nearly centered full length vertical. A yellow field stands at the top left corner and the rest is blank or left in non-colors.
Another unfinished before the decision on the line width and before any application of color passed at Sotheby's on November 6, 2013, lot 14.
1934 Der Rote Geiger by Feininger
2010 SOLD for $ 7.3M by Sotheby's
Lyonel Feininger, engaged in the major artistic movements of his time, spent many years in Germany. In this country he painted Der Rote Geiger (The Red Fiddler), oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm, sold for $ 7.3M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Sotheby's on May 5, 2010.
He had been a caricaturist before being an artist. His giant violinist, whose realistic profile fits the cubist buildings of the city to dominate them, might seem like a trick of illustrator, but there is one annoying detail: the smile of the musician is too ecstatic.
Here's why. This work was painted in 1934, the year when political power is persecuting the "degenerate" artists related to the Bauhaus, where Feininger was a professor. The artist, also a violinist, tries to persuade himself that music can still help the threatened peace. This cheerful art is hiding a nightmare.
He had been a caricaturist before being an artist. His giant violinist, whose realistic profile fits the cubist buildings of the city to dominate them, might seem like a trick of illustrator, but there is one annoying detail: the smile of the musician is too ecstatic.
Here's why. This work was painted in 1934, the year when political power is persecuting the "degenerate" artists related to the Bauhaus, where Feininger was a professor. The artist, also a violinist, tries to persuade himself that music can still help the threatened peace. This cheerful art is hiding a nightmare.
