1950
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Abstract art Rothko Early Rothko Pollock De Kooning Picasso 1940-60 Giacometti 1947-53 Femme debout
See also : Abstract art Rothko Early Rothko Pollock De Kooning Picasso 1940-60 Giacometti 1947-53 Femme debout
masterpiece
1950 Shuffleton's Barbershop by Rockwell
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
One of the reasons for the continued popularity of Norman Rockwell's illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post's cover pages is the variety of his inspiration. After the war, patriotism gives way to burlesque scenes activating many characters.
Rockwell is especially at his best when he is painting scenes of village life. The quiet atmosphere is revealed by a multitude of small details created from individual photos. After the Dutch masters of the 17th century Rockwell carefully checks the realistic geometry of lights and shadows.
By the intimacy of the theme and the complexity of the composition, Shuffleton's Barbershop published by the Saturday Evening Post on April 29, 1950 is one of his most successful covers. The 117 x 109 cm oil on canvas was deaccessioned from the Berkshire Museum. Listed by Sotheby's on November 13, 2017 with an estimate of $ 20M, lot 10, it was sold before the auction to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, as reported by the auction house.
The viewer looks through the large shop's window whose inscriptions are truncated at the edges. After the working day the light is off in the room. The stove, the sink, the magazine rack and the cat are waiting for the next day. Three men play their musical instruments in the light of the back shop without a risk of being disturbed.
In his compositions Rockwell re-assembles but does not invent. Rob Shuffleton is in real life the barber of the Vermont village where the artist settled in 1939 and he is also the seated man who holds the cello, half hidden behind the inner door.
Rockwell is especially at his best when he is painting scenes of village life. The quiet atmosphere is revealed by a multitude of small details created from individual photos. After the Dutch masters of the 17th century Rockwell carefully checks the realistic geometry of lights and shadows.
By the intimacy of the theme and the complexity of the composition, Shuffleton's Barbershop published by the Saturday Evening Post on April 29, 1950 is one of his most successful covers. The 117 x 109 cm oil on canvas was deaccessioned from the Berkshire Museum. Listed by Sotheby's on November 13, 2017 with an estimate of $ 20M, lot 10, it was sold before the auction to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, as reported by the auction house.
The viewer looks through the large shop's window whose inscriptions are truncated at the edges. After the working day the light is off in the room. The stove, the sink, the magazine rack and the cat are waiting for the next day. Three men play their musical instruments in the light of the back shop without a risk of being disturbed.
In his compositions Rockwell re-assembles but does not invent. Rob Shuffleton is in real life the barber of the Vermont village where the artist settled in 1939 and he is also the seated man who holds the cello, half hidden behind the inner door.
1950 White Center by Rothko
2007 SOLD for $ 73M by Sotheby's
For Rothko, painting lies about the truth of an object but it can express a sensuality. Gradually from 1947 he stages his horizontal rectangular blocks. He is inspired by the relations of powers in Clyfford Still's abstractions, by the delicacy of Bonnard's colors and by the vibrations of Matisse's complementary colors.
In 1949 the block ceases to be a support for a pseudo-calligraphic message. Each element reaches its own purity without becoming monochrome : the meticulous application of colors brings an infinite variation, in particular at the borders of each block. Most of his compositions are in vertical format. Rothko does not yet have a studio : he works in his apartment and the dimensions of the canvases remain small.
Painted in 1950, White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) offers the whole subtlety of this new phase. For example, the background is reduced to a very narrow area around the blocks, but its orange-rose color is not uniform, as if it had been partially scratched at the lower side of the image.
The insertion of a very clear block brings an additional luminosity. Rothko will sometimes re-use this characteristic so that the viewer wraps himself more completely in the picture. Perceived as a floating skylight, this dazzling block makes the real position of the canvas disappear, reinforcing the feeling of an "unknown space" in the wording used by the artist.
White Center, oil on canvas 206 x 141 cm, was sold for $ 73M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2007, lot 31, the highest price recorded at that time for a post-war painting. It was purchased at that auction by the Royal Family of Qatar.
In 1949 the block ceases to be a support for a pseudo-calligraphic message. Each element reaches its own purity without becoming monochrome : the meticulous application of colors brings an infinite variation, in particular at the borders of each block. Most of his compositions are in vertical format. Rothko does not yet have a studio : he works in his apartment and the dimensions of the canvases remain small.
Painted in 1950, White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) offers the whole subtlety of this new phase. For example, the background is reduced to a very narrow area around the blocks, but its orange-rose color is not uniform, as if it had been partially scratched at the lower side of the image.
The insertion of a very clear block brings an additional luminosity. Rothko will sometimes re-use this characteristic so that the viewer wraps himself more completely in the picture. Perceived as a floating skylight, this dazzling block makes the real position of the canvas disappear, reinforcing the feeling of an "unknown space" in the wording used by the artist.
White Center, oil on canvas 206 x 141 cm, was sold for $ 73M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2007, lot 31, the highest price recorded at that time for a post-war painting. It was purchased at that auction by the Royal Family of Qatar.
1950 POLLOCK
1
Composition with Red Strokes
2018 SOLD for $ 55M by Christie's
The non-figurative paintings by Jackson Pollock are neither mystical nor pantheistic. They express his deep personality as no artist had done before him.
The artistic training of this Wyoming boy had not been conventional. He admires the influence of the tribal arts on Picasso and the revolutionary message of the Mexican muralists, and especially he gets rid of the usual practices of the painters.
By neglecting the limits of his canvas or paper support, he offers infinity whatever the size of the artwork, as Mondrian had done. By putting his canvas or paper directly on the floor, he can dance around it like an Indian. In this gesture where the paint flows from the pot shaken by the hand, he creates networks of colors that he modifies at will, which would be impossible on a wall or an easel.
The surrealists wanted to express their dreams. Pollock does the opposite : he controls his subconscious. His colors are so entangled that no detail is preponderant. They do not constitute a cerebral image but the product of his three-dimensional dance. A little later Kazuo Shiraga will also involve his own body in his artistic creation.
Pollock is a perfectionist but he works quickly and his output is abundant. His best years begin in 1948 when he can devote himself entirely to his art with the effective support of his wife Lee Krasner in their Long Island barn studio isolated from the harmful temptations of the big city.
On November 13, 2018, Christie's sold for $ 55M a painting in oil, enamel and aluminum 93 x 65 cm, lot 17 B. Dated 1950 by the artist but not numbered, it has no exhibition history in his lifetime and is identified by the descriptive title Composition with Red Strokes.
The artistic training of this Wyoming boy had not been conventional. He admires the influence of the tribal arts on Picasso and the revolutionary message of the Mexican muralists, and especially he gets rid of the usual practices of the painters.
By neglecting the limits of his canvas or paper support, he offers infinity whatever the size of the artwork, as Mondrian had done. By putting his canvas or paper directly on the floor, he can dance around it like an Indian. In this gesture where the paint flows from the pot shaken by the hand, he creates networks of colors that he modifies at will, which would be impossible on a wall or an easel.
The surrealists wanted to express their dreams. Pollock does the opposite : he controls his subconscious. His colors are so entangled that no detail is preponderant. They do not constitute a cerebral image but the product of his three-dimensional dance. A little later Kazuo Shiraga will also involve his own body in his artistic creation.
Pollock is a perfectionist but he works quickly and his output is abundant. His best years begin in 1948 when he can devote himself entirely to his art with the effective support of his wife Lee Krasner in their Long Island barn studio isolated from the harmful temptations of the big city.
On November 13, 2018, Christie's sold for $ 55M a painting in oil, enamel and aluminum 93 x 65 cm, lot 17 B. Dated 1950 by the artist but not numbered, it has no exhibition history in his lifetime and is identified by the descriptive title Composition with Red Strokes.
2
Number 12
2015 SOLD for $ 18.3M by Sotheby's
The expressionist art of Jackson Pollock starts from the subconscious to achieve the organic. It is a representation of the soil created by countless constituents and changing with the seasons.
The surface to be painted is placed on the floor of the studio, allowing the artist to drip the paint. The flexibility of the wrist permits a progressive coverage of the entire area. Contrary to the drawing where rubbing stains the surface, this technique can be indefinitely repeated with additional layers.
In 1949 after an article in Life magazine Jackson Pollock becomes a subject of curiosity for Americans eager to promote new artistic trends. His method of dripping on huge canvases laid flat on the ground is unique. Physically and psychologically the artist becomes part of the art in progress. The elementary gesture is close to the convulsive subconscious of the surrealist drawing but the artwork is not completed until the overall result meets the desire of the artist.
From his remote studio in Long Island, Pollock does not care about his new reputation. Seconded by Lee Krasner who controls his sobriety, he has full confidence in his own creativity. His art is not limited to a gesticulation around large formats.
In 1950, his third year of intensive practice of dripping, Pollock reaches the thoroughness of a miniaturist. The fine lines of pure and brilliant colors are almost invisible, and from one painting to the other the overall effect is always different.
His brother Sanford "Sande" McCoy is a printer. He kept from a previous operation an attrition of fifteen masonite panels 56 x 56 cm printed on one side with a game of baseball. He gives them to "Jack" in early 1950.
The dense fibers of the condensed wood interest Jackson because their basic texture is more conducive than a canvas to the entanglement of jewel like colors of his enamel and aluminum paints. He does not any more need to start with a trivial drawing from his fantasy that he will then have to hide. Mondrian did not require a large size to express the infinite, same for Pollock for the sublime organic.
The result suits him so much that he renounces in this series to the idea of infinity supported by large formats : on the edges the raw masonite is preserved with great sharpness, probably obtained with a blanking mask.
Number 12, 1950, was sold for $ 18.3M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015, lot 31. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. Number 21, 1950 was sold for £ 9.3M by Christie's on March 6, 2018, lot 28.
The surface to be painted is placed on the floor of the studio, allowing the artist to drip the paint. The flexibility of the wrist permits a progressive coverage of the entire area. Contrary to the drawing where rubbing stains the surface, this technique can be indefinitely repeated with additional layers.
In 1949 after an article in Life magazine Jackson Pollock becomes a subject of curiosity for Americans eager to promote new artistic trends. His method of dripping on huge canvases laid flat on the ground is unique. Physically and psychologically the artist becomes part of the art in progress. The elementary gesture is close to the convulsive subconscious of the surrealist drawing but the artwork is not completed until the overall result meets the desire of the artist.
From his remote studio in Long Island, Pollock does not care about his new reputation. Seconded by Lee Krasner who controls his sobriety, he has full confidence in his own creativity. His art is not limited to a gesticulation around large formats.
In 1950, his third year of intensive practice of dripping, Pollock reaches the thoroughness of a miniaturist. The fine lines of pure and brilliant colors are almost invisible, and from one painting to the other the overall effect is always different.
His brother Sanford "Sande" McCoy is a printer. He kept from a previous operation an attrition of fifteen masonite panels 56 x 56 cm printed on one side with a game of baseball. He gives them to "Jack" in early 1950.
The dense fibers of the condensed wood interest Jackson because their basic texture is more conducive than a canvas to the entanglement of jewel like colors of his enamel and aluminum paints. He does not any more need to start with a trivial drawing from his fantasy that he will then have to hide. Mondrian did not require a large size to express the infinite, same for Pollock for the sublime organic.
The result suits him so much that he renounces in this series to the idea of infinity supported by large formats : on the edges the raw masonite is preserved with great sharpness, probably obtained with a blanking mask.
Number 12, 1950, was sold for $ 18.3M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015, lot 31. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. Number 21, 1950 was sold for £ 9.3M by Christie's on March 6, 2018, lot 28.
1950 Collage by de Kooning
2022 SOLD for $ 33.6M by Sotheby's
The Cubist artists desired to emulate an illusion of depth on a flat surface. For that purpose, they deconstructed the surface and used collages. A Dutchman living in New York, Willem de Kooning is inspired by these European trends and techniques.
De Kooning met Pollock in 1942. Both artists were considering that the construction of an artwork influenced the visual effect. While Pollock manages to progressively hide preliminary drawings behind his drippings, de Kooning sometimes considered as finished works the collages that he was using to conceive the visual effects of his paintings.
A work simply titled Collage executed in 1950 by de Kooning is made of overlapping collages in bright oil and lacquer paints with some silver thumbtacks on paper 56 x 72 cm.
The artist remains obsessed with the representation of the female form, which the viewer will search within this mingled picture. The same game applied more easily on Abstraction, an oil, enamel and charcoal on card 62 x 83 cm painted ca 1949, sold for $ 19.7M by Sotheby's on November 13, 2012, lot 13. These experimental works are direct predecessors to the Woman I, completed in 1952.
After 70 years in the David W. Solinger collection, Collage was sold for $ 33.6M from a lower estimate of $ 18M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2022, lot 10. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
De Kooning met Pollock in 1942. Both artists were considering that the construction of an artwork influenced the visual effect. While Pollock manages to progressively hide preliminary drawings behind his drippings, de Kooning sometimes considered as finished works the collages that he was using to conceive the visual effects of his paintings.
A work simply titled Collage executed in 1950 by de Kooning is made of overlapping collages in bright oil and lacquer paints with some silver thumbtacks on paper 56 x 72 cm.
The artist remains obsessed with the representation of the female form, which the viewer will search within this mingled picture. The same game applied more easily on Abstraction, an oil, enamel and charcoal on card 62 x 83 cm painted ca 1949, sold for $ 19.7M by Sotheby's on November 13, 2012, lot 13. These experimental works are direct predecessors to the Woman I, completed in 1952.
After 70 years in the David W. Solinger collection, Collage was sold for $ 33.6M from a lower estimate of $ 18M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2022, lot 10. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1950 Claude et Paloma by Picasso
2013 SOLD for $ 28M by Christie's
After the war, Picasso needs a change of life. He promotes peace, alongside Aragon and the Communistes, and draws the Colombe in 1949. Beyond painting, he begins to bring a personal artistic style to pottery. After several extended stays on the Côte d'Azur, he settles permanently in 1948 with Françoise in Vallauris, near the Atelier Madoura.
He takes a new interest in children, who had symbolized the future in 1905 during the Période Rose. They are no longer future adults but human beings in their own right, with their sensitivity, curiosity and creativity. He creates a new family circle with Françoise : Claude was born in May 1947 and Paloma in April 1949.
On November 4, 2013, Christie's sold at lot 17 for $ 28M from a lower estimate of $ 9M a portrait of Claude and Paloma, oil and ripolin on panel 116 x 89 cm painted in Vallauris on January 20, 1950.
The baby is in a high chair, and her brother is sitting next to her. The perspective is taken from a child's height to enter their own world. Well lit, Paloma is the main focus of the image. Her young face is realistic and confident, in an oval head. The left hand is active, with fingers spread. Claude is half in the shade, in the signature double perspective style of Picasso.
This family happiness is transient. In 1953 an exasperated Françoise leaves, taking with her the two children. Picasso will succeed in building his peace of mind in 1961 in Mougins, with Jacqueline.
He takes a new interest in children, who had symbolized the future in 1905 during the Période Rose. They are no longer future adults but human beings in their own right, with their sensitivity, curiosity and creativity. He creates a new family circle with Françoise : Claude was born in May 1947 and Paloma in April 1949.
On November 4, 2013, Christie's sold at lot 17 for $ 28M from a lower estimate of $ 9M a portrait of Claude and Paloma, oil and ripolin on panel 116 x 89 cm painted in Vallauris on January 20, 1950.
The baby is in a high chair, and her brother is sitting next to her. The perspective is taken from a child's height to enter their own world. Well lit, Paloma is the main focus of the image. Her young face is realistic and confident, in an oval head. The left hand is active, with fingers spread. Claude is half in the shade, in the signature double perspective style of Picasso.
This family happiness is transient. In 1953 an exasperated Françoise leaves, taking with her the two children. Picasso will succeed in building his peace of mind in 1961 in Mougins, with Jacqueline.
1950 GIACOMETTI
1
L'Homme qui chavire
2007 SOLD for $ 18.5M by Christie's
Sketched by Giacometti as early as 1947, L'Homme qui chavire appears as the vulnerable counterpart against the glorious existentialist triad of L'homme au doigt, L'homme qui marche and La femme debout. The sculpture is prepared in 1950 in small size, 59 cm high including the base.
Everything in the attitude indicates that the character is in a full loss of control : he is perched on tiptoe, head back, arms beating the air. The statue will not fall, because the composition is perfectly balanced by the position of the arms in an arc. This is indeed one of the most dynamic works by Giacometti.
The bronze 2/6 from the 1950 casting by Alexis Rudier fondeur was sold for $ 18.5M from a lower estimate of $ 6.5M by Christie's on May 9, 2007, lot 51. It has a dark brown patina. Its exhibition history begins in November 1950 at the Pierre Matisse Gallery, before the 1951 attributed to the 5/6 and 6/6.
L'Homme qui chavire has a quieter twin of similar size, Homme traversant une place par un matin de soleil. This man walking with stretched hanging arms is not aware of how soon will be his fall. Both figures have a very tiny head which is another characteristic in opposition to the Trinity.
Everything in the attitude indicates that the character is in a full loss of control : he is perched on tiptoe, head back, arms beating the air. The statue will not fall, because the composition is perfectly balanced by the position of the arms in an arc. This is indeed one of the most dynamic works by Giacometti.
The bronze 2/6 from the 1950 casting by Alexis Rudier fondeur was sold for $ 18.5M from a lower estimate of $ 6.5M by Christie's on May 9, 2007, lot 51. It has a dark brown patina. Its exhibition history begins in November 1950 at the Pierre Matisse Gallery, before the 1951 attributed to the 5/6 and 6/6.
L'Homme qui chavire has a quieter twin of similar size, Homme traversant une place par un matin de soleil. This man walking with stretched hanging arms is not aware of how soon will be his fall. Both figures have a very tiny head which is another characteristic in opposition to the Trinity.
2
La Clairière
2018 SOLD for $ 15.8M by Christie's
People may live at the same place. This does not mean that they will communicate with each other. In 1948 Giacometti expresses this paradox in his first sculptures with multiple figures, desperately trying to find a logical order of the humanity.
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In 1948 he positions together on a tray several copies of his walking man, like a child playing with tin soldiers. The Trois Hommes qui marchent are produced in two versions, identified I and II (grand plateau and petit plateau respectively). The three characters approach or move away from each other. Compared with the petit plateau, the grand plateau provides the illusion of an open and non claustrophobic scenery.
With Les Trois hommes qui marchent, the lack of communication leads to collision. La Place is also prepared in two versions. The movements cease to be incoherent : a group is being formed. These four works provide the most genuine response to the artist's existentialist quest.
The four men and the unique woman of La Place play their comedy on a rectangular platform 62 cm long. They are small and scattered, giving an impression of great void. It is easy to recognize among them the most iconic silhouette of all Alberto's characters, L'Homme qui marche.
One from six bronzes of La Place I cast by Alexis Rudier company in 1948 was sold for $ 13M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014.
La Place II, conceived in 1948, pushes the same five characters close to one edge of the 67 cm long platform. The standing woman is attracting three walking men on her left and one man on her right. Cast in 1949, the number 1/6 was sold for $ 14.6M by Christie's on May 6, 2008, lot 32. It has a brown and black patina.
The bronzes of such difficult figures with several thin characters were feats by the Alexis Rudier foundry.In 1950 Pierre Matisse asks for a new exhibition which will confirm the great success of the previous one in 1947. It is necessary to include new works but Alberto had not found a satisfactory answer concerning human communication. He will never find any. What to do ?
In his studio Alberto has multiplied the individual figures with mostly standing women in a gradually increasing elongation. Suddenly he looks at the mess of his studio as a whole. The sculptures had been divided into small groups without any voluntary intervention. He will accordingly create artworks without modifying this assembly of chance.
Alberto has another vision : his women are so stretched that they look like trees. He creates La Forêt (the forest) and La Clairière (the glade).
Compared with the earlier groups, the figures remain on their bases but the uniqueness of scale is canceled. The limbs are united with the body like for a standing woman but the head is still outlined at the top of the tree. Not only each character is alone, but in addition he is nothing.
La Forêt features a weird group of six character-trees of various heights accompanied by a small bust of Diego. A bronze 58 cm high cast in 1950 by Alexis Rudier was sold for $ 13.2M by Christie's on May 7, 2002, lot 34.
La Clairière, 59 cm high on a surface of 65 x 52 cm, is the most complex with nine standing women and less mystic because it does not include the idol bust of Diego. A copy cast by Alexis Rudier company between 1950 and 1952 was sold for $ 15.8M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Christie's on May 15, 2018, lot 17 A.
.
In 1948 he positions together on a tray several copies of his walking man, like a child playing with tin soldiers. The Trois Hommes qui marchent are produced in two versions, identified I and II (grand plateau and petit plateau respectively). The three characters approach or move away from each other. Compared with the petit plateau, the grand plateau provides the illusion of an open and non claustrophobic scenery.
With Les Trois hommes qui marchent, the lack of communication leads to collision. La Place is also prepared in two versions. The movements cease to be incoherent : a group is being formed. These four works provide the most genuine response to the artist's existentialist quest.
The four men and the unique woman of La Place play their comedy on a rectangular platform 62 cm long. They are small and scattered, giving an impression of great void. It is easy to recognize among them the most iconic silhouette of all Alberto's characters, L'Homme qui marche.
One from six bronzes of La Place I cast by Alexis Rudier company in 1948 was sold for $ 13M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014.
La Place II, conceived in 1948, pushes the same five characters close to one edge of the 67 cm long platform. The standing woman is attracting three walking men on her left and one man on her right. Cast in 1949, the number 1/6 was sold for $ 14.6M by Christie's on May 6, 2008, lot 32. It has a brown and black patina.
The bronzes of such difficult figures with several thin characters were feats by the Alexis Rudier foundry.In 1950 Pierre Matisse asks for a new exhibition which will confirm the great success of the previous one in 1947. It is necessary to include new works but Alberto had not found a satisfactory answer concerning human communication. He will never find any. What to do ?
In his studio Alberto has multiplied the individual figures with mostly standing women in a gradually increasing elongation. Suddenly he looks at the mess of his studio as a whole. The sculptures had been divided into small groups without any voluntary intervention. He will accordingly create artworks without modifying this assembly of chance.
Alberto has another vision : his women are so stretched that they look like trees. He creates La Forêt (the forest) and La Clairière (the glade).
Compared with the earlier groups, the figures remain on their bases but the uniqueness of scale is canceled. The limbs are united with the body like for a standing woman but the head is still outlined at the top of the tree. Not only each character is alone, but in addition he is nothing.
La Forêt features a weird group of six character-trees of various heights accompanied by a small bust of Diego. A bronze 58 cm high cast in 1950 by Alexis Rudier was sold for $ 13.2M by Christie's on May 7, 2002, lot 34.
La Clairière, 59 cm high on a surface of 65 x 52 cm, is the most complex with nine standing women and less mystic because it does not include the idol bust of Diego. A copy cast by Alexis Rudier company between 1950 and 1952 was sold for $ 15.8M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Christie's on May 15, 2018, lot 17 A.
3
Trois Hommes qui marchent
2020 SOLD for £ 11.3M by Christie's
The story told by Giacometti 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.
He creates his world in 1947 with characters as threadlike as the barrels of the lamps which he produced before the war for Frank. His seminal trinity includes the man with the finger who will never reappear, like the Godot of his friend Beckett.
From 1948 he tries some variations of attitude such as L'Homme qui marche sous la pluie or L'Homme qui chavire. They are as ephemeral as L'Homme au doigt, because they do not deal with the mystery of the solitude of the individual in the group.
In 1948 he positions together on a tray several copies of his walking man, like a child playing with toy soldiers. The Trois Hommes qui marchent are produced in two versions, identified I and II (grand plateau and petit plateau respectively). The three characters approach or move away from each other. Compared with the petit plateau, the grand plateau provides the illusion of an open and non claustrophobic scenery.
Beside Trois hommes qui marchent, La Place, featuring four walking men and a standing woman, is also prepared in two versions. The movements in La Place cease to be incoherent : a group is being formed. These four works provide the most genuine response to the artist's existentialist quest. In 1950 his creativity will be more fanciful, with the grouping of characters of various scales.
The bronzes of such difficult figures with several thin characters were feats by the Alexis Rudier foundry.
Trois Hommes qui marchent I, 72 cm high, was edited in six copies starting in 1950. The number 2/6, made in 1950 with a dark brown patina, was sold for £ 9.4M by Sotheby's on June 25, 2008 and for £ 11.3M by Christie's on February 5, 2020, lot 14.
The 4/6, cast in 1950 with a brown and gold patina, was sold for $ 11.5M by Christie's on November 6, 2008, lot 21.
A bronze cast in 1948 of Trois Hommes qui marchent II, 76 cm high, was sold for £ 10.7M by Sotheby's on June 22, 2011.
He creates his world in 1947 with characters as threadlike as the barrels of the lamps which he produced before the war for Frank. His seminal trinity includes the man with the finger who will never reappear, like the Godot of his friend Beckett.
From 1948 he tries some variations of attitude such as L'Homme qui marche sous la pluie or L'Homme qui chavire. They are as ephemeral as L'Homme au doigt, because they do not deal with the mystery of the solitude of the individual in the group.
In 1948 he positions together on a tray several copies of his walking man, like a child playing with toy soldiers. The Trois Hommes qui marchent are produced in two versions, identified I and II (grand plateau and petit plateau respectively). The three characters approach or move away from each other. Compared with the petit plateau, the grand plateau provides the illusion of an open and non claustrophobic scenery.
Beside Trois hommes qui marchent, La Place, featuring four walking men and a standing woman, is also prepared in two versions. The movements in La Place cease to be incoherent : a group is being formed. These four works provide the most genuine response to the artist's existentialist quest. In 1950 his creativity will be more fanciful, with the grouping of characters of various scales.
The bronzes of such difficult figures with several thin characters were feats by the Alexis Rudier foundry.
Trois Hommes qui marchent I, 72 cm high, was edited in six copies starting in 1950. The number 2/6, made in 1950 with a dark brown patina, was sold for £ 9.4M by Sotheby's on June 25, 2008 and for £ 11.3M by Christie's on February 5, 2020, lot 14.
The 4/6, cast in 1950 with a brown and gold patina, was sold for $ 11.5M by Christie's on November 6, 2008, lot 21.
A bronze cast in 1948 of Trois Hommes qui marchent II, 76 cm high, was sold for £ 10.7M by Sotheby's on June 22, 2011.
4
La Forêt
2002 SOLD for $ 13.2M by Christie's
After the war, Alberto Giacometti creates and operates his own universe through the sculpture. He establishes rules that he will remarkably maintain in his later work in his signature wire-like style : man is walking, woman is still.
Man is walking with energy but nobody knows why, not even the character. The energy of his step is useful, or not. He is fragile. The woman is waiting and passive. She however must have a role, like the tree in the forest.
All these people may live at the same place. This does not mean that they will communicate with each other. In 1948, Alberto expresses this paradox in his first sculpture with multiple figures, La Place I.
Four men and a woman play their comedy on a rectangular platform 62 cm long. They are small and scattered, giving an impression of great void. It is easy to recognize among them the most iconic silhouette of Alberto's characters, L'Homme qui marche.
One from six bronzes of La Place I cast by Alexis Rudier company in 1948 was sold for $ 13M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014.
Other groups quickly followed La Place I, as if Alberto was desperately trying to find a logical order of the humanity.
La Place II, conceived in 1948, pushes the same five characters close to one edge of the 67 cm long platform. The standing woman is attracting three walking men on her left and one man on her right. Cast in 1949, the number 1/6 was sold for $ 14.6M by Christie's on May 6, 2008, lot 32. It has a brown and black patina.
With Les Trois hommes qui marchent, the lack of communication leads to collision.
On June 22, 2011, Sotheby's sold for £ 10.7M a copy of the Trois hommes qui marchent II cast by Alexis Rudier company as early as 1948. This bronze with a rich brown patina, 76 cm high, once belonged to Pierre Matisse.
La Forêt and La Clairière belongs to the same series of designs by Giacometti as La Place I and II. The trees have the same proportions as the standing women.
La Forêt features a weird group of six character-trees of various heights accompanied by a bust. A bronze 58 cm high cast in 1950 by Alexis Rudier was sold for $ 13.2M by Christie's on May 7, 2002, lot 34.
Man is walking with energy but nobody knows why, not even the character. The energy of his step is useful, or not. He is fragile. The woman is waiting and passive. She however must have a role, like the tree in the forest.
All these people may live at the same place. This does not mean that they will communicate with each other. In 1948, Alberto expresses this paradox in his first sculpture with multiple figures, La Place I.
Four men and a woman play their comedy on a rectangular platform 62 cm long. They are small and scattered, giving an impression of great void. It is easy to recognize among them the most iconic silhouette of Alberto's characters, L'Homme qui marche.
One from six bronzes of La Place I cast by Alexis Rudier company in 1948 was sold for $ 13M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014.
Other groups quickly followed La Place I, as if Alberto was desperately trying to find a logical order of the humanity.
La Place II, conceived in 1948, pushes the same five characters close to one edge of the 67 cm long platform. The standing woman is attracting three walking men on her left and one man on her right. Cast in 1949, the number 1/6 was sold for $ 14.6M by Christie's on May 6, 2008, lot 32. It has a brown and black patina.
With Les Trois hommes qui marchent, the lack of communication leads to collision.
On June 22, 2011, Sotheby's sold for £ 10.7M a copy of the Trois hommes qui marchent II cast by Alexis Rudier company as early as 1948. This bronze with a rich brown patina, 76 cm high, once belonged to Pierre Matisse.
La Forêt and La Clairière belongs to the same series of designs by Giacometti as La Place I and II. The trees have the same proportions as the standing women.
La Forêt features a weird group of six character-trees of various heights accompanied by a bust. A bronze 58 cm high cast in 1950 by Alexis Rudier was sold for $ 13.2M by Christie's on May 7, 2002, lot 34.
1950 L'Art de la Conversation by Magritte
2021 SOLD for € 12.5M by Sotheby's
René Magritte ever had new ideas to feed his surreal world. In October 1950 he incorporates in his scenery a huge word in an unexpected texture. The title of this limited series is L'art de la conversation. It may be considered as a precursor to the word paintings of Ed Ruscha.
The opus IV is a view of the ruins of an antique monument in which the remaining stones of the lower porch constitute the word REVE (dream). Two tiny men in front of the monument bring the apparent scale to gigantism. Another opus displays the same stone word standing alone while other stones are lying on the foreground like on the parvis of the Parthenon.
The opus II is quite different. In the night lit by his signature narrow moon crescent, a couple of swans make the bright area in the foreground. On the other edge of their pond, waves are raising to constitute the word Amour in cursive script in dark blue over black. Their species has certainly been selected from the French homophony of cygne and signe. In the so named conversation, the bird on the right is chatting and its companion is gently listening.
L'Art de la Conversation II, oil on canvas 48 x 60 cm painted in 1950, was sold for € 12.5M from a lower estimate of € 9M by Sotheby's on October 26, 2021, lot 6. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The opus IV is a view of the ruins of an antique monument in which the remaining stones of the lower porch constitute the word REVE (dream). Two tiny men in front of the monument bring the apparent scale to gigantism. Another opus displays the same stone word standing alone while other stones are lying on the foreground like on the parvis of the Parthenon.
The opus II is quite different. In the night lit by his signature narrow moon crescent, a couple of swans make the bright area in the foreground. On the other edge of their pond, waves are raising to constitute the word Amour in cursive script in dark blue over black. Their species has certainly been selected from the French homophony of cygne and signe. In the so named conversation, the bird on the right is chatting and its companion is gently listening.
L'Art de la Conversation II, oil on canvas 48 x 60 cm painted in 1950, was sold for € 12.5M from a lower estimate of € 9M by Sotheby's on October 26, 2021, lot 6. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
