1992
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Freud Wool Mitchell New Chinese painting
See also : Freud Wool Mitchell New Chinese painting
1992 Abstraktes Bild by RICHTER
1
768-2
2021 SOLD for $ 23.2M by Sotheby's
The Abstrakte Bilder 768-1 to -4 and 769-1 to -4 constitute a homogeneous set of eight oil on canvas around 200 x 160 cm painted by Richter in 1992.
All these pieces display a pattern of vertical bands from higher to lower edge like folds in a curtain. The intention here is not to display the force of the verticals but to reveal some areas of brilliant colors in the background. The striations are created with a knife over an underlayer applied with the squeegee.
768-2 thus reveals blue and yellow under a fiery red. It was sold twice by Sotheby's, for $ 17M on November 9, 2011, lot 10, and for $ 23.2M on May 12, 2021, lot 11.
Sotheby's also sold 769-2 for $ 14M in 2011, lot 31, and 769-1 for £ 8.2M in 2013, lot 23. 769-3 is reported as destructed in the catalogue raisonné.
All these pieces display a pattern of vertical bands from higher to lower edge like folds in a curtain. The intention here is not to display the force of the verticals but to reveal some areas of brilliant colors in the background. The striations are created with a knife over an underlayer applied with the squeegee.
768-2 thus reveals blue and yellow under a fiery red. It was sold twice by Sotheby's, for $ 17M on November 9, 2011, lot 10, and for $ 23.2M on May 12, 2021, lot 11.
Sotheby's also sold 769-2 for $ 14M in 2011, lot 31, and 769-1 for £ 8.2M in 2013, lot 23. 769-3 is reported as destructed in the catalogue raisonné.
2
769-1
2013 SOLD for £ 8.2M by Sotheby's
Sotheby's sold 769-1, 200 x 160 cm, for £ 8.2M on February 12, 2013, lot 23.
3
769-2
2011 SOLD for $ 14M by Sotheby's
Sotheby's sold 769-2 for $ 14M on November 9, 2011, lot 31.
769-4 is the last opus of the dual series 768-769 painted by Richter in 1992. This oil on canvas 200 x 180 cm was sold for $ 7M by Christie's on May 11, 2021, lot 21 A.
The technique of 769-4 is the same as the rest of the series but the desired effect is different. Through his dense patterns of verticals, the artist mingles his abstraction with a vision as inside a forest. For this effect, the horizontal dimension appears as mere traces.
A lighter flash between two pseudo-trees in their upper part could suggest from far away a piercing of day light through the thick foliage, except that it is underlined by spots of bright colors.
769-4 is the last opus of the dual series 768-769 painted by Richter in 1992. This oil on canvas 200 x 180 cm was sold for $ 7M by Christie's on May 11, 2021, lot 21 A.
The technique of 769-4 is the same as the rest of the series but the desired effect is different. Through his dense patterns of verticals, the artist mingles his abstraction with a vision as inside a forest. For this effect, the horizontal dimension appears as mere traces.
A lighter flash between two pseudo-trees in their upper part could suggest from far away a piercing of day light through the thick foliage, except that it is underlined by spots of bright colors.
WOOL
1
ifyou
2014 SOLD for $ 23.7M by Christie's
The 1992 series of word art in enamel on aluminum by Christopher Wool is based on the same standardized size as in 1990, 274 x 183 cm.
The texts become longer. The aggressive phrase 'If you cant take a joke you can get the fuck out of my house' is arguably one of his favorites.
A full size version in seven lines with an alignment on the left was sold for $ 23.7M by Christie's on May 13, 2014, lot 17. Some tiny black drippings break the monotony of the composition.
A shorter variant is Fuck em if they cant take a joke.
The texts become longer. The aggressive phrase 'If you cant take a joke you can get the fuck out of my house' is arguably one of his favorites.
A full size version in seven lines with an alignment on the left was sold for $ 23.7M by Christie's on May 13, 2014, lot 17. Some tiny black drippings break the monotony of the composition.
A shorter variant is Fuck em if they cant take a joke.
2
andifyou
2016 SOLD for $ 13.6M by Christie's
Christopher Wool tries some variants.
In his signature full size 274 x 183 cm, he prepared also in 1992 another version of his unfriendly phrase 'If you cant take a joke ...', now adding "and" at the beginning of the text. The letters are now fully aligned in eight columns, filling the available space excepted the last incomplete line and the blank height for an additional line.
It was sold for $ 13.6M on May 10, 2016 by Christie's, lot 5 B.
The formal quest by Christopher Wool leads to other variants, also in 1992.
A FUCKEM has the same style including alignment on the left side and tiny drippings as the full size IFYOU sold by Christie's in 2014. This enamel on aluminum 132 x 91 cm painted in 1992 was sold for $ 7.3M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2018, lot 4.
Once again on his 'and if you ...' full phrase, a smaller enamel on aluminum 132 x 91 cm kept the alignment on left and right sides in lines of seven and eight letters. The lower line is again incomplete. It was sold for $ 4.1M by Phillips on May 16, 2013, lot 5, and for $ 7M by Christie's on November 12, 2014, lot 61.
In the same year another experiment provides the perfect rectangle. This enamel on paper 96 x 66 cm was sold for $ 2.4M by Phillips on November 14, 2019, lot 27.
In his signature full size 274 x 183 cm, he prepared also in 1992 another version of his unfriendly phrase 'If you cant take a joke ...', now adding "and" at the beginning of the text. The letters are now fully aligned in eight columns, filling the available space excepted the last incomplete line and the blank height for an additional line.
It was sold for $ 13.6M on May 10, 2016 by Christie's, lot 5 B.
The formal quest by Christopher Wool leads to other variants, also in 1992.
A FUCKEM has the same style including alignment on the left side and tiny drippings as the full size IFYOU sold by Christie's in 2014. This enamel on aluminum 132 x 91 cm painted in 1992 was sold for $ 7.3M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2018, lot 4.
Once again on his 'and if you ...' full phrase, a smaller enamel on aluminum 132 x 91 cm kept the alignment on left and right sides in lines of seven and eight letters. The lower line is again incomplete. It was sold for $ 4.1M by Phillips on May 16, 2013, lot 5, and for $ 7M by Christie's on November 12, 2014, lot 61.
In the same year another experiment provides the perfect rectangle. This enamel on paper 96 x 66 cm was sold for $ 2.4M by Phillips on November 14, 2019, lot 27.
FREUD
1
Ib and her Husband
2007 SOLD for $ 19.4M by Christie's
When he turned the age of 70, Lucian Freud was taken in a frenzy of creativity.
An oil on canvas 168 x 147 cm painted in 1992 features his natural daughter Ib and her husband lying on a bed. Ib is pregnant with her third child and sleeps with a blissful smile. Pat tenderly embraces her. It was sold for $ 19.4M by Christie's on November 13, 2007, lot 9, and passed at Christie's on June 30, 2016, lot 26.
Lucian made much effort for keeping his models steady. Now Ib is sleeping. The real engine of Lucian's creativity is not empathy, even with his natural children whom he was so happy to meet again after having abandoned their childhood.
Lucian developed an obsessive idea of perfection, up to somehow ignoring the plurality of art. In the pre-sale video made by Christie's to introduce Benefits Supervisor resting, the already very old artist is seen stating with an intense conviction: "I want each picture I am working on to be the only picture that everyone has ever done".
Throughout his long career, he also maintained his belief that he is above all interested in the physical presence, reducing the human being to the animality of the body. Lucian is not Sigmund. however there is a link between his obsession and the unforgettable personality of his grandfather.
Lucian painted bodies, naked or not. But it is a still life with book painted in 1991-1992 that provides the key to the genesis of his inspiration. The book is a history of Egypt opened on two photos of figures of El Amarna. Sigmund Freud was a great lover of antiques that supported his vision on the continuity of human psychology and the Amarna art is a rare moment in art history of a successful quest for an absolute realism using the technique of painted sculptures.
Lucian is not a sculptor but his impasto becomes extremely thick, bringing art and life closer through the availability of all color pigments. The culmination of this approach in 1993 is the study of his own naked body shown in his painting occupation. The masterpiece of Lucian Freud is in fact nothing else than himself fossilized for ever within his own impasto.
He was wrong. The art continues to evolve despite his desire to freeze it. We will one day forget Lucian Freud. We will never forget the bust of Nefertiti, the eternal masterpiece of Amarna art.
An oil on canvas 168 x 147 cm painted in 1992 features his natural daughter Ib and her husband lying on a bed. Ib is pregnant with her third child and sleeps with a blissful smile. Pat tenderly embraces her. It was sold for $ 19.4M by Christie's on November 13, 2007, lot 9, and passed at Christie's on June 30, 2016, lot 26.
Lucian made much effort for keeping his models steady. Now Ib is sleeping. The real engine of Lucian's creativity is not empathy, even with his natural children whom he was so happy to meet again after having abandoned their childhood.
Lucian developed an obsessive idea of perfection, up to somehow ignoring the plurality of art. In the pre-sale video made by Christie's to introduce Benefits Supervisor resting, the already very old artist is seen stating with an intense conviction: "I want each picture I am working on to be the only picture that everyone has ever done".
Throughout his long career, he also maintained his belief that he is above all interested in the physical presence, reducing the human being to the animality of the body. Lucian is not Sigmund. however there is a link between his obsession and the unforgettable personality of his grandfather.
Lucian painted bodies, naked or not. But it is a still life with book painted in 1991-1992 that provides the key to the genesis of his inspiration. The book is a history of Egypt opened on two photos of figures of El Amarna. Sigmund Freud was a great lover of antiques that supported his vision on the continuity of human psychology and the Amarna art is a rare moment in art history of a successful quest for an absolute realism using the technique of painted sculptures.
Lucian is not a sculptor but his impasto becomes extremely thick, bringing art and life closer through the availability of all color pigments. The culmination of this approach in 1993 is the study of his own naked body shown in his painting occupation. The masterpiece of Lucian Freud is in fact nothing else than himself fossilized for ever within his own impasto.
He was wrong. The art continues to evolve despite his desire to freeze it. We will one day forget Lucian Freud. We will never forget the bust of Nefertiti, the eternal masterpiece of Amarna art.
2
Bruce Bernard
2007 SOLD for £ 7.9M by Christie's
Lucian Freud required all his models to be beside him, and that could last several months in sessions of typically two hours each. Otherwise, he did not feel himself able to absorb the personality of his subject. Bacon, who poorly supported such sittings, left before the completion of Freud's painstaking work.
Only two oil portraits of Bacon by Freud are known. One of them, painted in 1952, was stolen in 1988 and never reappeared. The other, oil and charcoal on canvas 35 x 35 cm painted in 1956-1957, was sold for £ 5.4M by Christie's on October 19, 2008, lot 19. Only the central part of the face is complete.
Bruce Bernard was another lifelong friend of Lucian. A photographer specialized in the portraits of artists, he was also a picture editor and a writer and worked for magazines. Of course Lucian desired to make his portrait. He had a similar reluctance as Francis's of sitting or standing for the painstaking lengthy periods required by the artist.
Bruce accepted three times after appreciating that Lucian was now able to increase the working speed : in 1985 for an etching limited to the head, in 1992 for a standing portrait and in 1996 for a seated portrait with hands on the knees, after which he narrated this ordeal with much wit.
The 1985 head had required 28 sittings 2 hours each. For the 1992 sessions, he opted for a standing position with the hands concealed in the pockets for escaping an estimated 7 additional sessions. The slightly downwards angle was perfectly matching Bruce's recognizable usual posture. He finally had not considered the experience as a discomfort due to the many breaks for a stretch, and "for about half the time a stream of good gossip, old song lyrics and jokes".
The oil on canvas 114 x 84 cm painted in 1992 was sold for £ 7.9M from a lower estimate of £ 4.5M by Christie's on June 20, 2007, lot 35. The 102 x 81 cm oil on canvas painted in 1996 was sold for £ 3.5M by Sotheby's on February 9, 2006, lot 21.
Only two oil portraits of Bacon by Freud are known. One of them, painted in 1952, was stolen in 1988 and never reappeared. The other, oil and charcoal on canvas 35 x 35 cm painted in 1956-1957, was sold for £ 5.4M by Christie's on October 19, 2008, lot 19. Only the central part of the face is complete.
Bruce Bernard was another lifelong friend of Lucian. A photographer specialized in the portraits of artists, he was also a picture editor and a writer and worked for magazines. Of course Lucian desired to make his portrait. He had a similar reluctance as Francis's of sitting or standing for the painstaking lengthy periods required by the artist.
Bruce accepted three times after appreciating that Lucian was now able to increase the working speed : in 1985 for an etching limited to the head, in 1992 for a standing portrait and in 1996 for a seated portrait with hands on the knees, after which he narrated this ordeal with much wit.
The 1985 head had required 28 sittings 2 hours each. For the 1992 sessions, he opted for a standing position with the hands concealed in the pockets for escaping an estimated 7 additional sessions. The slightly downwards angle was perfectly matching Bruce's recognizable usual posture. He finally had not considered the experience as a discomfort due to the many breaks for a stretch, and "for about half the time a stream of good gossip, old song lyrics and jokes".
The oil on canvas 114 x 84 cm painted in 1992 was sold for £ 7.9M from a lower estimate of £ 4.5M by Christie's on June 20, 2007, lot 35. The 102 x 81 cm oil on canvas painted in 1996 was sold for £ 3.5M by Sotheby's on February 9, 2006, lot 21.
1992 Hospital by Zeng Fanzhi
2013 SOLD for HK$ 113M by Christie's
When Zeng Fanzhi left the art school, he was much influenced by expressionism. The society of humans is cruel, and painting shall not be complacent.
In 1992, aged 28, he took as a theme the hospital of incurable illness (Xiehe hospital) close to his home in Wuhan. Many patients without psychological identification are queuing for their drug, infusion or injection. The mind of each of them is focused on the vain hope brought by the therapy.
Same as the German characters by Dix, Grosz or Beckmann, these Chinese men are ugly in their banality. Their life is already artificial. Zeng will soon afterwards vary the message by the unlimited possibilities of the theme of the mask.
For displaying his tragic vision of mankind through the hospital, Zeng made three triptychs in oil on canvas. The very morbid second panel, 179 x 465 cm overall, was sold for £ 2.76M by Phillips de Pury on October 13, 2007. Its central panel refers to the Christian Pieta.
The Hospital Triptych No. 3, 150 x 345 cm overall, was sold by Christie's for HK $ 113M in November 23, 2013, lot 50 and for HK $ 48M on May 26, 2022, lot 54.
The side panels narrate the donation and transfusion of blood. The central panel displays a long table with seated doctors which is an early hint by the artist to the Last Supper of Christ.
In 1992, aged 28, he took as a theme the hospital of incurable illness (Xiehe hospital) close to his home in Wuhan. Many patients without psychological identification are queuing for their drug, infusion or injection. The mind of each of them is focused on the vain hope brought by the therapy.
Same as the German characters by Dix, Grosz or Beckmann, these Chinese men are ugly in their banality. Their life is already artificial. Zeng will soon afterwards vary the message by the unlimited possibilities of the theme of the mask.
For displaying his tragic vision of mankind through the hospital, Zeng made three triptychs in oil on canvas. The very morbid second panel, 179 x 465 cm overall, was sold for £ 2.76M by Phillips de Pury on October 13, 2007. Its central panel refers to the Christian Pieta.
The Hospital Triptych No. 3, 150 x 345 cm overall, was sold by Christie's for HK $ 113M in November 23, 2013, lot 50 and for HK $ 48M on May 26, 2022, lot 54.
The side panels narrate the donation and transfusion of blood. The central panel displays a long table with seated doctors which is an early hint by the artist to the Last Supper of Christ.
1992 Propped by Jenny Saville
2018 SOLD for £ 9.5M by Sotheby's
Jenny Saville graduates in 1992 from the Glasgow School of Art. She is 22 years old. She watches with disapproval the young women of her generation, obsessed with their bodies, threatened by anorexia, tempted by cosmetic surgery. She creates larger-than-life self-portraits with a recognizable head tilted backwards and an enlarged naked body.
A painting on canvas 210 x 179 cm titled Branded gives the key to the thought of the artist. The words of femininity are inscribed on this flaccid body : Decorative, Supportive, Irrational, Delicate. They are words from the language of men. The total contradiction between text and image is a clever provocation. Branded was sold for £ 1.5M by Christie's on February 16, 2011.
For her degree show, Saville displays an installation titled Propped consisting of an oil on canvas 213 x 183 cm and a mirror. The composition of this self-portrait gives the illusion that the character comes out of her frame by her obesity. She is huge but vulnerable, with clenched hands and feet.
A text is superimposed on this image, in a plane as if it were scratched on a window. It is in reverse writing so that only the woman can read it. The role of the mirror is to provide its understanding to the art school jury. Subsequently and with the agreement of the artist, the mirror will no longer be used.
The text in Propped is a quote from the psychoanalyst Luce Irigaray who considers that men and women have a different language. Women however want to speak the language of men. In doing so, they flatter the male narcissism and erase their own personality.
Propped was sold for £ 9.5M from an estimate of £ 3M by Sotheby's on October 5, 2018, lot 6. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The audacity of Propped and Branded seduced Saatchi, and Saville will be a leading artist in his Young British Artists exhibitions. Titled Shift, a promiscuity of naked female bodies exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts brings in 1997 to Saville the celebrity by the indecency supported by Saatchi. Shift was sold for £ 6.8M by Sotheby's on June 28, 2016.
Breaking all the canons of beauty, the art of Saville could not have been created by a man.
A painting on canvas 210 x 179 cm titled Branded gives the key to the thought of the artist. The words of femininity are inscribed on this flaccid body : Decorative, Supportive, Irrational, Delicate. They are words from the language of men. The total contradiction between text and image is a clever provocation. Branded was sold for £ 1.5M by Christie's on February 16, 2011.
For her degree show, Saville displays an installation titled Propped consisting of an oil on canvas 213 x 183 cm and a mirror. The composition of this self-portrait gives the illusion that the character comes out of her frame by her obesity. She is huge but vulnerable, with clenched hands and feet.
A text is superimposed on this image, in a plane as if it were scratched on a window. It is in reverse writing so that only the woman can read it. The role of the mirror is to provide its understanding to the art school jury. Subsequently and with the agreement of the artist, the mirror will no longer be used.
The text in Propped is a quote from the psychoanalyst Luce Irigaray who considers that men and women have a different language. Women however want to speak the language of men. In doing so, they flatter the male narcissism and erase their own personality.
Propped was sold for £ 9.5M from an estimate of £ 3M by Sotheby's on October 5, 2018, lot 6. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The audacity of Propped and Branded seduced Saatchi, and Saville will be a leading artist in his Young British Artists exhibitions. Titled Shift, a promiscuity of naked female bodies exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts brings in 1997 to Saville the celebrity by the indecency supported by Saatchi. Shift was sold for £ 6.8M by Sotheby's on June 28, 2016.
Breaking all the canons of beauty, the art of Saville could not have been created by a man.
1992 Untitled by Mitchell
2021 SOLD for $ 11.9M by Phillips
Joan Mitchell was first diagnosed with a cancer in 1984, aged 59. Her health further deteriorated with hip dysplasia and disabling arthritis.
Clearly feeling that her life and art would come to an end, she did not stop working, increasing her quest for the processing of colors by the greatest masters of the past : van Gogh, Monet, Kandinsky, Matisse. She felt like a dying sunflower. She said : "I become the sunflower, the lake, the tree. I no longer exist".
She restarted her former style of color bursts on white background, but without the desperate centrifugal explosion of her Paris period. Her art remained fully abstract but the compositions mingling colored streaks and ribbons could remind a tree, symbol of life and vitality. Many Untitled works are certainly tributes by the trees to late friends but she did not disclose such an attribution. Her oil colors now inspired by pastel became brighter than ever.
1992 was the last year of her life. Resuming the large formats, she prepared a solo exhibition at the Galerie Jean Fournier in Paris.
An Untitled oil on canvas 280 x 200 cm painted in 1992 was sold for $ 11.9M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Phillips on November 17, 2021, lot 8. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house. Another Untitled in same format and year as the example above, also exhibited at Jean Fournier, was sold for € 4.7M by Christie's on October 20, 2022, lot 14.
Mitchell once stated : "All I wanted to do was paint".
Clearly feeling that her life and art would come to an end, she did not stop working, increasing her quest for the processing of colors by the greatest masters of the past : van Gogh, Monet, Kandinsky, Matisse. She felt like a dying sunflower. She said : "I become the sunflower, the lake, the tree. I no longer exist".
She restarted her former style of color bursts on white background, but without the desperate centrifugal explosion of her Paris period. Her art remained fully abstract but the compositions mingling colored streaks and ribbons could remind a tree, symbol of life and vitality. Many Untitled works are certainly tributes by the trees to late friends but she did not disclose such an attribution. Her oil colors now inspired by pastel became brighter than ever.
1992 was the last year of her life. Resuming the large formats, she prepared a solo exhibition at the Galerie Jean Fournier in Paris.
An Untitled oil on canvas 280 x 200 cm painted in 1992 was sold for $ 11.9M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Phillips on November 17, 2021, lot 8. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house. Another Untitled in same format and year as the example above, also exhibited at Jean Fournier, was sold for € 4.7M by Christie's on October 20, 2022, lot 14.
Mitchell once stated : "All I wanted to do was paint".
