1947
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Top 10 Sculpture Giacometti Giacometti 1947-53 Still De Kooning Zhang Daqian Zhang Daqian < 1965 The Man
See also : Top 10 Sculpture Giacometti Giacometti 1947-53 Still De Kooning Zhang Daqian Zhang Daqian < 1965 The Man
GIACOMETTI
1
1947 L'Homme au Doigt
2015 SOLD for $ 140M by Christie's
After the war Alberto Giacometti reinstalled himself in his Parisian studio which had been carefully maintained by Diego. His life is stabilized by his meeting with Annette. He wants to exhibit through his sculptures his own view about the human nature, close to Sartre's existentialism.
Alberto appreciates that some new art is required and that his diminutive sculptures will not appeal anybody. His characters will now be life-size. They will be threadlike as the floor lamps that the artist formerly conceived for Jean-Michel Frank, fragile in their bodies and solid in their bronze. These humans are not identifiable but the original plaster tirelessly kneaded by the artist's hand brings them a tormented texture that resembles their creator.
The seminal story of his new creativity takes place immediately after the war, tentatively in 1945. He goes to the cinema in Montparnasse. On the boulevard, he sees men walking and women standing. Everyone knows the reason for his or her immediate action, which is not accessible to others. A crowd is a gathering of lonely characters. Alberto is no longer inspired by cinema, which is nothing more than a projection of light on a screen. He decides that his art will be closer to real life.
Pierre Matisse is interested and promises to organize an exhibition in New York in January 1948 of this art which, in October 1947, does not yet exist. The works must be designed and the bronzes have to be melt. The artist is in a hurry which is not his usual practice. The meeting with the agents of the foundry is scheduled for the next morning. Alberto is not ready.
He is not happy with his prototype and demolishes it. In a night of frenzied creation, he realizes L'Homme au doigt. When it is carried out for the factory, the plaster is achieved but it is still wet. Seven bronzes including an artist's proof are edited by the Alexis Rudier company.
The man points the finger to show the way to the other two sculptures in the trilogy, L'Homme qui marche and his opposite the everlasting Femme debout. This horizontal finger is a sign of authority, hope and renewal. L'Homme au doigt emits the founding message before disappearing from Alberto's creations, unlike the other two figures that will accompany his whole career,
The plaster had been kneaded in a hurry, giving a tormented and scarred texture from which some observers said that L'Homme au doigt is Alberto's self portrait. One bronze, the number 6/6, was hand-painted by the artist. It strengthens the resemblance. The pointing man is not God between Adam and Eve, he is Alberto, the creative artist.
This number 6/6 178 cm high is the most outstanding piece of bronze by Alberto. It was sold for $ 140M by Christie's on May 11, 2015, lot 29A.
Man is walking with energy but nobody knows why, not even the character. The energy of his step is useful, or not, his compass shaped legs prophesying the imbalance of the future. Woman is waiting and passive. She however must have a role, like the tree in the forest.
Other figures will soon be created as well as groups and busts.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Trivia Encyclopedia @edpearce080759 May 11, 2023
"L'Homme au doigt" (man pointing) a 1947 work by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti was auctioned for $141.3m at Christie's in New York City on May 11, 2015, setting the record for most expensive sculpture sold at an auction. https://encyclopaediaoftrivia.blogspot.com/2017/11/sculpture.html…
Alberto appreciates that some new art is required and that his diminutive sculptures will not appeal anybody. His characters will now be life-size. They will be threadlike as the floor lamps that the artist formerly conceived for Jean-Michel Frank, fragile in their bodies and solid in their bronze. These humans are not identifiable but the original plaster tirelessly kneaded by the artist's hand brings them a tormented texture that resembles their creator.
The seminal story of his new creativity takes place immediately after the war, tentatively in 1945. He goes to the cinema in Montparnasse. On the boulevard, he sees men walking and women standing. Everyone knows the reason for his or her immediate action, which is not accessible to others. A crowd is a gathering of lonely characters. Alberto is no longer inspired by cinema, which is nothing more than a projection of light on a screen. He decides that his art will be closer to real life.
Pierre Matisse is interested and promises to organize an exhibition in New York in January 1948 of this art which, in October 1947, does not yet exist. The works must be designed and the bronzes have to be melt. The artist is in a hurry which is not his usual practice. The meeting with the agents of the foundry is scheduled for the next morning. Alberto is not ready.
He is not happy with his prototype and demolishes it. In a night of frenzied creation, he realizes L'Homme au doigt. When it is carried out for the factory, the plaster is achieved but it is still wet. Seven bronzes including an artist's proof are edited by the Alexis Rudier company.
The man points the finger to show the way to the other two sculptures in the trilogy, L'Homme qui marche and his opposite the everlasting Femme debout. This horizontal finger is a sign of authority, hope and renewal. L'Homme au doigt emits the founding message before disappearing from Alberto's creations, unlike the other two figures that will accompany his whole career,
The plaster had been kneaded in a hurry, giving a tormented and scarred texture from which some observers said that L'Homme au doigt is Alberto's self portrait. One bronze, the number 6/6, was hand-painted by the artist. It strengthens the resemblance. The pointing man is not God between Adam and Eve, he is Alberto, the creative artist.
This number 6/6 178 cm high is the most outstanding piece of bronze by Alberto. It was sold for $ 140M by Christie's on May 11, 2015, lot 29A.
Man is walking with energy but nobody knows why, not even the character. The energy of his step is useful, or not, his compass shaped legs prophesying the imbalance of the future. Woman is waiting and passive. She however must have a role, like the tree in the forest.
Other figures will soon be created as well as groups and busts.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Trivia Encyclopedia @edpearce080759 May 11, 2023
"L'Homme au doigt" (man pointing) a 1947 work by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti was auctioned for $141.3m at Christie's in New York City on May 11, 2015, setting the record for most expensive sculpture sold at an auction. https://encyclopaediaoftrivia.blogspot.com/2017/11/sculpture.html…
- "L'Homme au doigt," created by Alberto Giacometti in 1947, reflects his unique technique of elongating figures to explore human fragility, with studies showing his sculptures evoke existential themes backed by art historians like Reinhold Hohl in Alberto Giacometti (1971).
- The $141.3 million sale in 2015 at Christie's broke records, surpassing Giacometti's prior high of $103.4 million for "Walking Man I" in 2010, highlighting a surge in demand for modern art fueled by wealthy collectors, with global art auction sales reaching $26 billion that year per TEFAF's Art Market Report.
- The anonymous buyer's possible Asian origin aligns with a trend of Asian collectors dominating high-value art purchases, as evidenced by a 2023 Art Basel report noting 29% of global auction sales now come from Asia, challenging Western art market dominance.
Giacometti apparently did not reuse his primordial figure L'Homme au Doigt after the seminal 1947 cast of 6 plus 1 artist's proof. Tell the reason why : existentialist thoughts or technical issue with the pointing arms and finger ? Where are now the plasters and bronzes of L'Homme au Doigt ? Compare with Le Nez, conceived in plaster in 1947 but apparently not cast in bronze before 1964.
Alberto Giacometti's L'Homme au doigt (Pointing Man), conceived in 1947, was cast in bronze in an edition of six numbered copies plus one artist's proof shortly after its creation (using the Alexis Rudier foundry). Contrary to the premise in your question, Giacometti did cast and edition the work in 1947–48, rather than limiting it to a single cast or avoiding reuse of the model.
The sculpture was modeled in plaster in a single intense session (Giacometti described completing it "in one night between midnight and nine the next morning," with the plaster still wet when collected by the foundry). No reliable sources indicate that he deliberately avoided recasting or editions due to existentialist philosophy (though his postwar figures, including this one, are often interpreted through an existential lens of isolation, fragility, and human presence, as discussed by Jean-Paul Sartre) or technical difficulties with the extended pointing arm and finger (the thin, elongated forms were characteristic of his mature style and successfully cast without noted structural issues).
Current Locations of L'Homme au doigt Casts
Comparison with Le Nez
Le Nez (The Nose), also conceived in plaster in 1947 (with a revised version in 1949), follows a different trajectory: Giacometti reworked the composition multiple times over the years (altering the cage structure, suspension, and details), but he did not authorize bronze casting until around 1964–65. This delay aligns with his postwar practice for some works—keeping plasters in the studio for ongoing modification rather than immediate editioning—possibly reflecting his relentless pursuit of capturing perceptual "reality" and distance (a phenomenological concern tied to existential themes of alienation and the absurd). The bronze edition (typically 6 casts) was produced later, with examples in institutions like the Centre Pompidou (Paris) and private collections. Original and variant plasters remain with the Fondation Giacometti.
In summary, while both works emerged from Giacometti's pivotal 1947 breakthrough toward elongated, emaciated figures symbolizing postwar human vulnerability, L'Homme au doigt was promptly editioned in bronze, whereas Le Nez exemplifies his habit of delaying casting for certain pieces to allow further evolution. No evidence supports a specific technical fragility in the pointing gesture as a reason for limited production.
Alberto Giacometti's L'Homme au doigt (Pointing Man), conceived in 1947, was cast in bronze in an edition of six numbered copies plus one artist's proof shortly after its creation (using the Alexis Rudier foundry). Contrary to the premise in your question, Giacometti did cast and edition the work in 1947–48, rather than limiting it to a single cast or avoiding reuse of the model.
The sculpture was modeled in plaster in a single intense session (Giacometti described completing it "in one night between midnight and nine the next morning," with the plaster still wet when collected by the foundry). No reliable sources indicate that he deliberately avoided recasting or editions due to existentialist philosophy (though his postwar figures, including this one, are often interpreted through an existential lens of isolation, fragility, and human presence, as discussed by Jean-Paul Sartre) or technical difficulties with the extended pointing arm and finger (the thin, elongated forms were characteristic of his mature style and successfully cast without noted structural issues).
Current Locations of L'Homme au doigt Casts
- Four casts are in major museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, and Tate Modern, London.
- The remaining casts are held by the Fondation Giacometti (Paris) and private collections.
- One notable cast (6/6, hand-painted by the artist) sold at Christie's in 2015 for $141.3 million (a record for any sculpture at auction) and is now in a private collection (reportedly owned by Steven A. Cohen).
Comparison with Le Nez
Le Nez (The Nose), also conceived in plaster in 1947 (with a revised version in 1949), follows a different trajectory: Giacometti reworked the composition multiple times over the years (altering the cage structure, suspension, and details), but he did not authorize bronze casting until around 1964–65. This delay aligns with his postwar practice for some works—keeping plasters in the studio for ongoing modification rather than immediate editioning—possibly reflecting his relentless pursuit of capturing perceptual "reality" and distance (a phenomenological concern tied to existential themes of alienation and the absurd). The bronze edition (typically 6 casts) was produced later, with examples in institutions like the Centre Pompidou (Paris) and private collections. Original and variant plasters remain with the Fondation Giacometti.
In summary, while both works emerged from Giacometti's pivotal 1947 breakthrough toward elongated, emaciated figures symbolizing postwar human vulnerability, L'Homme au doigt was promptly editioned in bronze, whereas Le Nez exemplifies his habit of delaying casting for certain pieces to allow further evolution. No evidence supports a specific technical fragility in the pointing gesture as a reason for limited production.
2
masterpiece
1947-1949 Le Nez
Fondation Giacometti
In his post war nightmares and hallucinations, Alberto Giacometti lost the discrimination between the living and the dead. He is a sculptor : in 1947 he manages to immobilize this ambiguity in plasters. Fragmenting the human organs, he conceives Le Nez, La Main and Tête sur tige. Questioning the beyond in the same year, he creates his existentialist trinity led by L'Homme au doigt.
Le Nez is a full head hanging to a rope within a cage, so that it cannot be perceived as a mere bust. The threadlike posts and bars of the cage are similar as those conceived by him is the 1930s for staging Surrealist figures. Such an existentialist expression of human forms in a cage had a decisive influence on Francis Bacon.
The narwhal tooth shaped straight nose extends far beyond the volume of the cage, providing a fake liberty to the encaged figure. The mouth is wide open for a scream. The very first plaster also had a red painted tongue and a spiral red clown wrap around the nose.
There is no doubt that the fragile balance of Le Nez was very difficult to transfer to bronze. That was done in 1965 by Susse in an edition of 6 plus 2 additional proofs. The head is cast from a replica of the 1949 plaster while the cage had been narrowed in the previous year for a more protruding effect of the nose. The cage is 81 cm high. Small roundels under the four posts assure a stability to that fragile piece.
Existentialist meaning of Le Nez, conceived by Giacometti in plaster in 1947 and 1949.
Alberto Giacometti's Le Nez (The Nose), conceived in plaster in 1947 and revised in a key version in 1949 (later cast in bronze), is one of his most enigmatic postwar sculptures. It features a skeletal human head with hollow eyes, a gaping mouth, and an exaggeratedly long nose protruding horizontally, suspended within an open metal cage-like structure, where the nose piercingly extends beyond the frame.
This work emerged in the aftermath of World War II, a period when Giacometti, deeply affected by death and loss (including personal memories and the broader trauma of the war), grappled with human fragility and mortality. Researchers note that "Le Nez" carries the memory of recent deaths, reflecting the artist's haunting obsession with transience.
Existentialist Interpretations
Though Giacometti's friend Jean-Paul Sartre popularized an existentialist reading of his elongated, isolated figures as emblems of postwar alienation and the absurdity of existence (e.g., in Sartre's 1948 essay "The Search for the Absolute"), some critics argue this was somewhat imposed—Giacometti's despair stemmed more from the impossible quest to capture fleeting reality than pure philosophical romance.
Yet Le Nez powerfully evokes existential themes:
Ultimately, Le Nez embodies the human condition as isolated, anguished, and absurdly striving amid emptiness—a visual echo of existentialist concerns with authenticity, mortality, and the search for meaning in a postwar world stripped of illusions.
Le Nez is a full head hanging to a rope within a cage, so that it cannot be perceived as a mere bust. The threadlike posts and bars of the cage are similar as those conceived by him is the 1930s for staging Surrealist figures. Such an existentialist expression of human forms in a cage had a decisive influence on Francis Bacon.
The narwhal tooth shaped straight nose extends far beyond the volume of the cage, providing a fake liberty to the encaged figure. The mouth is wide open for a scream. The very first plaster also had a red painted tongue and a spiral red clown wrap around the nose.
There is no doubt that the fragile balance of Le Nez was very difficult to transfer to bronze. That was done in 1965 by Susse in an edition of 6 plus 2 additional proofs. The head is cast from a replica of the 1949 plaster while the cage had been narrowed in the previous year for a more protruding effect of the nose. The cage is 81 cm high. Small roundels under the four posts assure a stability to that fragile piece.
Existentialist meaning of Le Nez, conceived by Giacometti in plaster in 1947 and 1949.
Alberto Giacometti's Le Nez (The Nose), conceived in plaster in 1947 and revised in a key version in 1949 (later cast in bronze), is one of his most enigmatic postwar sculptures. It features a skeletal human head with hollow eyes, a gaping mouth, and an exaggeratedly long nose protruding horizontally, suspended within an open metal cage-like structure, where the nose piercingly extends beyond the frame.
This work emerged in the aftermath of World War II, a period when Giacometti, deeply affected by death and loss (including personal memories and the broader trauma of the war), grappled with human fragility and mortality. Researchers note that "Le Nez" carries the memory of recent deaths, reflecting the artist's haunting obsession with transience.
Existentialist Interpretations
Though Giacometti's friend Jean-Paul Sartre popularized an existentialist reading of his elongated, isolated figures as emblems of postwar alienation and the absurdity of existence (e.g., in Sartre's 1948 essay "The Search for the Absolute"), some critics argue this was somewhat imposed—Giacometti's despair stemmed more from the impossible quest to capture fleeting reality than pure philosophical romance.
Yet Le Nez powerfully evokes existential themes:
- Isolation and confinement — The head trapped in its cage suggests entrapment in an indifferent void, mirroring existential notions of human solitude and freedom's burden.
- Fragility and the absurd — The grotesque, phallic nose (evoking Pinocchio's lies or surreal distortions) pierces boundaries aggressively yet futilely, symbolizing a desperate reach beyond limits into nothingness.
- Life-death tension — Inspired partly by Giacometti's 1946 text "The Dream, the Sphinx and the Death of T.," where faces become object-like and deathly, the sculpture hovers between presence and residue—being and non-being—with its skull-like features and suspended form implying a limbo state.
Ultimately, Le Nez embodies the human condition as isolated, anguished, and absurdly striving amid emptiness—a visual echo of existentialist concerns with authenticity, mortality, and the search for meaning in a postwar world stripped of illusions.
1947 STILL
1
Y No.1
2020 SOLD for $ 29M by Sotheby's
In 1946 Still becomes a professor at the California School of Fine Arts. He sets an example by his pictorial representations of energy, which are fully non-figurative. The lightnings disappear, replaced by shapes with jagged edges, again created with a knife.
The oil on canvas 174 x 150 cm identified under the references PH-144 and 1947-Y-No.1 in the double nomenclature of the artist's works shows the invasion of a white area by black and crimson red two-tone figures. The artist prepared his own pigments, and the lighter part is made up of several shades of white balanced by a yellow splash.
Still renews here his feat of creating an almost identical work, despite the non-figurative complexity of the forms. It is referenced PH-584 and 1947-Y-No.2.
Still, Rothko and Pollock tried with completely different techniques to express their inner implosion, which also explains their irascible temperaments. At that time their relationship was fair. During the summer of 1949 Mark Rothko came to teach alongside Still, who lent him 1947-Y-No.1 to decorate his home in San Francisco and then in New York.
1947-Y-No.1 was sold for $ 29M by Sotheby's on June 29, 2020, lot 109. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Jun 30, 2020
#AuctionUpdate Clyfford Still’s masterful ‘1947-Y-No.1’ kicks off a group of works on offer from the Collection of Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson, selling for for $28.7 million
The oil on canvas 174 x 150 cm identified under the references PH-144 and 1947-Y-No.1 in the double nomenclature of the artist's works shows the invasion of a white area by black and crimson red two-tone figures. The artist prepared his own pigments, and the lighter part is made up of several shades of white balanced by a yellow splash.
Still renews here his feat of creating an almost identical work, despite the non-figurative complexity of the forms. It is referenced PH-584 and 1947-Y-No.2.
Still, Rothko and Pollock tried with completely different techniques to express their inner implosion, which also explains their irascible temperaments. At that time their relationship was fair. During the summer of 1949 Mark Rothko came to teach alongside Still, who lent him 1947-Y-No.1 to decorate his home in San Francisco and then in New York.
1947-Y-No.1 was sold for $ 29M by Sotheby's on June 29, 2020, lot 109. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Jun 30, 2020
#AuctionUpdate Clyfford Still’s masterful ‘1947-Y-No.1’ kicks off a group of works on offer from the Collection of Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson, selling for for $28.7 million
- Sotheby's post announces the $28.7 million sale of Clyfford Still's abstract 'PH-144 (1947-Y-No.1)' at its June 2020 Contemporary Art Evening Auction, exceeding the low estimate from the Anderson collection.
- The 1947 oil on canvas features Still's signature jagged forms in black, red, and yellow against a beige ground, embodying Abstract Expressionism's raw energy and his reclusive approach to controlling his oeuvre's dissemination.
- An accompanying photo depicts a woman viewing the framed work in a minimalist gallery, underscoring the personal scale of Still's monumental abstractions despite their multimillion-dollar market impact.
2
Y No.2
2011 SOLD for $ 31.4M by Sotheby's
Clyfford Still, who was one of the main inventors of abstract expressionism, depicted forms with very jagged edges. His practice, however, excluded spontaneity. His purpose was to convey an idea on a single theme which was the transcendental energy.
Throughout his career, Still protected his work. Any sold painting was a miss in the recording of his own creativity. Twenty years before developing the abstract expressionism, he was already taking care of creating replicas. The artworks he kept for himself have been perfectly preserved.
He made no secret of this practice, but he did not disclose the technique he employed to obtain a perfect copy, without losing anything in the apparent violence of form or in the subtlety of colors.
To finance its creation, the Clyfford Still Museum took the clever initiative to auction off four paintings by the master, which were included in Sotheby's sale on November 9, 2011. The two top lots fetched respectively $ 62M for 1949-A-No.1 and $ 31.4M for 1947-Y-No.2, oil on canvas 177 x 150 cm, lot 12.
That reference 1947-Y-No.2 suggests that it is a replica. Indeed it is identical to 1947-Y-No.1, 174 x 150 cm, sold for $ 29M by Sotheby's on June 29, 2020, and to 1947-Y-No.3, 197 x 177 cm, preserved by the museum. The 2011 Sotheby's catalog included a 1951 photo featuring the artist in front of the number 2 of the 1949-A.
Throughout his career, Still protected his work. Any sold painting was a miss in the recording of his own creativity. Twenty years before developing the abstract expressionism, he was already taking care of creating replicas. The artworks he kept for himself have been perfectly preserved.
He made no secret of this practice, but he did not disclose the technique he employed to obtain a perfect copy, without losing anything in the apparent violence of form or in the subtlety of colors.
To finance its creation, the Clyfford Still Museum took the clever initiative to auction off four paintings by the master, which were included in Sotheby's sale on November 9, 2011. The two top lots fetched respectively $ 62M for 1949-A-No.1 and $ 31.4M for 1947-Y-No.2, oil on canvas 177 x 150 cm, lot 12.
That reference 1947-Y-No.2 suggests that it is a replica. Indeed it is identical to 1947-Y-No.1, 174 x 150 cm, sold for $ 29M by Sotheby's on June 29, 2020, and to 1947-Y-No.3, 197 x 177 cm, preserved by the museum. The 2011 Sotheby's catalog included a 1951 photo featuring the artist in front of the number 2 of the 1949-A.
3
R-No.1
2006 SOLD for $ 21.3M by Christie's
New elements in the quest of the global features of the force were added by Clyfford Still in 1947, when he was a teacher in San Francisco.
1947-R-No.1, oil on canvas 175 x 165 cm, displays the floating elements and their shadows over a saturated background of red layers over brown. It was sold for $ 21.3M by Christie's on November 15, 2006, lot 44.
Clyfford Still did not consider this opus as finished when he loaned it with six other works for the 1952 MoMA exhibition entitled 15 Americans. He made clear in the catalogue his reluctance to have his artworks commented by third parties. An artwork must speak on its own with no need to explain it.
Still completed 1947-R-No.1 soon afterward, with a terminus ante quem in 1957 when he broke with its owner, the artist Alfonso Ossorio.
1947-R-No.1, oil on canvas 175 x 165 cm, displays the floating elements and their shadows over a saturated background of red layers over brown. It was sold for $ 21.3M by Christie's on November 15, 2006, lot 44.
Clyfford Still did not consider this opus as finished when he loaned it with six other works for the 1952 MoMA exhibition entitled 15 Americans. He made clear in the catalogue his reluctance to have his artworks commented by third parties. An artwork must speak on its own with no need to explain it.
Still completed 1947-R-No.1 soon afterward, with a terminus ante quem in 1957 when he broke with its owner, the artist Alfonso Ossorio.
4
PH-218
2015 SOLD for $ 14.8M by Sotheby's
PH-218, oil on canvas 160 x 102 cm also painted by Still in 1947, displays a dark magma intimately mingled on its left side with a bright jagged element. It is one of the early works which were included in the 1969 selling exhibition at the Marlborough gallery in New York. Coming from the Taubman collection, it was sold by Sotheby's on November 4, 2015 for $ 14.8M from a lower estimate of $ 10M, lot 41.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Oct 22, 2015
WATCH: Clyfford Still's ‘PH-218' from the Alfred Taubman Collection on view this w/e in #NYC http://bit.ly/1W7xMmz
Thought for 10s
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Oct 22, 2015
WATCH: Clyfford Still's ‘PH-218' from the Alfred Taubman Collection on view this w/e in #NYC http://bit.ly/1W7xMmz
Thought for 10s
- This 2015 Sotheby's post promotes a weekend viewing in New York of Clyfford Still's abstract expressionist painting PH-218 (1947), a large-scale oil canvas from the late billionaire Alfred Taubman's collection, ahead of its auction.
- The embedded video showcases dynamic close-ups of the painting's dramatic black, red, and yellow forms evoking raw energy, transitioning to auction specialist Anthony Grant explaining its historical importance in Still's oeuvre.
- PH-218 fetched $14.8 million at the November 2015 sale, helping Taubman's 200-lot collection achieve a record $419.7 million total, underscoring the market's appetite for rare Abstract Expressionist works.
1947 Orestes by De Kooning
2023 SOLD for $ 31M by Christie's
In New York City, beside his fellow artist Gorky, Willem de Kooning managed to remove the border between figuration and abstraction by new studies of the balance of forms. In 1947 he desired to go to full abstraction.
During a very short experimental period he painted in black and white, leaving the forms away from the influences of colors. He was thus coming closer to Pollock's under-paintings than to Gorky. He was certainly influencing Kline's semi-automatic paintings.
Orestes is an oil, housepainter's enamel and collage on paper mounted on board 61 x 92 cm. De Kooning did not explain his titles but this one looks existentialist or psychoanalytical, by reference to the antique matricide. These amorphous forms abandoning perspective, volume and shading were indeed an emanation from the mind of an artist. These sign-like figures anticipate both Twombly's pseudo-writing and Johns's erased letterings.
Orestes was sold for $ 31M by Christie's on May 12, 2023, lot 16A.
De Kooning did not forget his humble artistic beginnings. He was to change his style and home but never parted from his two obsoleted enamel cans.
During a very short experimental period he painted in black and white, leaving the forms away from the influences of colors. He was thus coming closer to Pollock's under-paintings than to Gorky. He was certainly influencing Kline's semi-automatic paintings.
Orestes is an oil, housepainter's enamel and collage on paper mounted on board 61 x 92 cm. De Kooning did not explain his titles but this one looks existentialist or psychoanalytical, by reference to the antique matricide. These amorphous forms abandoning perspective, volume and shading were indeed an emanation from the mind of an artist. These sign-like figures anticipate both Twombly's pseudo-writing and Johns's erased letterings.
Orestes was sold for $ 31M by Christie's on May 12, 2023, lot 16A.
De Kooning did not forget his humble artistic beginnings. He was to change his style and home but never parted from his two obsoleted enamel cans.
1947 ZHANG DAQIAN
1
Lotus and Mandarin Ducks
2011 SOLD for HK$ 190M by Sotheby's
The 31-month scholar and artistic work of Zhang Daqian in the grottoes of Dunhuang, from 1941 to 1943, have not only helped the Chinese to appreciate their ancient pictorial heritage. Now enjoying a new vision across ages in addition to his flawless technique, he is able to create masterpieces in the widest variety of themes.
On November 27, 2018, Christie's sold for HK $ 59M a scroll in ink and color on paper 165 x 82 cm painted in 1943 on the theme of the lotus, lot 1376. With its bright red flowers outlined in gold, this artwork is mostly a study of colors. In a bold but balanced composition, another theme appears without seeking a coherence of scales : a small pair of mandarin ducks lying in the background gives the plants a tree-like height. These birds are a symbol of conjugal fidelity.
A 185 x 95 cm scroll painted in 1947 coming from the Mei Yun Tang collection was sold for HK $ 190M by Sotheby's on May 31, 2011 from a lower estimate of HK $ 15M, lot 4.
Compared with the other example above, its composition is less readable : the birds partially hidden behind the stems no longer constitute a focusing point of the image.
On November 27, 2018, Christie's sold for HK $ 59M a scroll in ink and color on paper 165 x 82 cm painted in 1943 on the theme of the lotus, lot 1376. With its bright red flowers outlined in gold, this artwork is mostly a study of colors. In a bold but balanced composition, another theme appears without seeking a coherence of scales : a small pair of mandarin ducks lying in the background gives the plants a tree-like height. These birds are a symbol of conjugal fidelity.
A 185 x 95 cm scroll painted in 1947 coming from the Mei Yun Tang collection was sold for HK $ 190M by Sotheby's on May 31, 2011 from a lower estimate of HK $ 15M, lot 4.
Compared with the other example above, its composition is less readable : the birds partially hidden behind the stems no longer constitute a focusing point of the image.
2
1947 Summer Mountain Hermitage
2021 SOLD for RMB 72M by China Guardian
After coming back from Dunhuang, Zhang Daqian manages to copy, imitate or be inspired by old Chinese masters.
Summer Mountain Hermitage is displaying a towering mountain and its waterfall feeding a fertile valley in an imitation of Wang Meng's 14th century CE masterpiece Ge Zhichuan relocating.
This hanging scroll in ink and color on paper 160 x 63 cm painted in 1947 was sold for RMB 72M from a lower estimate of RMB $ 50M by China Guardian on December 12, 2021, lot 288.
Summer Mountain Hermitage is displaying a towering mountain and its waterfall feeding a fertile valley in an imitation of Wang Meng's 14th century CE masterpiece Ge Zhichuan relocating.
This hanging scroll in ink and color on paper 160 x 63 cm painted in 1947 was sold for RMB 72M from a lower estimate of RMB $ 50M by China Guardian on December 12, 2021, lot 288.
3
Lotus
2013 SOLD for HK$ 80M by Christie's
Zhang Daqian was a talented and prolific artist. His success is also due to his vocation for teaching, which makes him simultaneously varying styles and themes. In 1934, only aged 35, he is a professor at Nanjing University.
His innovative processing of colors follows his scholar work on the frescoes in the ancient caves of Dunhuang. The lotus is a great theme to express this new research.
On May 28, 2013, Christie's sold as a single lot for HK$ 80M from a lower estimate of HK$ 10M a set of four hanging scrolls made in 1947, 154 x 78 cm each, showing lotus in ink and colors, lot 1387.
The various compositions reflect the imagination of the artist, but the color treatment is the most remarkable. The four works are indeed very different, ranging from classical discrete tones to a sumptuous juxtaposition of color washes.
The most colorful of the four images is very close by its color harmony to a scroll from the same year, 185 x 95 cm, which was sold for HK $ 190M by Sotheby's on May 31, 2011.
His innovative processing of colors follows his scholar work on the frescoes in the ancient caves of Dunhuang. The lotus is a great theme to express this new research.
On May 28, 2013, Christie's sold as a single lot for HK$ 80M from a lower estimate of HK$ 10M a set of four hanging scrolls made in 1947, 154 x 78 cm each, showing lotus in ink and colors, lot 1387.
The various compositions reflect the imagination of the artist, but the color treatment is the most remarkable. The four works are indeed very different, ranging from classical discrete tones to a sumptuous juxtaposition of color washes.
The most colorful of the four images is very close by its color harmony to a scroll from the same year, 185 x 95 cm, which was sold for HK $ 190M by Sotheby's on May 31, 2011.
1947 Submarine Christmas Tree by Calder
2021 SOLD for £ 6.6M by Christie's
Art meets gravitation and fun in the unprecedented three dimensional language of Calder's mobiles.
Submarine Christmas Tree is not a tree because it does not have a trunk or a central stem. This hanging mobile executed in 1947 displays a variety of childish elements that could decorate a Christmas tree, including stars, crescents and a smiling dish.
Eleven hovering forms in silver polished and red painted metal are hanging in a perfect balance to a network of seven horizontal beams for an overall size of 225 x 218 cm plus a depth of 42 cm brought by a quad of elements.
Submarine Christmas Tree had been acquired from the artist by the archaeologist Henri Seyrig and enjoyed for 30 years by his daughter the actress Delphine Seyrig. It was sold for £ 6.6M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Christie's on March 23, 2021, lot 13.
Calder pushes his mobiles to the limit of the impossible. He is an engineer, but his method certainly involves a great deal of empiricism. Nothing should unbalance his structures. When a heavy plaque is dragged down, he simply makes holes to adjust its weight. Black Lace, 160 x 280 cm, made circa 1947, is an example of this process. This mobile was sold for £ 5.2M by Sotheby's on March 8, 2017, lot 28.
Submarine Christmas Tree is not a tree because it does not have a trunk or a central stem. This hanging mobile executed in 1947 displays a variety of childish elements that could decorate a Christmas tree, including stars, crescents and a smiling dish.
Eleven hovering forms in silver polished and red painted metal are hanging in a perfect balance to a network of seven horizontal beams for an overall size of 225 x 218 cm plus a depth of 42 cm brought by a quad of elements.
Submarine Christmas Tree had been acquired from the artist by the archaeologist Henri Seyrig and enjoyed for 30 years by his daughter the actress Delphine Seyrig. It was sold for £ 6.6M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Christie's on March 23, 2021, lot 13.
Calder pushes his mobiles to the limit of the impossible. He is an engineer, but his method certainly involves a great deal of empiricism. Nothing should unbalance his structures. When a heavy plaque is dragged down, he simply makes holes to adjust its weight. Black Lace, 160 x 280 cm, made circa 1947, is an example of this process. This mobile was sold for £ 5.2M by Sotheby's on March 8, 2017, lot 28.
