1968
See also : USA USA II Abstract art Abstract art II Twombly Germany Richter Zao Wou-Ki Cities Time instruments Watches II Modern prints
1968 Rhythm and Loop
2015 SOLD for $ 71M including premium
Life is not expressed in figuration. Cy Twombly tries the rhythm in a musicalist approach. His long stays in Italy provide the model of the antique graffiti, interesting for several reasons: their juxtaposition let imagine some shapes and movements, details can be pornographic, and their fast and furtive execution is an example of a graphical application of the subconscious.
An automatic writing can be done in pencil on paper, but modern art appeals for large formats. From 1966, Twombly painted canvases in a uniform gray on which he was drawing with a wax crayon the figures of his mind. This series will be identified under the generic name of Blackboards.
The first tests combine the jerky action of the hand, expressing the reflex, with geometric figures that make a link with the former graffiti of the artist. This mixed meaning blurs his intention to express life. His Blackboards do not need to rely on the persistence of ancient impulses. The most interesting Blackboards will be performed in New York.
One of them, 173 x 216 cm, painted in 1968, has been sold for $ 8.7M including premium by Sotheby's on 9 November 2005. An oblique line of high jerky and irregular eight shaped loops runs throughout the width.
About that time, Twombly improves his approach like a proto-writing. The shape of the loop has a graphological value and will vary depending on the mood of the artist at the time of its creation.
On November 11 in New York, Sotheby's sells at lot 18 a 173 x 269 cm blackboard painted by Twombly also in 1968, but later in its maturity than the example discussed above.
The line consists in an entanglement of proto-writings in repetitive loops forming six thick horizontal lines within very regular limits. These lines that become wider from top to bottom of the canvas generate an illusion of perspective.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
An automatic writing can be done in pencil on paper, but modern art appeals for large formats. From 1966, Twombly painted canvases in a uniform gray on which he was drawing with a wax crayon the figures of his mind. This series will be identified under the generic name of Blackboards.
The first tests combine the jerky action of the hand, expressing the reflex, with geometric figures that make a link with the former graffiti of the artist. This mixed meaning blurs his intention to express life. His Blackboards do not need to rely on the persistence of ancient impulses. The most interesting Blackboards will be performed in New York.
One of them, 173 x 216 cm, painted in 1968, has been sold for $ 8.7M including premium by Sotheby's on 9 November 2005. An oblique line of high jerky and irregular eight shaped loops runs throughout the width.
About that time, Twombly improves his approach like a proto-writing. The shape of the loop has a graphological value and will vary depending on the mood of the artist at the time of its creation.
On November 11 in New York, Sotheby's sells at lot 18 a 173 x 269 cm blackboard painted by Twombly also in 1968, but later in its maturity than the example discussed above.
The line consists in an entanglement of proto-writings in repetitive loops forming six thick horizontal lines within very regular limits. These lines that become wider from top to bottom of the canvas generate an illusion of perspective.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
1968 The Repetition of the Loops
2016 SOLD for $ 37M including premium
Cy Twombly divided his time between New York and Italy. Near Rome he was entering in communication with the last traces of the intense antique passions. In New York he adapted his own semiotics in search of an absolute that transcends space and time.
Most of his Blackboards were made in New York. This series is prolific, demonstrating that the artist feels being close to achieve his goal. Comparing his works facilitates the interpretation of his thought.
A Blackboard painted with a white wax crayon in 1968 was sold for $ 71M including premium by Sotheby's on 11 November 2015. Its structure is one of the most complex with six horizontal lines, each one being composed of a tight pattern of endless loops. The gradual thickness of the six lines adds an illusion that the image is tilted with respect to its canvas. This opus is also one of the largest, 173 x 229 cm.
On May 11 in New York, Sotheby's sells as lot 21 a painting of nearly identical composition, made in the same year in a smaller format, 152 x 173 cm. The flexibility of the loops is the same, certainly not by imitation but by the effect of the same musical influence, proving that the artist completely controls the reflex movement of his hand in the more or less spirited performance of his proto-writing .
This artwork is experimental. The line is blue on a gray background darker than usual. The intent of this change is not only aesthetic. An additional white wax is used by contrast in the lower left of the image to simulate vertical signs of wear of the board in a counter-sense of the tilted orientation of the blue loops.
I do not know if the artist was satisfied with the result of this additional approach to time but it is taken for sure that he did not reuse this idea. Bought to Castelli in 1969 by its current owner, the unique Blackboard in blue has never been exhibited or published.
The press release of March 18 announced that this lot is expected in excess of $ 40M. I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Most of his Blackboards were made in New York. This series is prolific, demonstrating that the artist feels being close to achieve his goal. Comparing his works facilitates the interpretation of his thought.
A Blackboard painted with a white wax crayon in 1968 was sold for $ 71M including premium by Sotheby's on 11 November 2015. Its structure is one of the most complex with six horizontal lines, each one being composed of a tight pattern of endless loops. The gradual thickness of the six lines adds an illusion that the image is tilted with respect to its canvas. This opus is also one of the largest, 173 x 229 cm.
On May 11 in New York, Sotheby's sells as lot 21 a painting of nearly identical composition, made in the same year in a smaller format, 152 x 173 cm. The flexibility of the loops is the same, certainly not by imitation but by the effect of the same musical influence, proving that the artist completely controls the reflex movement of his hand in the more or less spirited performance of his proto-writing .
This artwork is experimental. The line is blue on a gray background darker than usual. The intent of this change is not only aesthetic. An additional white wax is used by contrast in the lower left of the image to simulate vertical signs of wear of the board in a counter-sense of the tilted orientation of the blue loops.
I do not know if the artist was satisfied with the result of this additional approach to time but it is taken for sure that he did not reuse this idea. Bought to Castelli in 1969 by its current owner, the unique Blackboard in blue has never been exhibited or published.
The press release of March 18 announced that this lot is expected in excess of $ 40M. I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
1968 Richter invents the Hyperrealistic Blur
2013 SOLD 37 M$ including premium
Gerhard Richter is the true rebel of art. Some artists before him including Rauschenberg had introduced disgust as a variant of artistic impression. Richter goes much further. He debases the art to reveal its profound nature.
In 1962, he considers that a bad photo does not lie because it is too ugly to deserve retouching. It expresses real life, the reality of a fleeting moment which had probably been important for its author.
The anti-art by Richter consists to disproportionately enlarge black and white photos, blurry and often without any interest but in a great variety, by using a hyperrealistic technique already perfectly controlled.
One of his earliest works is the image of an airplane in flight, magnified as an oil on canvas up to 130 x 200 cm. Made in 1963, it was sold for $ 11.2 million including premium by Christie's on November 13, 2007.
The strength of the anti-artistic message of Richter is so great and so new that he finds customers. Domplatz Mailand, an oil on canvas 275 x 290 cm painted in 1968, was commissioned by the Milanese offices of Siemens.
The image is a masterpiece of ugliness with a particularly unpleasant blur. The original photo was lost, thankfully! This photo by an unidentified tourist may be repeated by anyone, without blurring motion, with a more relevant composition than truncating both the cathedral on the right and the buildings on the left.
With this quality and its very large size, Mailand Domplatz is the culmination of the first period of Richter. On the following year, he managed to radically shake the established tradition of landscape painting.
Domplatz Mailand is estimated $ 30M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 14. It is illustrated in a very interesting blog post shared by the auction house.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
This large painting is a technical feat of the first style of Richter, playing altogether on the easy identification of the subject and on the difficulty of reading it. It was sold $ 37M including premium.
In 1962, he considers that a bad photo does not lie because it is too ugly to deserve retouching. It expresses real life, the reality of a fleeting moment which had probably been important for its author.
The anti-art by Richter consists to disproportionately enlarge black and white photos, blurry and often without any interest but in a great variety, by using a hyperrealistic technique already perfectly controlled.
One of his earliest works is the image of an airplane in flight, magnified as an oil on canvas up to 130 x 200 cm. Made in 1963, it was sold for $ 11.2 million including premium by Christie's on November 13, 2007.
The strength of the anti-artistic message of Richter is so great and so new that he finds customers. Domplatz Mailand, an oil on canvas 275 x 290 cm painted in 1968, was commissioned by the Milanese offices of Siemens.
The image is a masterpiece of ugliness with a particularly unpleasant blur. The original photo was lost, thankfully! This photo by an unidentified tourist may be repeated by anyone, without blurring motion, with a more relevant composition than truncating both the cathedral on the right and the buildings on the left.
With this quality and its very large size, Mailand Domplatz is the culmination of the first period of Richter. On the following year, he managed to radically shake the established tradition of landscape painting.
Domplatz Mailand is estimated $ 30M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 14. It is illustrated in a very interesting blog post shared by the auction house.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
This large painting is a technical feat of the first style of Richter, playing altogether on the easy identification of the subject and on the difficulty of reading it. It was sold $ 37M including premium.
1968 Henrietta going Worse
2016 SOLD for £ 20.2M including premium
Francis Bacon, a notorious homosexual, also explored the flesh of women. Henrietta Moraes belongs to his hedonistic group of friends in Soho. John Deakin shoots the photos.
In 1963, Henrietta certainly can not anticipate that she will support the questioning of the artist about the deterioration of the body. She is drug addicted and Francis already foresees an accelerated aging when he paints her figure in the nude with a syringe stuck in her arm.
Henrietta is lying on a bed, her head and breasts in close up. Francis used this image several times until 1969. The photo, like the Dorian Gray of Oscar Wilde, has not aged. It is not the same story with the paintings. At the same time, Francis is looking on the body of George Dyer as an illusory maintenance of an eternal male youth.
The 1968 image of Henrietta is titled Version No. 2 of lying figure with hypodermic syringe. This oil on canvas 198 x 148 cm was sold for $ 15M including premium by Sotheby's on November 14, 2006. It now comes at Christie's in London on June 30, lot 6. The press release of May 6 announced an estimate in the region of £ 20M.
A meeting with De Kooning in early 1968 had convinced Francis against his own figurative style that a tangle of colors could evoke the female flesh. Henrietta became an accumulation that we imagine teeming. We have to compare her image with the other versions of the same theme for perceiving that she is a naked woman and confirming her attitude. The full sharpness of the syringe unchanged from the 1963 original version makes it by contrast a poignant reflection on the ravages of time.
In 1963, Henrietta certainly can not anticipate that she will support the questioning of the artist about the deterioration of the body. She is drug addicted and Francis already foresees an accelerated aging when he paints her figure in the nude with a syringe stuck in her arm.
Henrietta is lying on a bed, her head and breasts in close up. Francis used this image several times until 1969. The photo, like the Dorian Gray of Oscar Wilde, has not aged. It is not the same story with the paintings. At the same time, Francis is looking on the body of George Dyer as an illusory maintenance of an eternal male youth.
The 1968 image of Henrietta is titled Version No. 2 of lying figure with hypodermic syringe. This oil on canvas 198 x 148 cm was sold for $ 15M including premium by Sotheby's on November 14, 2006. It now comes at Christie's in London on June 30, lot 6. The press release of May 6 announced an estimate in the region of £ 20M.
A meeting with De Kooning in early 1968 had convinced Francis against his own figurative style that a tangle of colors could evoke the female flesh. Henrietta became an accumulation that we imagine teeming. We have to compare her image with the other versions of the same theme for perceiving that she is a naked woman and confirming her attitude. The full sharpness of the syringe unchanged from the 1963 original version makes it by contrast a poignant reflection on the ravages of time.
1968 The Exotic Daytona
2017 SOLD for $ 17.8M including premium
Rolex launches in 1963 the Cosmograph Daytona reference 6239 for the use of drivers of endurance racing cars. The brand believes that other customers will be proud to own such a watch with high-end performance. Sales are disappointing. To revive the model in late 1966 Rolex offers more stylish dials with a choice in a range of pleasing colors and with better designed numerals. This model is referred as 'exotic'.
Paul Newman discovers the joys of car racing in 1968 when he plays with Joanne Woodward for the movie Winning which will be released in the following year. Joanne is his wife in this film and since 1958 in life. She is unfaithful in the film and madly in love in their privacy.
Joanne is worried about Paul's new passion for this dangerous sport. She offers him in 1968 a Daytona 6239 exotic on the back of which she has made inscribed the good advice "Drive Carefully Me".
Hyperactive and philanthropist, Paul is one of Hollywood's most popular personalities. Maniac in the accuracy of time, he is crazy about his 6239. Readers of magazines have fun to see Paul exhibiting regularly on his wrist this Rolex, recognizable from a distance by the simplicity of its design with the three sub-dials. Since the mid-1980s, exotic Daytonas have been nicknamed Paul Newman by the collectors without the intervention of the brand and without distinction of models (6239, 6241 and 6262 to 6265).
Paul is nice. One day when his daughter Nell's boyfriend forgot his watch, he gave him the 6239. Nell and James later separated without ceasing to cooperate closely. This eponymous watch to all the Daytona Paul Newman lineage is for sale by Phillips in association with Bacs and Russo on October 26 in New York, lot 8. Its consignor is James and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Nell Newman Foundation created by Nell in 2010 to continue the charitable work of her father.
This watch intensely used by Paul has never been modified or reworked. It joins the glamor of Hollywood with the beautiful story of the two generations of Newmans. Observers consider that its estimate at $ 1M will be exceeded.
It is the first of three watches of that next sale discussed by the auctioneer Aurel Bacs in the video shared by Hong Kong Tatler.
Paul Newman discovers the joys of car racing in 1968 when he plays with Joanne Woodward for the movie Winning which will be released in the following year. Joanne is his wife in this film and since 1958 in life. She is unfaithful in the film and madly in love in their privacy.
Joanne is worried about Paul's new passion for this dangerous sport. She offers him in 1968 a Daytona 6239 exotic on the back of which she has made inscribed the good advice "Drive Carefully Me".
Hyperactive and philanthropist, Paul is one of Hollywood's most popular personalities. Maniac in the accuracy of time, he is crazy about his 6239. Readers of magazines have fun to see Paul exhibiting regularly on his wrist this Rolex, recognizable from a distance by the simplicity of its design with the three sub-dials. Since the mid-1980s, exotic Daytonas have been nicknamed Paul Newman by the collectors without the intervention of the brand and without distinction of models (6239, 6241 and 6262 to 6265).
Paul is nice. One day when his daughter Nell's boyfriend forgot his watch, he gave him the 6239. Nell and James later separated without ceasing to cooperate closely. This eponymous watch to all the Daytona Paul Newman lineage is for sale by Phillips in association with Bacs and Russo on October 26 in New York, lot 8. Its consignor is James and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Nell Newman Foundation created by Nell in 2010 to continue the charitable work of her father.
This watch intensely used by Paul has never been modified or reworked. It joins the glamor of Hollywood with the beautiful story of the two generations of Newmans. Observers consider that its estimate at $ 1M will be exceeded.
It is the first of three watches of that next sale discussed by the auctioneer Aurel Bacs in the video shared by Hong Kong Tatler.
1968 Expression and Contemplation in the Art of Zao Wou-Ki
2011 SOLD 69 MHK$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
From 1959, the dates supersede the titles in the paintings by Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji). The artist appreciates that his most suitable expression is a total abstraction, without calligraphy and with no recognizable shape.
The observer is free to still want to see a landscape, clouds, rocks, signs. But in these strong colors barely dotted witha few thin lines, any attempt at interpretation is immediately contradicted by a new detail. In the end, only remains the pleasure of pure contemplation, and perhaps that sort of Oriental ecstasy is the cause that makes his art so popular.
For four or five years, the art of Zao of the 1950s and 1960s won a passionate customer base in the international salesof Hong Kong. During this period, the prices often went to triple or quadruple the lower estimates.
Sotheby's has already announced some highlights of its autumn session of sales in Hong Kong. On October 3, the auction includes 10.1.68, an oil on canvas of medium size, 117 x 82 cm, estimated HK $ 25M.
Here is the link to the catalogue shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Today's results confirm the growing market for the work of Zao Wou-ki. This painting was sold HK $ 69M including premium.
From 1959, the dates supersede the titles in the paintings by Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji). The artist appreciates that his most suitable expression is a total abstraction, without calligraphy and with no recognizable shape.
The observer is free to still want to see a landscape, clouds, rocks, signs. But in these strong colors barely dotted witha few thin lines, any attempt at interpretation is immediately contradicted by a new detail. In the end, only remains the pleasure of pure contemplation, and perhaps that sort of Oriental ecstasy is the cause that makes his art so popular.
For four or five years, the art of Zao of the 1950s and 1960s won a passionate customer base in the international salesof Hong Kong. During this period, the prices often went to triple or quadruple the lower estimates.
Sotheby's has already announced some highlights of its autumn session of sales in Hong Kong. On October 3, the auction includes 10.1.68, an oil on canvas of medium size, 117 x 82 cm, estimated HK $ 25M.
Here is the link to the catalogue shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Today's results confirm the growing market for the work of Zao Wou-ki. This painting was sold HK $ 69M including premium.
1968 Idyllic Capitalism
2011 SOLD for £ 4.6M including premium by Sotheby's
2018 UNSOLD
PRE 2018 SALE DISCUSSION
Both exiled from East Germany, Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter meet during their art studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Richter wanted to escape the official Socialist art and Polke's family expected to escape poverty.
They find unprecedented artistic solutions to express that consumerism is an illusion cleverly maintained by the abundance of images. When Richter enlarges the most distressing photos from the newspapers and when Polke imitates the wall posters, both take care to build their artworks without obscuring the origin of their inspiration.
The Dürckheim collection included two works by Sigmar Polke, significant from the end of that phase : Dschungel 160 x 247 cm made in 1967, and Stadtbild II 150 x 125 cm made in 1968. These seemingly opposed themes match indeed together : Polke did not have holidays in the jungle and has not seen New York yet. He warns against the false promises made by the consumer society. Only the rich benefit from capitalism.
Dschungel is entirely realized with the technique of the dispersion projecting the colors onto the canvas through a pierced screen. Stadtbild is a night view of New York using this process partially to introduce some fireworks in the black background. The silhouettes of the skyscrapers are bright yellow sinuous lines directly squeezed on the canvas from the paint tube.
In the sale of the Dürckheim collection by Sotheby's on June 29, 2011, Dschungel was sold for £ 5.75M including premium and Stadtbild II for £ 4.6M including premium. On May 12, 2015 Dschungel was sold for $ 27M including premium by Sotheby's.
Stadtbild II is estimated $ 12M for sale by Phillips in New York on May 17, lot 18. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Both exiled from East Germany, Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter meet during their art studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Richter wanted to escape the official Socialist art and Polke's family expected to escape poverty.
They find unprecedented artistic solutions to express that consumerism is an illusion cleverly maintained by the abundance of images. When Richter enlarges the most distressing photos from the newspapers and when Polke imitates the wall posters, both take care to build their artworks without obscuring the origin of their inspiration.
The Dürckheim collection included two works by Sigmar Polke, significant from the end of that phase : Dschungel 160 x 247 cm made in 1967, and Stadtbild II 150 x 125 cm made in 1968. These seemingly opposed themes match indeed together : Polke did not have holidays in the jungle and has not seen New York yet. He warns against the false promises made by the consumer society. Only the rich benefit from capitalism.
Dschungel is entirely realized with the technique of the dispersion projecting the colors onto the canvas through a pierced screen. Stadtbild is a night view of New York using this process partially to introduce some fireworks in the black background. The silhouettes of the skyscrapers are bright yellow sinuous lines directly squeezed on the canvas from the paint tube.
In the sale of the Dürckheim collection by Sotheby's on June 29, 2011, Dschungel was sold for £ 5.75M including premium and Stadtbild II for £ 4.6M including premium. On May 12, 2015 Dschungel was sold for $ 27M including premium by Sotheby's.
Stadtbild II is estimated $ 12M for sale by Phillips in New York on May 17, lot 18. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1968 A Porsche 907 for Mulsanne
2014 SOLD 3.63 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Since 1964, the Ford GT40 is the wonder of the circuits. Beautiful and effective, it still looks like a road car. In 1967, Porsche wants to become the great rival of Ford and Ferrari in endurance races.
Cars of that time have the required robustness for competitions of 12 or 24 hours or 1000 km. Porsche understands that the advantage must now come through the top speed in straight lines. Of course, the target of the German brand is Le Mans with its famous Mulsanne straight.
With the Porsche 907, the optimization is performed by the aerodynamic shape of the coachwork with lower body and long tail. This car inaugurates these new shapes which, beyond the oil crisis, lead to supercars. The new model reaches 300 km/h.
However, the 2.2 liter 8 cylinder engine which is an essential element of this project is not ready until the following year. In 1968, seven cars are built in the final variant of the 907.
For five years, one of them accumulates a remarkable racing record. Competing in Daytona, Le Mans, Sebring and Monza, it is the first car in the history of Porsche to win a major endurance race, in its very first year at Daytona.
Being now one of only two cars still in existence in this configuration, it is estimated $ 3.5 million, for sale by Gooding in Amelia Island on March 7, lot 66 in the catalog.
The fabulous career of Porsche in endurance racing has begun. As early as 1969, the Porsche 917 is released.
POST SALE COMMENT
This very rare Porsche was sold for $ 3.3M before fees, 3.63M including premium.
Since 1964, the Ford GT40 is the wonder of the circuits. Beautiful and effective, it still looks like a road car. In 1967, Porsche wants to become the great rival of Ford and Ferrari in endurance races.
Cars of that time have the required robustness for competitions of 12 or 24 hours or 1000 km. Porsche understands that the advantage must now come through the top speed in straight lines. Of course, the target of the German brand is Le Mans with its famous Mulsanne straight.
With the Porsche 907, the optimization is performed by the aerodynamic shape of the coachwork with lower body and long tail. This car inaugurates these new shapes which, beyond the oil crisis, lead to supercars. The new model reaches 300 km/h.
However, the 2.2 liter 8 cylinder engine which is an essential element of this project is not ready until the following year. In 1968, seven cars are built in the final variant of the 907.
For five years, one of them accumulates a remarkable racing record. Competing in Daytona, Le Mans, Sebring and Monza, it is the first car in the history of Porsche to win a major endurance race, in its very first year at Daytona.
Being now one of only two cars still in existence in this configuration, it is estimated $ 3.5 million, for sale by Gooding in Amelia Island on March 7, lot 66 in the catalog.
The fabulous career of Porsche in endurance racing has begun. As early as 1969, the Porsche 917 is released.
POST SALE COMMENT
This very rare Porsche was sold for $ 3.3M before fees, 3.63M including premium.
1967-1976 Balthus, Art without Biography
2012 SOLD 2.3 M€ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Balthus's mother became in 1919 the lover of Rainer Maria Rilke. In their circle, the boy met the intellectuals of the hypersensitivity, Gide, Cocteau. His older brother, Pierre Klossowski, will be the exegete of Sade.
Soon famous for his art, Balthus escaped any attempt to biography. He was only the interpreter of girls and cats. His style, so often at the limit of obscenity, was too personal to be attached to a trend.
He studies the girls at an age when they have not understood the mystery of their bodies. They are thin, and their attitudes are worried and contorted. Balthus's drawing is sharp, in the opposite of the surrealism of Bacon, but both artists are close together by their intrusion into the psychology of their models.
In 1967, Balthus marries a Japanese woman. He is 59 years old, she is 24. She is his muse. The Japonaise à la table rouge, 144 x 192 cm, naked in the privacy of her living room, remains thoughtful and clumsy.
This painting, undated like many works by Balthus, was made between 1967 and 1976, before hanging for many yearsin the petit salon of Hélène Rochas. It is estimated € 3M, for sale by Christie's in Paris on September 27. It is illustrated on the press release shared by Artdaily.
POST SALE COMMENT
Balthus's paintings are rare at auction but this one, possibly too belated, did not reach its estimate. It was sold € 2.3 million including premium.
Balthus's mother became in 1919 the lover of Rainer Maria Rilke. In their circle, the boy met the intellectuals of the hypersensitivity, Gide, Cocteau. His older brother, Pierre Klossowski, will be the exegete of Sade.
Soon famous for his art, Balthus escaped any attempt to biography. He was only the interpreter of girls and cats. His style, so often at the limit of obscenity, was too personal to be attached to a trend.
He studies the girls at an age when they have not understood the mystery of their bodies. They are thin, and their attitudes are worried and contorted. Balthus's drawing is sharp, in the opposite of the surrealism of Bacon, but both artists are close together by their intrusion into the psychology of their models.
In 1967, Balthus marries a Japanese woman. He is 59 years old, she is 24. She is his muse. The Japonaise à la table rouge, 144 x 192 cm, naked in the privacy of her living room, remains thoughtful and clumsy.
This painting, undated like many works by Balthus, was made between 1967 and 1976, before hanging for many yearsin the petit salon of Hélène Rochas. It is estimated € 3M, for sale by Christie's in Paris on September 27. It is illustrated on the press release shared by Artdaily.
POST SALE COMMENT
Balthus's paintings are rare at auction but this one, possibly too belated, did not reach its estimate. It was sold € 2.3 million including premium.
1968 Campbell's Soup I set of 10 prints by Warhol
2018 SOLD for £ 850K including premium by Sotheby's
1968 A Mistake in the Red Country
2012 SOLD 4.6 M RMB yuan including premium
In 1968, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, begun two years earlier, has a strong development. The stamps are involved in the spread of the new cultural faith. This trend created the opportunity for a superb political mistake which, curiously, did not lead to reprisals against its clumsy author.
This stamp worth 8 fen is titled "The whole country is red". Below a red map of China, a worker, a peasant and a soldier lead an enthusiastic crowd by waving the Selected Works of Chairman Mao.
The error was discovered immediately after the release: Taiwan was not in red, contrary to all the claims of the People's Republic since its inception. In just half a day, the stamp was withdrawn.
A block of four is estimated RMB yuan 4M in the sales held from November 26 to 28 by China Guardian in Beijing. Here is the link to the catalog.
On the same theme and with the same error, another variant named Long Live Complete Victory of the Great Cultural Revolution is even more rare because it was not issued. A single stamp was sold RMB yuan 7.3 million including premium on 21 May 2012 by the same auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
This withdrawn emission is outstanding for Chinese philatelists. The block of four was sold RMB 4.6 million including premium. A single stamp of the same variant was sold RMB 530K including premium in the same sale.
This stamp worth 8 fen is titled "The whole country is red". Below a red map of China, a worker, a peasant and a soldier lead an enthusiastic crowd by waving the Selected Works of Chairman Mao.
The error was discovered immediately after the release: Taiwan was not in red, contrary to all the claims of the People's Republic since its inception. In just half a day, the stamp was withdrawn.
A block of four is estimated RMB yuan 4M in the sales held from November 26 to 28 by China Guardian in Beijing. Here is the link to the catalog.
On the same theme and with the same error, another variant named Long Live Complete Victory of the Great Cultural Revolution is even more rare because it was not issued. A single stamp was sold RMB yuan 7.3 million including premium on 21 May 2012 by the same auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
This withdrawn emission is outstanding for Chinese philatelists. The block of four was sold RMB 4.6 million including premium. A single stamp of the same variant was sold RMB 530K including premium in the same sale.
1968 The Mick with a Gentle Tiger
2017 SOLD for $ 486K including premium
The number of successful home runs (homers) in Major League baseball is the metrics that makes it possible to compare the best hitters of all time throughout their career. Babe Ruth was the first player to record his 500th homer in 1929, followed by Jimmie Foxx in 1940.
On September 19, 1968, the New York Yankees meet the Detroit Tigers. The absolute classification on that date is led by Ruth and Willie Mays with Foxx and Mickey Mantle sharing the third position with 534 homers each.
Since his rookie year in 1951, The Mick is a very popular player but at 37 years old in 1968 he has lost much of his effectiveness. During the game with Detroit, he holds the bat while the pitcher is one of his fervent admirers, Denny McLain, a strong personality who is not afraid of controversy. McLain launches an easy ball to Mantle and The Mick achieves his 535th homer with which he can finally overtake Foxx.
There was nothing illegal in this complacent pitch despite a wink by the Tiger when The Mick reached the third base. McLain will be reprimanded by the Major League Baseball Commissioner. Mantle will achieve before the end of that year his 536th and final homer.
These records have been exceeded many times : Mickey Mantle is currently in 13th position for the number of homers in Major League. His difficult end of life is forgotten and he has become again the symbol of the post-war American dream.
The jersey worn by Mantle against the Tigers was autographed by him on the upper chest to a friend and signed "The Mick". In condition graded MEARS A10, this game worn uniform is for sale by Heritage in Dallas, lot 80014 with a guide value at $ 700K. The sale will take place on February 25 and close on the next day by extended bidding.
On September 19, 1968, the New York Yankees meet the Detroit Tigers. The absolute classification on that date is led by Ruth and Willie Mays with Foxx and Mickey Mantle sharing the third position with 534 homers each.
Since his rookie year in 1951, The Mick is a very popular player but at 37 years old in 1968 he has lost much of his effectiveness. During the game with Detroit, he holds the bat while the pitcher is one of his fervent admirers, Denny McLain, a strong personality who is not afraid of controversy. McLain launches an easy ball to Mantle and The Mick achieves his 535th homer with which he can finally overtake Foxx.
There was nothing illegal in this complacent pitch despite a wink by the Tiger when The Mick reached the third base. McLain will be reprimanded by the Major League Baseball Commissioner. Mantle will achieve before the end of that year his 536th and final homer.
These records have been exceeded many times : Mickey Mantle is currently in 13th position for the number of homers in Major League. His difficult end of life is forgotten and he has become again the symbol of the post-war American dream.
The jersey worn by Mantle against the Tigers was autographed by him on the upper chest to a friend and signed "The Mick". In condition graded MEARS A10, this game worn uniform is for sale by Heritage in Dallas, lot 80014 with a guide value at $ 700K. The sale will take place on February 25 and close on the next day by extended bidding.
