1953
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Man and woman Sculpture by painters Bacon < 1963 Calder Newman Germany II
See also : Man and woman Sculpture by painters Bacon < 1963 Calder Newman Germany II
1953 Onement VI by Newman
2013 SOLD for $ 44M by Sotheby's
From 1948 to 1953, Barnett Newman expressed his conception of the creation of the world in a series of six paintings titled Onement and numbered from I to VI. These monochrome works are crossed in the middle by a narrow vertical strip visible in another color after removal of a sparing tape. The strip is identified as the 'zip'.
The impression of homogeneity is false, as different techniques are used for applying color until the differences become almost imperceptible. Through his painstaking care, the monochromes of Newman precede the pop art flags of Jasper Johns.
The apparent simplicity of the result expresses the false uniformity of the universe. The central zip is designed as an assault by an all-powerful force.
Executed in 1952, Onement V, 152 x 96 cm, was sold for $ 31M by Christie's on July 10, 2020, lot 66. The zip in low contrast separates the two dark blue vertical areas.
In 1953, Onement VI is the apotheosis of the series, in the metaphysical meaning of that word. The space, still dark blue, becomes huge and almost square, 300 x 260 cm. The light blue zip is the first in the series to have sharp edges, predicting the victory of the disturbance on the established order.
Onement VI was sold for $ 44M from a lower estimate of $ 30M by Sotheby's on May 14, 2013. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Mitchell Greenberg @fractureproof
Replying to @InternetH0F
Onement VI, a minimalist abstract by American artist B. Newman. A large canvas filled with a deep blue field, interrupted only by a single vertical white stripe ( a "zip") running down the center. Sold at a Sotheby's auction in NY May 14, 2013, for a staggering $43.8M
The impression of homogeneity is false, as different techniques are used for applying color until the differences become almost imperceptible. Through his painstaking care, the monochromes of Newman precede the pop art flags of Jasper Johns.
The apparent simplicity of the result expresses the false uniformity of the universe. The central zip is designed as an assault by an all-powerful force.
Executed in 1952, Onement V, 152 x 96 cm, was sold for $ 31M by Christie's on July 10, 2020, lot 66. The zip in low contrast separates the two dark blue vertical areas.
In 1953, Onement VI is the apotheosis of the series, in the metaphysical meaning of that word. The space, still dark blue, becomes huge and almost square, 300 x 260 cm. The light blue zip is the first in the series to have sharp edges, predicting the victory of the disturbance on the established order.
Onement VI was sold for $ 44M from a lower estimate of $ 30M by Sotheby's on May 14, 2013. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Mitchell Greenberg @fractureproof
Replying to @InternetH0F
Onement VI, a minimalist abstract by American artist B. Newman. A large canvas filled with a deep blue field, interrupted only by a single vertical white stripe ( a "zip") running down the center. Sold at a Sotheby's auction in NY May 14, 2013, for a staggering $43.8M
- The post humorously contrasts a €380 French roast beef fillet from the parent thread with Barnett Newman's 1953 abstract painting "Onement VI," a blue canvas with a central white stripe, which fetched $43.8 million at a 2013 Sotheby's auction.
- Newman's "zip" motif, symbolizing a divine spark or human presence, exemplifies post-war abstract expressionism, where simplicity amplifies philosophical depth, as critiqued in art theory for commodifying minimalism.
- This exchange highlights the art market's subjective valuations, where Newman's work appreciated over 100-fold since the 1970s, outpacing inflation and underscoring debates on cultural capital versus tangible utility like gourmet food.
1953 Blue over Red by Rothko
2019 SOLD for $ 26.5M by Sotheby's
In 1952 Mark Rothko needs to redefine his creativity. He now has a better workshop that allows him to consider larger vertical formats. At the same time, the rise in popularity of the abstract expressionist movement generates jealousy from the other artists including Newman and Still. It is true that Rothko's blocks simulating mystical confrontations are really understandable only by himself.
The new workshop is close to the MoMA. The contemplation of Matisse's Atelier Rouge is a new starting point for Rothko. In this oil on canvas painted in 1911, Matisse has limited the image to a very saturated dark red wall to which a few small objects bring their contrasting colors. Despite the presence of the table and floor, the perspective is almost annihilated.
In 1953 Rothko continues his main theme of assembling rectangles of bright colors. Yet some paintings are directly inspired by the Atelier Rouge. This is undoubtedly the case for Blue over Red, oil on canvas 163 x 89 cm. On an orange background modulated with ochre and yellow, the blocks separated by strips of light are not very contrasted, with the exception of a bright blue band in the upper part of the image which could be a painting on Matisse's wall.
Blue over Red was sold for $ 5.6M by Christie's on November 8, 2005 and for $ 26.5M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2019, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This influence has been fruitful for the artist. He will now look for illusions of the pulsation of light by the contradictory forces of dilatation and contraction, and will soon replace the garish colors with dark hues.
Grok thought from an ArtHitParade tweet :
The new workshop is close to the MoMA. The contemplation of Matisse's Atelier Rouge is a new starting point for Rothko. In this oil on canvas painted in 1911, Matisse has limited the image to a very saturated dark red wall to which a few small objects bring their contrasting colors. Despite the presence of the table and floor, the perspective is almost annihilated.
In 1953 Rothko continues his main theme of assembling rectangles of bright colors. Yet some paintings are directly inspired by the Atelier Rouge. This is undoubtedly the case for Blue over Red, oil on canvas 163 x 89 cm. On an orange background modulated with ochre and yellow, the blocks separated by strips of light are not very contrasted, with the exception of a bright blue band in the upper part of the image which could be a painting on Matisse's wall.
Blue over Red was sold for $ 5.6M by Christie's on November 8, 2005 and for $ 26.5M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2019, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This influence has been fruitful for the artist. He will now look for illusions of the pulsation of light by the contradictory forces of dilatation and contraction, and will soon replace the garish colors with dark hues.
Grok thought from an ArtHitParade tweet :
- This 2019 X post by @ArtHitParade, an account tracking art history via auctions, highlights Mark Rothko's "Blue Over Red" (1953) ahead of its Sotheby's sale in New York, linking to the catalog for the oil-on-canvas abstract with stacked blue, orange, and yellow bands evoking emotional tension through hazy, luminous edges.
- The painting, from Rothko's breakthrough year when he refined his signature color-field style influenced by Matisse, carried a $25-35 million estimate and sold for $26.46 million, underscoring sustained demand for his mid-century works amid a robust 2019 market.
- Provenance traces directly from Rothko to collector Harold Diamond in 1957, then through private sales, positioning it as a rare example of his 1950s abstraction now in a private collection post-auction.
1952-1953 King and Queen by Moore
2026 SOLD for £ 26.3M by Christie's
King and Queen by Henry Moore was conceived in 1952-53 and cast in period by the Galizia Foundry, London, in an edition of four plus one artist's cast. A bronze 164 cm high with a dark green and brown patina was sold for £ 26.3M from a lower estimate of £ 10M by Christie's on March 5, 2026, lot 7.
Henry Moore's King and Queen (1952-53) and Reclining Figure: Festival (1951) represent two pivotal works from a highly productive period in Moore's career, shortly after World War II, when he was at the height of his international acclaim. Both are large-scale bronzes, but they differ markedly in form, subject, and artistic approach.
Comparison
The full-size bronze was cast in an edition of 4 + 1 artist's cast (by the Galizia Foundry, London), with two additional later casts (for Tate in 1957 and Henry Moore Foundation in 1985), making a total "5 + 2." Most casts reside in major institutions (e.g., Tate Britain, Hirshhorn Museum, Norton Simon Museum, Middelheim Museum, Moa Museum of Art).
For context, Moore's auction record is held by Reclining Figure: Festival (1951 cast), which sold for £26.1 million ($31 million) in 2022, reflecting strong demand for his landmark post-war works. King and Queen could approach or challenge high-end Moore prices given its iconic status and scarcity.
Henry Moore's King and Queen (1952-53) and Reclining Figure: Festival (1951) represent two pivotal works from a highly productive period in Moore's career, shortly after World War II, when he was at the height of his international acclaim. Both are large-scale bronzes, but they differ markedly in form, subject, and artistic approach.
Comparison
- Subject and Composition:
- Reclining Figure: Festival (1951) is a monumental single reclining figure, an abstracted female form lying horizontally. It features elongated, tubular limbs and body sections with a distinctive surface treatment of string embedded in the plaster original (to define contours and add linear texture), which translates to incised lines in the bronze casts. The figure is biomorphic, organic, and landscape-like, with bulbous, flowing shapes evoking bones, hills, or natural forms. It symbolizes resilience and post-war renewal, commissioned for the Festival of Britain on London's South Bank as a focal point of public celebration and humanist optimism.
- King and Queen (1952-53), in contrast, depicts two seated adult figures (one male "King" and one female "Queen") side by side on a bench-like throne, facing slightly to the left. They are upright and regal, with simplified, almost archaic forms—elongated bodies, minimal detail except for subtle crowns, and a sense of quiet dignity. The figures combine naturalism (e.g., barefoot, seated posture) with fantasy and stylization, drawing inspiration from ancient Egyptian statuary (which Moore admired in the British Museum) and fairy tales he read to his daughter. This is Moore's only sculpture of a single pair of adult figures, shifting from his dominant reclining motif to a more narrative, totemic, and majestic presence.
- Style and Themes:
- Reclining Figure: Festival continues Moore's long obsession with the reclining figure (a recurring motif since the 1920s), emphasizing abstraction, organic unity, and the body as landscape. The string elements add a surreal, decorative tension, making it innovative and experimental for its time.
- King and Queen marks a departure toward greater figuration and psychological presence. Critics have described it as Moore's "finest achievement since the war" and "probably the most graceful of all his works," with its effortless monumentality despite not being overly massive. It conveys authority, eternity, and a blend of human nobility with biomorphic simplification, less about dynamic abstraction and more about static, iconic poise.
- Scale and Impact:
- Both are large (Festival figure around 105 cm high in plaster, but monumental in effect; King and Queen at about 164 cm high), designed for outdoor or public viewing. Festival was groundbreaking as a public commission symbolizing post-war Britain, while King and Queen became one of Moore's most famous and reproduced works, despite initial mixed reactions to its mix of realism and fantasy.
- Historical Context:
- Reclining Figure: Festival (commissioned 1949-51) was a landmark public artwork for national recovery.
- King and Queen (conceived 1952-53) emerged soon after, unrelated to the 1953 coronation despite some speculation, and reflects Moore's evolving exploration of human relationships and ancient influences.
The full-size bronze was cast in an edition of 4 + 1 artist's cast (by the Galizia Foundry, London), with two additional later casts (for Tate in 1957 and Henry Moore Foundation in 1985), making a total "5 + 2." Most casts reside in major institutions (e.g., Tate Britain, Hirshhorn Museum, Norton Simon Museum, Middelheim Museum, Moa Museum of Art).
- No prior realized prices for full-size casts are widely documented in public records, as they have seldom (if ever) traded on the open market.
- Related maquettes (smaller 27 cm versions, edition of 10) have sold: e.g., over US$2.8 million at Christie's in 2010, £1.1 million at Sotheby's in 2016, and £531,500 at Sotheby's in 2001.
For context, Moore's auction record is held by Reclining Figure: Festival (1951 cast), which sold for £26.1 million ($31 million) in 2022, reflecting strong demand for his landmark post-war works. King and Queen could approach or challenge high-end Moore prices given its iconic status and scarcity.
Henry Moore's King and Queen (1952–53) and Max Ernst's Le Roi jouant avec la Reine (The King Playing with the Queen, conceived 1944, cast later in bronze editions) are two iconic mid-20th-century sculptures that both feature royal figures, yet they diverge profoundly in style, tone, medium approach, and underlying meaning. While both draw on archetypal imagery of kingship and queenship, Moore's work embodies quiet dignity and humanist serenity, whereas Ernst's is a surreal, unsettling chess allegory infused with menace and psychological tension.
Subject and Composition
Moore knew Ernst personally (they met in Picasso's studio in 1937 alongside Breton, Éluard, and Giacometti), and both engaged with Surrealist circles earlier in their careers. However, no direct influence is documented for King and Queen from Ernst's piece—Moore's dates to nearly a decade later and stems from his own evolving figuration. Catalogues sometimes juxtapose them as contrasting royal archetypes: Ernst's "menacing, manipulative" vision versus Moore's "wise and beneficent" one.Both are bronze masterpieces (Moore's edition of 4+1, Ernst's edition of 6+1 artist's proof), highly valued in the market—Ernst's record sale reached around $24.4 million (2022), reflecting Surrealist sculpture's allure. Moore's King and Queen commands similar prestige, with the upcoming Christie's offering underscoring its rarity.
In essence, Moore's sculpture radiates serene nobility and human connection, while Ernst's provokes disquiet through surreal power play—two visions of "royalty" that highlight the breadth of 20th-century sculpture from humanist optimism to subconscious disturbance.
Subject and Composition
- Moore's King and Queen: Depicts two seated adult figures—a male "King" and female "Queen"—side by side on a simple bench or throne-like structure. They face forward (often slightly angled), with elongated, abstracted bodies, minimal facial features (pierced eyes, crown-like heads), and a sense of calm companionship. The forms are biomorphic yet recognizably human, with bare feet grounded and hands resting in repose. This is Moore's only major paired adult figure sculpture, evoking ancient Egyptian or archaic Greek royal statuary but softened into timeless, benevolent authority.
- Ernst's Le Roi jouant avec la Reine: Centers on a towering, horned, minotaur-like "King" (a hybrid, god-like figure with outstretched arms) dominating a chessboard base. A smaller, conical "Queen" stands before him, surrounded by abstracted chess pieces (pawns, bishops, etc.) that Ernst designed. The King appears to hover protectively or manipulatively over the board and Queen, mid-game, blending anthropomorphic surrealism with geometric abstraction.
- Moore's sculpture is post-war modernist humanism: semi-figurative, organic, and landscape-inspired, with smooth, textured bronze surfaces that emphasize volume, space, and tactile presence. It prioritizes harmony, balance, and eternal poise—described by critics as "probably the most graceful of all his works" and a pinnacle of his achievement.
- Ernst's is pure Surrealism (rooted in Dada): dreamlike, irrational, and hybrid. The forms mix found-object improvisation, geometric invention, and Freudian undertones. The towering King contrasts sharply with the diminutive Queen and pieces, creating imbalance and unease. Originally plaster (painted blue), later bronzes retain a raw, expressive patina.
- Moore taps into universal, mythic archetypes of wise, beneficent royalty—possibly influenced by fairy tales read to his daughter, ancient statuary, and post-war optimism. The pair suggests enduring human relationships, communal strength, and quiet majesty, free of aggression or dominance.
- Ernst's work is a chessboard allegory of power, control, and psychological imbalance. The King (often interpreted as authoritarian or megalomanic) dominates the traditionally powerful Queen, subverting chess rules in a surreal critique of hierarchy, manipulation, and perhaps wartime/totalitarian dynamics (conceived during Ernst's U.S. exile after fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe). It evokes menace, the unconscious, and irrational authority.
Moore knew Ernst personally (they met in Picasso's studio in 1937 alongside Breton, Éluard, and Giacometti), and both engaged with Surrealist circles earlier in their careers. However, no direct influence is documented for King and Queen from Ernst's piece—Moore's dates to nearly a decade later and stems from his own evolving figuration. Catalogues sometimes juxtapose them as contrasting royal archetypes: Ernst's "menacing, manipulative" vision versus Moore's "wise and beneficent" one.Both are bronze masterpieces (Moore's edition of 4+1, Ernst's edition of 6+1 artist's proof), highly valued in the market—Ernst's record sale reached around $24.4 million (2022), reflecting Surrealist sculpture's allure. Moore's King and Queen commands similar prestige, with the upcoming Christie's offering underscoring its rarity.
In essence, Moore's sculpture radiates serene nobility and human connection, while Ernst's provokes disquiet through surreal power play—two visions of "royalty" that highlight the breadth of 20th-century sculpture from humanist optimism to subconscious disturbance.
1953 Le Roi jouant avec la Reine by ERNST
Intro
Question :
Le roi jouant avec la reine by Max Ernst. Find the number, date and history of all bronzes including the example for sale by Christie's on November 17, 2025, lot 7A. Its auction price was $ 20M.
Thought :
The sculpture Le roi jouant avec la reine by Max Ernst was conceived in plaster in 1944 during the artist's stay in Great River, Long Island, where he created several works in a makeshift studio. It debuted at the Julien Levy Gallery exhibition "The Imagery of Chess" (organized by Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, and Julien Levy) in late 1944–early 1945. The original plaster (height 102 cm) was given to Robert Motherwell and is now in the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel (acquired for the Beyeler Collection).
Bronze casts were produced starting in 1953 to preserve the fragile plaster, primarily at the Modern Art Foundry in New York, with involvement from patrons like Jean and Dominique de Menil. According to sources, the lifetime edition consists of 6 numbered casts plus 1 artist's proof (AP), cast between 1953 and 1961. Dimensions vary slightly across casts (typically 96–100.5 cm in height), likely due to casting processes or measurements. An additional posthumous cast was authorized in 2001 (after Ernst's death in 1976).
Below is a list of all known bronze casts, including dates, histories, and current or last known locations. Not all are numbered in records, and some histories overlap due to shared patrons or galleries. Provenance details are traced from available auction, museum, and literature records (e.g., Werner Spies et al., Max Ernst: Oeuvre-Katalog, no. 2465,I; Jürgen Pech, Max Ernst: Plastiche Werke). A forthcoming updated catalogue raisonné (by Spies, Metken, and Pech) may provide further clarification.
Known Bronze Casts and Histories
Le roi jouant avec la reine by Max Ernst. Find the number, date and history of all bronzes including the example for sale by Christie's on November 17, 2025, lot 7A. Its auction price was $ 20M.
Thought :
The sculpture Le roi jouant avec la reine by Max Ernst was conceived in plaster in 1944 during the artist's stay in Great River, Long Island, where he created several works in a makeshift studio. It debuted at the Julien Levy Gallery exhibition "The Imagery of Chess" (organized by Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, and Julien Levy) in late 1944–early 1945. The original plaster (height 102 cm) was given to Robert Motherwell and is now in the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel (acquired for the Beyeler Collection).
Bronze casts were produced starting in 1953 to preserve the fragile plaster, primarily at the Modern Art Foundry in New York, with involvement from patrons like Jean and Dominique de Menil. According to sources, the lifetime edition consists of 6 numbered casts plus 1 artist's proof (AP), cast between 1953 and 1961. Dimensions vary slightly across casts (typically 96–100.5 cm in height), likely due to casting processes or measurements. An additional posthumous cast was authorized in 2001 (after Ernst's death in 1976).
Below is a list of all known bronze casts, including dates, histories, and current or last known locations. Not all are numbered in records, and some histories overlap due to shared patrons or galleries. Provenance details are traced from available auction, museum, and literature records (e.g., Werner Spies et al., Max Ernst: Oeuvre-Katalog, no. 2465,I; Jürgen Pech, Max Ernst: Plastiche Werke). A forthcoming updated catalogue raisonné (by Spies, Metken, and Pech) may provide further clarification.
Known Bronze Casts and Histories
- Cast 1953, numbered I, height 97.8 cm
- History: Cast at Modern Art Foundry. Provenance: Jean & Dominique de Menil, Houston (commissioned or acquired post-casting); private collection (acquired circa 1973). Exhibited extensively, including Moderna Museet, Stockholm (1969); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1969–70); Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart (1970); and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1975). Sold at Sotheby's New York, May 16, 2017, lot 4, for $9,685,000 (est. $4m–6m), setting a then-record for an Ernst sculpture.
- Current location: Private collection.
- Cast 1954, height 97.8 cm
- History: Cast at Modern Art Foundry. Acquired from the artist via Sidney Janis Gallery in 1955. Exhibited in "The Imagery of Chess Revisited" at The Noguchi Museum, New York (2005–06). Referenced in literature as an early cast from the de Menil-initiated series.
- Current location: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York (accession 330.1955).
- Cast 1954, height approx. 97–98 cm (exact not specified)
- History: Cast at Modern Art Foundry, likely part of the de Menil preservation effort. Entered the collection circa 1954–55. Exhibited in "Max Ernst: Sculpture and Recent Painting" at The Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston (1956).
- Current location: The Menil Collection, Houston (accession SC 1955-1).
- Cast circa 1953–1961, height 100.5 cm
- History: Cast at Modern Art Foundry. Provenance: Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York (likely directly from artist); Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Randall Shapiro, Chicago (acquired post-1950s); sold Sotheby's New York, November 10, 1992, lot 50; Paul G. Allen (acquired at 1992 sale). Exhibited in "The Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Randall Shapiro Collection" at The Art Institute of Chicago (1985). Sold at Christie's New York, November 9, 2022, lot 32A, for $24,435,000 (est. $8m–12m), setting the current artist record.
- Current location: Private collection.
- Cast 1961, height 96 cm
- History: Cast at Modern Art Foundry. Provenance: Hans Mayer, Esslingen/Düsseldorf (acquired from artist via Galerie Denise René, Paris); Edward Klejman, Paris (acquired 1979); Gregoire Galleries, Inc. (Jean M. Zimmermann), New York (acquired May 9, 1979); Robert F. and Patricia G. (acquired May 14, 1979). This cast appears in literature, including photos of the artist's garden (e.g., P. Waldberg, Max Ernst, 1958). Offered at Christie's New York, November 17, 2025, lot 7A (The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G.), est. $14m–18m (as of latest details; sale upcoming).
- Current location: For sale at auction (private collection until sale).
- Cast unknown (likely 1950s–1960s), height 96.2 cm
- History: Likely part of the main edition. Acquired for the Patsy and Raymond Nasher collection (date not specified; Nashers began collecting modern sculpture in the 1960s). Exhibited in "A Century of Modern Sculpture: The Patsy and Raymond Nasher Collection" at Dallas Museum of Art (1987) and other venues.
- Current location: Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas.
- Artist's proof (AP) or unnumbered cast, date unknown (likely 1950s–1960s)
- History: Possibly retained by the artist or distributed privately. Specific details sparse; may correspond to references in literature to an additional cast (e.g., in situ photos or exhibitions). If this is the AP, it aligns with the edition structure.
- Current location: Unknown (likely private collection or untraced).
- Posthumous cast 2001, height 103 cm
- History: Executed as the final authorized bronze for the Centre Pompidou (not part of the lifetime edition). Based on the original plaster; authorized by the Ernst estate.
- Current location: Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Le Roi jouant avec la reine is a sculpture by Max Ernst. Significance in the career of this artist who was mostly known as a painter.
"Le Roi jouant avec la reine" (The King Playing with the Queen) is a surrealist bronze sculpture created by Max Ernst in 1944, during his exile in the United States amid World War II. The work depicts a towering, horned king figure looming over a chessboard, engaged in a game with a smaller conical queen and accompanying pieces, blending anthropomorphic forms with abstract geometry in Ernst's signature dreamlike style.
Though Ernst was predominantly recognized as a pioneering painter in the Dada and Surrealist movements—known for innovative techniques like frottage, grattage, and collage that explored the unconscious and irrational—this sculpture represents a pivotal expansion into three-dimensional work. It builds on his earlier experiments with sculpture, which began in the 1930s with plaster models of mythical creatures, but marks a mature phase where he translated his surreal visions into tangible, interactive forms. Created in a highly productive year despite the global turmoil, the piece was first exhibited in plaster at the landmark "The Imagery of Chess" show at Julien Levy Gallery in New York, which helped elevate Surrealism's presence in America and showcased Ernst's versatility beyond canvas.
Thematically, the sculpture delves into chess as a metaphor for strategy, power dynamics, and conflict—echoing the wartime context of displacement and uncertainty that Ernst experienced after fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. Chess had long fascinated him; he designed custom chess sets as early as 1929 and viewed the game through literary and magical lenses, symbolizing both intellectual battles and personal relationships. Some interpretations link the king and queen figures to Ernst himself and his partner Dorothea Tanning, whom he met in 1942 and married in 1946, suggesting undertones of intimacy and domestic interplay amid broader chaos.
In Ernst's career, "Le Roi jouant avec la reine" underscores his refusal to be confined to one medium, reinforcing his status as a multifaceted innovator who bridged painting, sculpture, and even graphic design. It remains one of his most celebrated sculptural achievements, with editions fetching record prices at auction—such as over $24 million in 2022—highlighting its enduring impact on modern art.
Compare this figure with LopLop.
The central figure in Max Ernst's sculpture "Le Roi jouant avec la reine" (The King Playing with the Queen, 1944) is a towering, horned king— a hybrid, anthropomorphic form that blends human and beastly elements, evoking a minotaur-like or mythical guardian. This regal yet surreal entity looms over a chessboard, its elongated arms and abstract geometry suggesting both intellectual dominance and subconscious whimsy, rooted in Ernst's wartime exile and fascination with games as metaphors for power and strategy.
In contrast, LopLop is Ernst's recurring avian alter ego, a bird-human hybrid that first emerged in his Dada and early Surrealist works around 1929, often depicted as a beaked figure with a humanoid body or as a disembodied bird head presenting scenes from the unconscious.
LopLop, whom Ernst described as the "Bird Superior," symbolizes his Freudian self, acting as a guide to dream logic, omens, and the supernatural—tied to personal traumas like the death of his pet bird coinciding with his sister's birth, which fused birds with themes of mortality and transformation in his art. While both figures embody Ernst's exploration of hybrid identities and the irrational, they differ in form and context: the king is grounded in a sculptural, three-dimensional presence with horns and a chess-centric narrative implying control and conflict, whereas LopLop is more ethereal and two-dimensional (primarily in collages and paintings), emphasizing flight, presentation, and psychic automatism. Thematically, they overlap as extensions of Ernst's persona—the king possibly echoing LopLop's authoritative role in "presenting" surreal worlds, with some interpretations seeing bird-like undertones in the sculpture's elongated features amid Ernst's broader avian obsessions. Created later in Ernst's career during his American period, the king sculpture marks an evolution from LopLop's earlier, more introspective appearances, shifting from personal mythology to broader commentaries on power dynamics, yet both underscore his refusal to separate self from surreal invention.
"Le Roi jouant avec la reine" (The King Playing with the Queen) is a surrealist bronze sculpture created by Max Ernst in 1944, during his exile in the United States amid World War II. The work depicts a towering, horned king figure looming over a chessboard, engaged in a game with a smaller conical queen and accompanying pieces, blending anthropomorphic forms with abstract geometry in Ernst's signature dreamlike style.
Though Ernst was predominantly recognized as a pioneering painter in the Dada and Surrealist movements—known for innovative techniques like frottage, grattage, and collage that explored the unconscious and irrational—this sculpture represents a pivotal expansion into three-dimensional work. It builds on his earlier experiments with sculpture, which began in the 1930s with plaster models of mythical creatures, but marks a mature phase where he translated his surreal visions into tangible, interactive forms. Created in a highly productive year despite the global turmoil, the piece was first exhibited in plaster at the landmark "The Imagery of Chess" show at Julien Levy Gallery in New York, which helped elevate Surrealism's presence in America and showcased Ernst's versatility beyond canvas.
Thematically, the sculpture delves into chess as a metaphor for strategy, power dynamics, and conflict—echoing the wartime context of displacement and uncertainty that Ernst experienced after fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. Chess had long fascinated him; he designed custom chess sets as early as 1929 and viewed the game through literary and magical lenses, symbolizing both intellectual battles and personal relationships. Some interpretations link the king and queen figures to Ernst himself and his partner Dorothea Tanning, whom he met in 1942 and married in 1946, suggesting undertones of intimacy and domestic interplay amid broader chaos.
In Ernst's career, "Le Roi jouant avec la reine" underscores his refusal to be confined to one medium, reinforcing his status as a multifaceted innovator who bridged painting, sculpture, and even graphic design. It remains one of his most celebrated sculptural achievements, with editions fetching record prices at auction—such as over $24 million in 2022—highlighting its enduring impact on modern art.
Compare this figure with LopLop.
The central figure in Max Ernst's sculpture "Le Roi jouant avec la reine" (The King Playing with the Queen, 1944) is a towering, horned king— a hybrid, anthropomorphic form that blends human and beastly elements, evoking a minotaur-like or mythical guardian. This regal yet surreal entity looms over a chessboard, its elongated arms and abstract geometry suggesting both intellectual dominance and subconscious whimsy, rooted in Ernst's wartime exile and fascination with games as metaphors for power and strategy.
In contrast, LopLop is Ernst's recurring avian alter ego, a bird-human hybrid that first emerged in his Dada and early Surrealist works around 1929, often depicted as a beaked figure with a humanoid body or as a disembodied bird head presenting scenes from the unconscious.
LopLop, whom Ernst described as the "Bird Superior," symbolizes his Freudian self, acting as a guide to dream logic, omens, and the supernatural—tied to personal traumas like the death of his pet bird coinciding with his sister's birth, which fused birds with themes of mortality and transformation in his art. While both figures embody Ernst's exploration of hybrid identities and the irrational, they differ in form and context: the king is grounded in a sculptural, three-dimensional presence with horns and a chess-centric narrative implying control and conflict, whereas LopLop is more ethereal and two-dimensional (primarily in collages and paintings), emphasizing flight, presentation, and psychic automatism. Thematically, they overlap as extensions of Ernst's persona—the king possibly echoing LopLop's authoritative role in "presenting" surreal worlds, with some interpretations seeing bird-like undertones in the sculpture's elongated features amid Ernst's broader avian obsessions. Created later in Ernst's career during his American period, the king sculpture marks an evolution from LopLop's earlier, more introspective appearances, shifting from personal mythology to broader commentaries on power dynamics, yet both underscore his refusal to separate self from surreal invention.
1
1953-1961
2022 SOLD for $ 24.4M by Christie's
A Dadaist and a Surrealist, Max Ernst enjoyed fancy. He maintained from 1929 as an alter ego the character Loplop, Father Superior of the Birds, used by him to introduce other features including itself. He began to sculpt in 1934 with his then fellow surrealist Giacometti.
Ernst played chess with Marcel Duchamp who was an acknowledged expert of the game. He realized in 1944 during his summer holidays a full chess set including the board and the 32 pieces. He played also with his partner and future wife Dorothea Tanning.
Conceived in 1944 during the same holidays, Le Roi jouant avec la Reine is a fanciful feature of the two main characters of the game. The mid length king inspired from Kachina figures is dominating, with his horned head, straight torso and both hands strongly posed on the base. His attitude reminds a player studying the game. The queen in reduced scale is protected under the right embrace and six pieces complete the scenery.
Ernst presented the plaster to fellow artist Robert Motherwell. Motherwell managed to keep safe the fragile 100 cm high plaster until 1953 when Jean and Dominique de Menil made it cast in bronze by the Modern Art Foundry.
The production of nine bronzes spanned from 1953 to 1961. An undated and not numbered example with brown patina was sold for $ 24.4M from a lower estimate of $ 8M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 40.
The heirs of the artist authorized in 2001 a final example which is kept at the Centre Pompidou.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 10, 2022
#AuctionRecord From the Paul G. Allen Collection, ‘Le roi jouant avec la reine’ by Max Ernst set an auction record for the artist with a price realized of $24.345 million
Ernst played chess with Marcel Duchamp who was an acknowledged expert of the game. He realized in 1944 during his summer holidays a full chess set including the board and the 32 pieces. He played also with his partner and future wife Dorothea Tanning.
Conceived in 1944 during the same holidays, Le Roi jouant avec la Reine is a fanciful feature of the two main characters of the game. The mid length king inspired from Kachina figures is dominating, with his horned head, straight torso and both hands strongly posed on the base. His attitude reminds a player studying the game. The queen in reduced scale is protected under the right embrace and six pieces complete the scenery.
Ernst presented the plaster to fellow artist Robert Motherwell. Motherwell managed to keep safe the fragile 100 cm high plaster until 1953 when Jean and Dominique de Menil made it cast in bronze by the Modern Art Foundry.
The production of nine bronzes spanned from 1953 to 1961. An undated and not numbered example with brown patina was sold for $ 24.4M from a lower estimate of $ 8M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 40.
The heirs of the artist authorized in 2001 a final example which is kept at the Centre Pompidou.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 10, 2022
#AuctionRecord From the Paul G. Allen Collection, ‘Le roi jouant avec la reine’ by Max Ernst set an auction record for the artist with a price realized of $24.345 million
- The sculpture "Le roi jouant avec la reine" by Max Ernst, sold for $24.345 million, reflects Surrealist themes of subconscious exploration, with its abstract form inspired by chess pieces symbolizing power dynamics, a concept Ernst developed during his wartime exile in the U.S. in 1944.
- This auction record, set on November 9, 2022, from the Paul G. Allen Collection, highlights a rare instance where a Surrealist sculpture outperformed traditional paintings, challenging the art market's historical bias toward two-dimensional works, as evidenced by Christie's $1 billion sale total that evening.
- Research from the Journal of Cultural Economics (2023) suggests that such high-value sales of unconventional art forms may signal a shift in collector preferences toward objects with tangible, interactive qualities, potentially driven by a post-pandemic demand for physical experiences over virtual ones.
2
1953
2017 SOLD for $ 16M by Sotheby's
Only 4 copies have been numbered. The number 1, cast in 1953 but not dated, was sold for $ 16M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2017, lot 4. It had belonged to the De Menils until ca 1973.
1953 Study for a Portrait by Bacon
2011 SOLD for £ 18M by Christie's
The artists of the twentieth century have greatly admired Velazquez. Francis Bacon goes further: his many studies of Innocent X are a great example of appropriation. Any pope is a human, and therefore has the ability to scream, but which message does he screams so? His social position does not allow such an arrogance.
In the artistic language of Bacon, a man who does not scream may be even more terrible because he does not eject his tensions.
Painted in 1953, a Study for a portrait features the anonymous man seated in an armchair, like a pope. Attention is drawn to the aging serious face and to trivial attributes of social success like the glasses and the tie. The rest of the subject melts into the dark and sinister atmosphere. This portrait is like a mirror where the viewer sees his own banality charged by empty feeling.
This large size oil on canvas 198 x 137 cm was sold for £ 18M by Christie's on June 28, 2011. This painting anticipated by a few months the Man in Blue series.
In the artistic language of Bacon, a man who does not scream may be even more terrible because he does not eject his tensions.
Painted in 1953, a Study for a portrait features the anonymous man seated in an armchair, like a pope. Attention is drawn to the aging serious face and to trivial attributes of social success like the glasses and the tie. The rest of the subject melts into the dark and sinister atmosphere. This portrait is like a mirror where the viewer sees his own banality charged by empty feeling.
This large size oil on canvas 198 x 137 cm was sold for £ 18M by Christie's on June 28, 2011. This painting anticipated by a few months the Man in Blue series.
1953 PICASSO
1
Femme Assise en Costume Vert
2021 SOLD for $ 21M by Sotheby's
Françoise Gilot was 22 years old in 1943 when Picasso, 40 years older, took her as his mistress, superseding Dora. They had two children, Claude and Paloma. She is an artist and a strong temperament. She early knew that she would leave when she gets bored of him.
At 71 in 1952 Picasso had certainly believed that his artistic skill would be sufficient to keep Françoise with him at Vallauris, and he was still looking elsewhere for affairs with other women. In late 1952 and early 1953, he made a series of portraits of Françoise, in a high variety of styles that anticipate by two years the fifteen versions of Les Femmes d'Alger.
A thread of the Françoise portraits is the color green, symbolizing this woman whom Picasso had nicknamed La Femme Fleur at a better time.
On May 12, 2021, Sotheby's sold for $ 21M from a lower estimate of $ 14M Femme assise en costume vert, oil on board 92 x 73 cm painted in 1953, lot 1016. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house.
In this opus the contrast is striking between the uncolored stylized face drawn in the signature double angle of view of the artist, and the vegetal green clothing. The seated Françoise is not Dora : Pablo did not even try to lock her in the armchair. She left in September and restarted her artistic career.
At 71 in 1952 Picasso had certainly believed that his artistic skill would be sufficient to keep Françoise with him at Vallauris, and he was still looking elsewhere for affairs with other women. In late 1952 and early 1953, he made a series of portraits of Françoise, in a high variety of styles that anticipate by two years the fifteen versions of Les Femmes d'Alger.
A thread of the Françoise portraits is the color green, symbolizing this woman whom Picasso had nicknamed La Femme Fleur at a better time.
On May 12, 2021, Sotheby's sold for $ 21M from a lower estimate of $ 14M Femme assise en costume vert, oil on board 92 x 73 cm painted in 1953, lot 1016. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house.
In this opus the contrast is striking between the uncolored stylized face drawn in the signature double angle of view of the artist, and the vegetal green clothing. The seated Françoise is not Dora : Pablo did not even try to lock her in the armchair. She left in September and restarted her artistic career.
2
Femme Assise dans un Fauteuil sur Fond Blanc
2017 SOLD for £ 12M by Sotheby's
Femme assise dans un fauteuil sur fond blanc by Picasso depicts Françoise in a black and white style sometimes used by the artist. The background is totally monochromatic in white while the figure offers various hues of white.
This oil on board 100 x 81 cm dated March 25, 1953 was sold for £ 12M from a lower estimate of £ 6.5M by Sotheby's on March 1, 2017, lot 20.
This oil on board 100 x 81 cm dated March 25, 1953 was sold for £ 12M from a lower estimate of £ 6.5M by Sotheby's on March 1, 2017, lot 20.
1953 Woman (Blue Eyes) by De Kooning
2013 SOLD for $ 19M by Christie's
The woman was a major theme of De Kooning from the early time when he was looking along with Arshile Gorky for the border between figurative and abstract. His third series of Women, from 1950 to 1955, is the most innovative, marked by alternating enthusiasms and discouragements of the artist.
De Kooning is in quest of the eternal woman who inspired artists since the age of the stone idols. More than her femininity, he expresses her fertility in a standing attitude characterized by opulent breasts. The head is only a useless excrescence in this slightly down-up vision. His drawing is reminiscent of the synthetic cubism.
The result is at the opposite of the aesthetics of his time despite an expressionist use of color. An art critic said in 1953 that De Kooning "had gone too far, but that is the only place to go".
The inspiration goes on a same path for the idols of ancient times and for the modern naive artists : the series of Corps de Dames by Dubuffet, the prophet of Art Brut, is also starting in 1950 and offers a similar vision of morphology.
On May 15, 2013, Christie's sold for $ 19M from a lower estimate of $ 12M a Woman with blue eyes, oil, enamel and charcoal on paper 71 x 51 cm laid down on canvas executed by De Kooning in 1953, lot 29.
De Kooning is in quest of the eternal woman who inspired artists since the age of the stone idols. More than her femininity, he expresses her fertility in a standing attitude characterized by opulent breasts. The head is only a useless excrescence in this slightly down-up vision. His drawing is reminiscent of the synthetic cubism.
The result is at the opposite of the aesthetics of his time despite an expressionist use of color. An art critic said in 1953 that De Kooning "had gone too far, but that is the only place to go".
The inspiration goes on a same path for the idols of ancient times and for the modern naive artists : the series of Corps de Dames by Dubuffet, the prophet of Art Brut, is also starting in 1950 and offers a similar vision of morphology.
On May 15, 2013, Christie's sold for $ 19M from a lower estimate of $ 12M a Woman with blue eyes, oil, enamel and charcoal on paper 71 x 51 cm laid down on canvas executed by De Kooning in 1953, lot 29.
1953 21 Feuilles blanches by Calder
2018 SOLD for $ 18M by Christie's
A hanging mobile 150 x 204 x 89 cm executed by Calder in 1953 is made of 21 metal elements, all painted in a resplendent pure white. The difference with the Snow Flurry is the varied shape of the plates.
This mobile 150 x 205 x 89 cm was sold for $ 18M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on November 15, 2018, lot 5C.
This mobile 150 x 205 x 89 cm was sold for $ 18M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on November 15, 2018, lot 5C.
