1986
See also : Sculpture Germany Richter USA USA II Koons Warhol Later Warhols Self portrait Groups Animals Alps Christianity
1986 A Carrot Eater
2019 SOLD for $ 91M including premium
Jeff Koons began his artist's career by gathering casts and ready-mades in solo and group exhibitions. In 1979 Inflatables assembles vinyl flowers with mirrors. He exhibits Equilibrium in 1983 and Luxury and Degradation including the Jim Beam train in 1986.
With Statuary in 1986 and Banality in 1988, Koons pushes kitsch to the rank of a major art : his unlimited exploitation of the consumer society is ultra-modernist, in the wake of the everyday objects hugely increased by Oldenburg.
Statuary includes ten stainless steel sculptures. The terrible banality of this group is broken by the two highest pieces in a total opposition of style : a bust of Louis XIV 117 cm high and a rabbit 104 cm high. With this Rabbit, Koons makes a great promotion for his own art. The closest antecedent is the unique Bunny which had slipped into his previous series of inflatable flowers.
The new rabbit has smooth forms and no face. It brings up to the position of its mouth a carrot in which some visitors see a sexual symbol, an impression reinforced by the information that the steel had been molded over an inflatable doll. The spectators satisfy their own ego by contemplating themselves in the mirror-like surface of the rabbit. The artist's statements complacently maintain all these ambiguities.
After this great success of his rabbit, Koons appreciates that other figures or toys much stylized and disproportionately enlarged will have a considerable impact on the public. His Celebrations, designed from 1994 in a range of colors, will offer a similar mirror effect.
Rabbit was edited in three units plus one artist's proof. Number 2/3 is estimated $ 50M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15, lot 15 B. The Louis XIV artist's proof was sold for $ 10.8M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2015.
With Statuary in 1986 and Banality in 1988, Koons pushes kitsch to the rank of a major art : his unlimited exploitation of the consumer society is ultra-modernist, in the wake of the everyday objects hugely increased by Oldenburg.
Statuary includes ten stainless steel sculptures. The terrible banality of this group is broken by the two highest pieces in a total opposition of style : a bust of Louis XIV 117 cm high and a rabbit 104 cm high. With this Rabbit, Koons makes a great promotion for his own art. The closest antecedent is the unique Bunny which had slipped into his previous series of inflatable flowers.
The new rabbit has smooth forms and no face. It brings up to the position of its mouth a carrot in which some visitors see a sexual symbol, an impression reinforced by the information that the steel had been molded over an inflatable doll. The spectators satisfy their own ego by contemplating themselves in the mirror-like surface of the rabbit. The artist's statements complacently maintain all these ambiguities.
After this great success of his rabbit, Koons appreciates that other figures or toys much stylized and disproportionately enlarged will have a considerable impact on the public. His Celebrations, designed from 1994 in a range of colors, will offer a similar mirror effect.
Rabbit was edited in three units plus one artist's proof. Number 2/3 is estimated $ 50M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15, lot 15 B. The Louis XIV artist's proof was sold for $ 10.8M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2015.
1986 Sacrifice and Sharing
2017 SOLD for $ 61M including premium
Shy and famous at the same time, Andy Warhol was discussing with friends throughout his career before selecting his most popular themes. The story of the dollar at the very beginning of his realization of multiples is typical. In 1985 the gallery owner Alexander Iolas suggests a new theme of interpretations of Leonardo's Last Supper to be exhibited in Milan across the street from the permanent location of the original.
Warhol is working hard on this project that had everything to seduce him. For devout Catholics the Last Supper is the founding act of the mystical Christianity by which Christ announces his death and resurrection and especially his sharing with the whole mankind.
Warhol had himself something like a resurrection in 1968 when his heart restarted after the assassination attempt. He felt that he was going to die during the surgical operation of his gallbladder which was inevitable but was constantly postponed by him. This intuition was right.
In that impulse Warhol realized about 100 variations around Leonardo's Last Supper in 1986 while about 20 were enough for the Milan exhibition. He did not take as model the original painting but two poor photographs of old copies. This final project brilliantly terminates his own pop art revolution by which the visual message and the ability to copy and multiply it are more important than the skill even when the artist is Leonardo himself.
This series includes a few monumental pieces in a perfect repetition that reaches the infinite. Christ 112 times in yellow which is a reproduction of a detail measures 203 x 1069 cm. This artwork was sold for $ 9.5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2008.
On November 15 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 13 B a multiplication of the entire picture, Sixty Last Suppers. This 295 x 998 cm canvas which is undoubtedly the largest in the series and perhaps even in his entire career in terms of surface was not included in the Milan exhibition. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
Warhol is working hard on this project that had everything to seduce him. For devout Catholics the Last Supper is the founding act of the mystical Christianity by which Christ announces his death and resurrection and especially his sharing with the whole mankind.
Warhol had himself something like a resurrection in 1968 when his heart restarted after the assassination attempt. He felt that he was going to die during the surgical operation of his gallbladder which was inevitable but was constantly postponed by him. This intuition was right.
In that impulse Warhol realized about 100 variations around Leonardo's Last Supper in 1986 while about 20 were enough for the Milan exhibition. He did not take as model the original painting but two poor photographs of old copies. This final project brilliantly terminates his own pop art revolution by which the visual message and the ability to copy and multiply it are more important than the skill even when the artist is Leonardo himself.
This series includes a few monumental pieces in a perfect repetition that reaches the infinite. Christ 112 times in yellow which is a reproduction of a detail measures 203 x 1069 cm. This artwork was sold for $ 9.5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2008.
On November 15 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 13 B a multiplication of the entire picture, Sixty Last Suppers. This 295 x 998 cm canvas which is undoubtedly the largest in the series and perhaps even in his entire career in terms of surface was not included in the Milan exhibition. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
1986 The Chromatic Chaos of Gerhard Richter
2015 SOLD for £ 30.4M including premium
In the early 1980s, Gerhard Richter begins to find his own abstract style. He gradually escapes evocation and stops from 1986 giving titles to his major works. He also wants to stand out from abstract expressionism in favor of a chaos of colors for which it will however be necessary to provide an overall logic.
On February 10 in London, Sotheby's sells Abstraktes Bild 599, oil on canvas 300 x 250 cm painted in 1986, lot 37 estimated £ 14M.
599 is an experimental work. Chaos is here replaced by a double movement of forces, horizontal and vertical. This is one of his earliest uses of the rake which is still challenged by the brush. Many remorses indicate all the care paid to the realization of this painting in a large size that brings to it the role of a demonstrator.
The artist offers 599 with a full chromatic scale structured in blocks with visible border lines between the colored areas. The clear parts display an opulent shine rarely attempted in painting and evoking Klimt.
The overall impression is a movement of vertical blaze that joins the volcanic explosions by Matta.
599 is a masterpiece by Richter in the etymological meaning of the word, as it is an artwork that opens a new process which will be prolific and will maintain abstract painting among the major arts of contemporary era.
On February 10 in London, Sotheby's sells Abstraktes Bild 599, oil on canvas 300 x 250 cm painted in 1986, lot 37 estimated £ 14M.
599 is an experimental work. Chaos is here replaced by a double movement of forces, horizontal and vertical. This is one of his earliest uses of the rake which is still challenged by the brush. Many remorses indicate all the care paid to the realization of this painting in a large size that brings to it the role of a demonstrator.
The artist offers 599 with a full chromatic scale structured in blocks with visible border lines between the colored areas. The clear parts display an opulent shine rarely attempted in painting and evoking Klimt.
The overall impression is a movement of vertical blaze that joins the volcanic explosions by Matta.
599 is a masterpiece by Richter in the etymological meaning of the word, as it is an artwork that opens a new process which will be prolific and will maintain abstract painting among the major arts of contemporary era.
1986 The Train of Prohibition
2014 SOLD 34 M$ including premium
Before exploring the universal themes through his Celebrations, Jeff Koons had reused the most kitsch images of America. Introducing ready-mades and toys in art exhibitions is not a glorification of the trivial but an invitation to Americans to flush out the unspoken or even unspeakable depths of their culture.
In 1986 Jeff prepares his second one-man exhibition, Luxury and Degradation, a title that is by itself the key to his artistic approach. The theme is alcohol, which had put so much trouble to the Americans before and during Prohibition.
The central work of Luxury and Degradation is a toy train on rails 2.90 m long cast in stainless steel. Jeff made it from a plastic and porcelain train used as a decanter of bourbon by the Jim Beam brand.
The Jim Beam JB Turner Train by Jeff Koons includes the steam-type locomotive from the old days of the Wild West with its wagons. Each element is loaded with some Jim Beam bourbon, hidden to the public, thereby reactivating the frustration of the drinkers during Prohibition.
The material used by Koons is interesting for two reasons. Stainless steel is a reminder of the growth of American industry and of the fortune of Carnegie. Its impeccable polishing is the beginning of the exploration by Koons of the artistic strength of perfect metal surfaces. His first steel Rabbit imitating an inflatable toy dates from the same year.
The train was edited in three units, plus an artist's proof which will be sold by Christie's in New York on May 13. I invite you to play the video shared by the auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
The bourbon train was sold for $ 34 M including premium.
In 1986 Jeff prepares his second one-man exhibition, Luxury and Degradation, a title that is by itself the key to his artistic approach. The theme is alcohol, which had put so much trouble to the Americans before and during Prohibition.
The central work of Luxury and Degradation is a toy train on rails 2.90 m long cast in stainless steel. Jeff made it from a plastic and porcelain train used as a decanter of bourbon by the Jim Beam brand.
The Jim Beam JB Turner Train by Jeff Koons includes the steam-type locomotive from the old days of the Wild West with its wagons. Each element is loaded with some Jim Beam bourbon, hidden to the public, thereby reactivating the frustration of the drinkers during Prohibition.
The material used by Koons is interesting for two reasons. Stainless steel is a reminder of the growth of American industry and of the fortune of Carnegie. Its impeccable polishing is the beginning of the exploration by Koons of the artistic strength of perfect metal surfaces. His first steel Rabbit imitating an inflatable toy dates from the same year.
The train was edited in three units, plus an artist's proof which will be sold by Christie's in New York on May 13. I invite you to play the video shared by the auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
The bourbon train was sold for $ 34 M including premium.
1986 The Quiet Abstraction of Gerhard Richter
2016 SOLD for $ 34M including premium
Gerhard Richter conscientiously serializes his Abstraktes Bild (AB) in chronological order, in series ranging from one to ten paintings. A review of the 1986 millésime, AB 588 to AB 619, tracks the evolution of the technique and inspiration of the artist in this very important transition year which includes the first use of the squeegee.
At the beginning of 1986, Richter already goes further than other abstract artists by an extensive use of the range of colors and a great brightness. The first AB's of 1986 are often inspired by landscape views in which we try to recognize waterfalls of various shapes. Lines are separating the various areas in the image.
AB 599, 300 x 250 cm, was sold for £ 30,4M including premium by Sotheby's on February 10, 2015. The gigantic culmination of this phase is the two Claudius, AB 603 and AB 604, 311 x 406 cm each. Offered by Christie's on October 19, 2008 at the start of the crisis of the art market, AB 604 was not sold.
AB 612-4, 225 x 200 cm, titled Still, is estimated $ 20M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 17, lot 13.
To execute Still, the artist used jointly brushes and squeegees. The contribution of the squeegee adds a smooth veil over the impasto. The dividing lines are now disappearing.
The title is interesting. Still is of course not a movie picture. The website gerhardrichter.com provides the official English translation : Quiet. AB 615 and AB 616 are named Courbet. Nothing prevents AB 612-4 to be a tribute to another master : Clyfford Still. The large red area on the left in AB 612-4 may be an echo to Still's hells. The intermingling colors that open the new signature style of Richter remind the shredded separations between Clyfford Still's colors.
At the beginning of 1986, Richter already goes further than other abstract artists by an extensive use of the range of colors and a great brightness. The first AB's of 1986 are often inspired by landscape views in which we try to recognize waterfalls of various shapes. Lines are separating the various areas in the image.
AB 599, 300 x 250 cm, was sold for £ 30,4M including premium by Sotheby's on February 10, 2015. The gigantic culmination of this phase is the two Claudius, AB 603 and AB 604, 311 x 406 cm each. Offered by Christie's on October 19, 2008 at the start of the crisis of the art market, AB 604 was not sold.
AB 612-4, 225 x 200 cm, titled Still, is estimated $ 20M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 17, lot 13.
To execute Still, the artist used jointly brushes and squeegees. The contribution of the squeegee adds a smooth veil over the impasto. The dividing lines are now disappearing.
The title is interesting. Still is of course not a movie picture. The website gerhardrichter.com provides the official English translation : Quiet. AB 615 and AB 616 are named Courbet. Nothing prevents AB 612-4 to be a tribute to another master : Clyfford Still. The large red area on the left in AB 612-4 may be an echo to Still's hells. The intermingling colors that open the new signature style of Richter remind the shredded separations between Clyfford Still's colors.
1986 The Apotheosis of Andy Warhol
2010 SOLD 32.5 M$ including premium
Andy Warhol, observer of events and of top people of this world, did not fail to look also at himself. Like Dali before him, and like Lagerfeld today, he made his own person a work of art out of usual standards.
His last series of self-portraits, done in 1986, is famous. The face is pale, the eyes are fixed, his cheeks are hollow and the hair is long and shaggy. The artist knew he was aging, but he could not imagine being so close to his sudden death.
This image takes the meaning of an apotheosis. Warhol is no longer human, he is being transformed into a half-god of contemporary art.
The purple painting for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 12, 2.70 x 2.70 m, is one of the largest in the series. Its color is sinister and captivating. It is announced at $ 10 million. The press release and image of the lot are shared by AuctionPublicity.
POST SALE COMMENT
The king of the sales of this week in New York was Warhol. Warhol himself! This fabulous self-portrait was sold $ 32.5 million including premium.
His last series of self-portraits, done in 1986, is famous. The face is pale, the eyes are fixed, his cheeks are hollow and the hair is long and shaggy. The artist knew he was aging, but he could not imagine being so close to his sudden death.
This image takes the meaning of an apotheosis. Warhol is no longer human, he is being transformed into a half-god of contemporary art.
The purple painting for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 12, 2.70 x 2.70 m, is one of the largest in the series. Its color is sinister and captivating. It is announced at $ 10 million. The press release and image of the lot are shared by AuctionPublicity.
POST SALE COMMENT
The king of the sales of this week in New York was Warhol. Warhol himself! This fabulous self-portrait was sold $ 32.5 million including premium.
1986 Six Shaggy Wigs
2018 SOLD for £ 22.6M including premium
A set of six small size self portraits with fright wig by Warhol was sold for $ 30M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2014, lot 23. It had been illustrated by Sotheby's in a pre sale video. Still complete from its original configuration it is now offered by Christie's in London on March 6, lot 9.
These six acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas 56 x 56 cm display the same image, each one in another color.
I narrated this famous image as follows before the 2014 sale :
The two major themes of multiples that made Andy Warhol busy in 1986 are so opposite that it is worth putting them face to face.
On one side, Leonardo's Last Supper with Christ as the central character, also processed in detailed enlargement, dignified and doctoral.
On the other side, the last self-portrait, head cut under the chin with the shaggy hair (or wig) of a mad man. The lines of the face are wasted as if they announced the next transformation of the artist into a skeleton.
Andy had ever wished to moralize the society. He is exhausted by the beginning of the disease. He is facing the Christ of whom he now knows that he cannot be a reincarnation.
This portrait is a masterpiece of self-mockery. In his usual practice Andy prepared it in various sizes and colors. The smaller were intended to be kept in series in a sequence of hanging defined by the artist.
The bigger pictures 270 x 270 cm were twice featured at auction. The terrible red version was sold for $ 27.5 million including premium by Christie's on 11 May 2011. The disturbing purple portrait was sold for $ 32.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010.
A set of three mid-size 102 x 102 cm each was sold for £ 11.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 27, 2008, a high price at a time when the British currency was worth almost two dollars.
These six acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas 56 x 56 cm display the same image, each one in another color.
I narrated this famous image as follows before the 2014 sale :
The two major themes of multiples that made Andy Warhol busy in 1986 are so opposite that it is worth putting them face to face.
On one side, Leonardo's Last Supper with Christ as the central character, also processed in detailed enlargement, dignified and doctoral.
On the other side, the last self-portrait, head cut under the chin with the shaggy hair (or wig) of a mad man. The lines of the face are wasted as if they announced the next transformation of the artist into a skeleton.
Andy had ever wished to moralize the society. He is exhausted by the beginning of the disease. He is facing the Christ of whom he now knows that he cannot be a reincarnation.
This portrait is a masterpiece of self-mockery. In his usual practice Andy prepared it in various sizes and colors. The smaller were intended to be kept in series in a sequence of hanging defined by the artist.
The bigger pictures 270 x 270 cm were twice featured at auction. The terrible red version was sold for $ 27.5 million including premium by Christie's on 11 May 2011. The disturbing purple portrait was sold for $ 32.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010.
A set of three mid-size 102 x 102 cm each was sold for £ 11.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 27, 2008, a high price at a time when the British currency was worth almost two dollars.
1986 Snow and Wind
2021 SOLD for HK$ 230M by Sotheby's
Expatriate in Paris since 1955, Chu Teh-Chun is reunited with his Chinese roots during a trip in 1983. In the meantime, he had specialized in abstract art in oil on canvas. He now wants his art to express the basics of nature, in very large formats. Les Eléments Confédérés, polyptych 162 x 650 cm dated 1984-1985, was sold for HK $ 114M including premium by Sotheby's on July 8, 2020.
Under these conditions, his amazed discovery of the movement of snow in the mountains in December 1985 was not fortuitous.
He watches the sublime Swiss Alps from his train window when a storm hits. The squall throws snowflakes and fog on a scenery of rocks and trees which changes at every moment by the movement of the train. As soon as he arrives, he rushes to his brushes to express what nature has just taught him. He will work for fifteen years on this theme, varying the effects of texture without ever returning to the figurative.
Harmonie Hivernale, painted in 1986, is one of the very first works in this series. This triptych 193 x 385 cm overall reproduces the whirlwinds blowing the snow and revealing the rocks in turn. It was sold for HK $ 230M from a lower estimate of HK $ 80M by Sotheby's on April 18, 2021, lot 1020. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The ultimate outcome is the expression of snowfall. He achieved this in 1999 by bringing a pointillism to Vertige Neigeux, a 200 x 400 cm diptych started in 1990, sold for HK $ 92M including premium by Christie's on November 26, 2016.
Under these conditions, his amazed discovery of the movement of snow in the mountains in December 1985 was not fortuitous.
He watches the sublime Swiss Alps from his train window when a storm hits. The squall throws snowflakes and fog on a scenery of rocks and trees which changes at every moment by the movement of the train. As soon as he arrives, he rushes to his brushes to express what nature has just taught him. He will work for fifteen years on this theme, varying the effects of texture without ever returning to the figurative.
Harmonie Hivernale, painted in 1986, is one of the very first works in this series. This triptych 193 x 385 cm overall reproduces the whirlwinds blowing the snow and revealing the rocks in turn. It was sold for HK $ 230M from a lower estimate of HK $ 80M by Sotheby's on April 18, 2021, lot 1020. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The ultimate outcome is the expression of snowfall. He achieved this in 1999 by bringing a pointillism to Vertige Neigeux, a 200 x 400 cm diptych started in 1990, sold for HK $ 92M including premium by Christie's on November 26, 2016.
1986 The Red Icon
2011 SOLD 27.5 M$ including premium
Andy Warhol would be both the last modern artist and the first contemporary artist, wouln't he? His self-portraits of 1986 are increasingly in a position to be considered as major icons of twentieth century art.
After showing images of the world as in the magazines, Warhol created a different masterpiece. This haggard and unkempt self-portrait offset the expectations of well-thinking people in the same way as, many years before, the famous photo of Einstein sticking out his tongue.
Five paintings were executed simultaneously, showing the same image of the face of the aging artist on a black background, respectively in green, blue, purple, yellow and red.
The sale of the purple version, 2.70 x 2.70 m, by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010, was a revelation. Estimated $ 10M, this work was sold $ 32.5 million including premium. The pre-sale press release indicated that only one other version was still in private hands.
The red Warhol, same size, is for sale by Christie's in New York on May 11. It is estimated $ 30M. The image is shared by Art Market Monitor.
POST SALE COMMENT
The availability of the purple version last year had created a indisputable surprise. Sold for $ 27.5 million including premium, the red Warhol has not reached the price of its predecessor.
After showing images of the world as in the magazines, Warhol created a different masterpiece. This haggard and unkempt self-portrait offset the expectations of well-thinking people in the same way as, many years before, the famous photo of Einstein sticking out his tongue.
Five paintings were executed simultaneously, showing the same image of the face of the aging artist on a black background, respectively in green, blue, purple, yellow and red.
The sale of the purple version, 2.70 x 2.70 m, by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010, was a revelation. Estimated $ 10M, this work was sold $ 32.5 million including premium. The pre-sale press release indicated that only one other version was still in private hands.
The red Warhol, same size, is for sale by Christie's in New York on May 11. It is estimated $ 30M. The image is shared by Art Market Monitor.
POST SALE COMMENT
The availability of the purple version last year had created a indisputable surprise. Sold for $ 27.5 million including premium, the red Warhol has not reached the price of its predecessor.
1986 AB Courbet by Richter
2013 SOLD for $ 26.5M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
In 1986 Gerhard Richter redefines abstract art. His innovation is not only the use of the rake but the conjunction of this new tool with the brush and the knife. By mingling impastos and transparent veils, the artist creates shimmering effects while using the full range of colors.
Abstraktes Bild 599 is sparkling, with bright contrasts amidst a geometric structure somewhat reminiscent of Boccioni's futuristic compartmentalization. This 250 x 300 cm oil on canvas was sold for £ 30.4M including premium by Sotheby's on February 10, 2015. The seminal work of this style was the opus 590 titled SDI, possibly a reference to the Cold War.
The development continues and the fragmentation of the space gives way to total chaos with a sumptuous multicolored effect. A.B. Still, opus 612-4, 225 x 200 cm, was sold for $ 34M including premium by Sotheby's on November 17, 2016.
The artist rarely reveals his inspirations. A.B. Courbet comes a little later in the nomenclature, with two works which are not series, 615 and 616, oils on canvas 300 x 250 cm. The compositions are not similar : 615 has a luminous lozenge which draws attention to the upper part of the image.
Titles that refer to another artist are exceptional, and the Still above is not the American master of that name. The total abstraction and the mixing of colors cannot have anything to do with the French master of pre-impressionist realism. The colors may evoke Monet's garden. Monet's views of the Parliament of London will indeed explicitly inspire Richter in the following year.
Richter maintains his revolutionary desires. The creation of his abstract chaos has an anarchist motivation. "Courbet" is his homage to one of his most innovative and uncompromising predecessors, indirectly attesting to his satisfaction with his own results. A.B. Courbet 616 was sold for $ 26.5M including premium by Sotheby's on November 13, 2013, lot 22.
Abstraktes Bild 599 is sparkling, with bright contrasts amidst a geometric structure somewhat reminiscent of Boccioni's futuristic compartmentalization. This 250 x 300 cm oil on canvas was sold for £ 30.4M including premium by Sotheby's on February 10, 2015. The seminal work of this style was the opus 590 titled SDI, possibly a reference to the Cold War.
The development continues and the fragmentation of the space gives way to total chaos with a sumptuous multicolored effect. A.B. Still, opus 612-4, 225 x 200 cm, was sold for $ 34M including premium by Sotheby's on November 17, 2016.
The artist rarely reveals his inspirations. A.B. Courbet comes a little later in the nomenclature, with two works which are not series, 615 and 616, oils on canvas 300 x 250 cm. The compositions are not similar : 615 has a luminous lozenge which draws attention to the upper part of the image.
Titles that refer to another artist are exceptional, and the Still above is not the American master of that name. The total abstraction and the mixing of colors cannot have anything to do with the French master of pre-impressionist realism. The colors may evoke Monet's garden. Monet's views of the Parliament of London will indeed explicitly inspire Richter in the following year.
Richter maintains his revolutionary desires. The creation of his abstract chaos has an anarchist motivation. "Courbet" is his homage to one of his most innovative and uncompromising predecessors, indirectly attesting to his satisfaction with his own results. A.B. Courbet 616 was sold for $ 26.5M including premium by Sotheby's on November 13, 2013, lot 22.
