Jean-Michel BASQUIAT (1960-1988)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : USA USA II The Man
Chronology : 20th century 1980-1989 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
See also : USA USA II The Man
Chronology : 20th century 1980-1989 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
1981 The Field next to the Other Road
2015 SOLD for $ 37M by Christie's
In early 1981, success is immediate for Jean-Michel Basquiat. His fame soon transcends borders and Emilio Mazzoli invites him for an exhibition in Modena in May and June.
Jean-Michel painted during the trip. His mixed techniques on canvas 221 x 401 cm starring in life size a character and a cow is even his largest artwork from that seminal year as if he already desired to escape Annina Nosei's basement.
This work entitled The field next to the other road sounds like a holiday souvenir for the young artist who discovers Italy. On the left, it is typical of the already favorite themes of Jean-Michel through that thorn-crowned man with visible skeleton and full sex.
The cow on the right looks like a child's drawing with her innocent gaze and big udder. The line drawing is filled with colors but the artist avoids as always the classical artistic language: the color of one of the legs of the beast is outside the line drawing.
Made in a country with an incomparable artistic past, this painting is a fresco on the theme of life (milk) and death (bones) by a very young man eager for thrills and glory. The field was sold for $ 37M from a lower estimate of $ 25M by Christie's on May 13, 2015, lot 55B.
Jean-Michel painted during the trip. His mixed techniques on canvas 221 x 401 cm starring in life size a character and a cow is even his largest artwork from that seminal year as if he already desired to escape Annina Nosei's basement.
This work entitled The field next to the other road sounds like a holiday souvenir for the young artist who discovers Italy. On the left, it is typical of the already favorite themes of Jean-Michel through that thorn-crowned man with visible skeleton and full sex.
The cow on the right looks like a child's drawing with her innocent gaze and big udder. The line drawing is filled with colors but the artist avoids as always the classical artistic language: the color of one of the legs of the beast is outside the line drawing.
Made in a country with an incomparable artistic past, this painting is a fresco on the theme of life (milk) and death (bones) by a very young man eager for thrills and glory. The field was sold for $ 37M from a lower estimate of $ 25M by Christie's on May 13, 2015, lot 55B.
January 1982
2017 SOLD for $ 110M by Sotheby's
The participation of Jean-Michel Basquiat in a collective exhibition in February 1981 attracted the attention of three merchants who will separately have a leading role in the start of his career : Emilio Mazzoli, Annina Nosei and Bruno Bischofberger.
It is to the honor of Annina Nosei to have convinced Jean-Michel that her basement was more appropriate than the streets of New York to let his skills explode. This close collaboration during which the artist can finally work regularly on very large canvases lasted from September 1981 to November 1982.
During that first year Jean-Michel mostly displays characters in full length, apostles of negritude whose transparency of the flesh reveals the skeleton. His perfectly mastered technique with acrylic, spray and oilstick and his fast and accurate stroke bring the expression of an activism unprecedented in art.
The monumental heads painted in 1982 are the culmination of the art of Jean-Michel. On May 18, 2017, Sotheby's sold for $ 110M from an estimate in excess of $ 60M a painting 183 x 173 cm executed in January 1982 for the Nosei Gallery, lot 24.
Like many opus by Jean-Michel, it is untitled. The theme is limited to a huge head to which bright colors and aggressive teeth provide an angry expression. By its transparency, it is a skull or perhaps a mask. Without neck or body, it floats before a blue sky that is perhaps only a gap in a tagged wall.
It is to the honor of Annina Nosei to have convinced Jean-Michel that her basement was more appropriate than the streets of New York to let his skills explode. This close collaboration during which the artist can finally work regularly on very large canvases lasted from September 1981 to November 1982.
During that first year Jean-Michel mostly displays characters in full length, apostles of negritude whose transparency of the flesh reveals the skeleton. His perfectly mastered technique with acrylic, spray and oilstick and his fast and accurate stroke bring the expression of an activism unprecedented in art.
The monumental heads painted in 1982 are the culmination of the art of Jean-Michel. On May 18, 2017, Sotheby's sold for $ 110M from an estimate in excess of $ 60M a painting 183 x 173 cm executed in January 1982 for the Nosei Gallery, lot 24.
Like many opus by Jean-Michel, it is untitled. The theme is limited to a huge head to which bright colors and aggressive teeth provide an angry expression. By its transparency, it is a skull or perhaps a mask. Without neck or body, it floats before a blue sky that is perhaps only a gap in a tagged wall.
March 1982
2022 SOLD for $ 85M by Phillips
Jean-Michel Basquiat made two trips to Italy early in his career. The first visit in the spring of 1981 was caused by the exhibition dedicated to him in Modena by Emilio Mazzoli.
Jean-Michel returns to Modena in March 1982. Through the example of the Field next to the other road painted there in 1981 on a 221 x 401 cm canvas, he appreciated that the basement of Annina Nosei was already not sufficient to match his grand vision. This painting was sold for $ 37M by Christie's in 2015. He will part from the Nosei gallery in favor of Bischofberger in the summer of 1982.
During his Spring 1982 stay in Modena, he executes a pair of paintings on the traditional Italian theme of paradise and hell but as usual he blurs the message to exacerbate his vision of the power to the blacks. An advised art critic would later comment that Jean-Michel Basquiat had been the Jimi Hendrix of painting.
Jean-Michel understood the visual advantage of gigantism which will be one of the essential characteristics of the art of our time : the size of the canvas is 239 x 500 cm. It is painted in acrylic without oil stick, enabling to introduce some drippings below the puddles of bright colors surrounding the horned head.
Some observers see a self-portrait in this devil. This is an excessive opinion because the lines are stylized, but indeed this threatening tribal face reflects the ambition of the young artist to become a redeemer of the world.
That vision of hell was sold for $ 57M by Christie's on May 10, 2016, lot 36 B. Please watch the video shared by Christie's. It was sold for $ 85M by Phillips on May 18, 2022, lot 12.
Jean-Michel had not needed to give a title to his Demon, unlike the divine figure which he called Profit I by one of his usual claw blows against capitalism. The contrast is striking : here the background is dark and tagged, the round mouth is shouting a sermon that nobody will listen.
Profit I, 220 x 400 cm, had established a temporary world record at auction for the artist on May 14, 2002 when it was sold by Christie's for $ 5.5M from a lower estimate of $ 3M, lot 34.
Jean-Michel returns to Modena in March 1982. Through the example of the Field next to the other road painted there in 1981 on a 221 x 401 cm canvas, he appreciated that the basement of Annina Nosei was already not sufficient to match his grand vision. This painting was sold for $ 37M by Christie's in 2015. He will part from the Nosei gallery in favor of Bischofberger in the summer of 1982.
During his Spring 1982 stay in Modena, he executes a pair of paintings on the traditional Italian theme of paradise and hell but as usual he blurs the message to exacerbate his vision of the power to the blacks. An advised art critic would later comment that Jean-Michel Basquiat had been the Jimi Hendrix of painting.
Jean-Michel understood the visual advantage of gigantism which will be one of the essential characteristics of the art of our time : the size of the canvas is 239 x 500 cm. It is painted in acrylic without oil stick, enabling to introduce some drippings below the puddles of bright colors surrounding the horned head.
Some observers see a self-portrait in this devil. This is an excessive opinion because the lines are stylized, but indeed this threatening tribal face reflects the ambition of the young artist to become a redeemer of the world.
That vision of hell was sold for $ 57M by Christie's on May 10, 2016, lot 36 B. Please watch the video shared by Christie's. It was sold for $ 85M by Phillips on May 18, 2022, lot 12.
Jean-Michel had not needed to give a title to his Demon, unlike the divine figure which he called Profit I by one of his usual claw blows against capitalism. The contrast is striking : here the background is dark and tagged, the round mouth is shouting a sermon that nobody will listen.
Profit I, 220 x 400 cm, had established a temporary world record at auction for the artist on May 14, 2002 when it was sold by Christie's for $ 5.5M from a lower estimate of $ 3M, lot 34.
March 1982 The Guilt of Gold Teeth
2021 SOLD for $ 40M by Christie's
The Guilt of Gold Teeth, so titled by the artist in the lower left of the canvas, is a dramatic political staging by Jean-Michel Basquiat on a flamboyant orange and blue background.
This acrylic, spray and oilstick 240 x 420 cm was painted during his second stay in Modena, in March 1982, during which he could create new compositions in monumental sizes in a working space prepared for him by Mazzoli.
The funerary character with wire limbs is Baron Samedi. For the ancestors of the artist in Haiti, the "Baron" is the voodoo figure who transfers the people from life to the beyond in a sardonic lecherous laughter. Far away from the New York streets, Jean-Michel displays to his Italian audience this white faced terrifying figure in a capitalist attire with a top hat and frock coat.
The arch-enemy is indeed the global capitalism, as evidenced by several dollar signs and by the title Profit attributed to a screaming figure from the Modena series. Other inscriptions include in repetition a few words in block letters plus hobo marks whose meaning will escape a w.a.s.p. reader. PESO NETO possibly refers to the weighing of the souls by the Baron.
The title is complex, as often with Jean-Michel. The pun between Gilt and Guilt is obvious. The golden teeth may refer to the earliest African American boxing champion, Jack Johnson, who was naturally one of the black idols of the artist.
The Guilt of Gold Teeth was sold for $ 40M by Christie's on November 9, 2021, lot 19A.
Profit, 220 x 400 cm, had established a temporary world record at auction for the artist on May 14, 2002 when it was sold by Christie's for $ 5.5M from a lower estimate of $ 3M, lot 34.
This acrylic, spray and oilstick 240 x 420 cm was painted during his second stay in Modena, in March 1982, during which he could create new compositions in monumental sizes in a working space prepared for him by Mazzoli.
The funerary character with wire limbs is Baron Samedi. For the ancestors of the artist in Haiti, the "Baron" is the voodoo figure who transfers the people from life to the beyond in a sardonic lecherous laughter. Far away from the New York streets, Jean-Michel displays to his Italian audience this white faced terrifying figure in a capitalist attire with a top hat and frock coat.
The arch-enemy is indeed the global capitalism, as evidenced by several dollar signs and by the title Profit attributed to a screaming figure from the Modena series. Other inscriptions include in repetition a few words in block letters plus hobo marks whose meaning will escape a w.a.s.p. reader. PESO NETO possibly refers to the weighing of the souls by the Baron.
The title is complex, as often with Jean-Michel. The pun between Gilt and Guilt is obvious. The golden teeth may refer to the earliest African American boxing champion, Jack Johnson, who was naturally one of the black idols of the artist.
The Guilt of Gold Teeth was sold for $ 40M by Christie's on November 9, 2021, lot 19A.
Profit, 220 x 400 cm, had established a temporary world record at auction for the artist on May 14, 2002 when it was sold by Christie's for $ 5.5M from a lower estimate of $ 3M, lot 34.
1982 Dustheads
2013 SOLD for $ 49M by Christie's
In 1981, Basquiat was spreading a mystical message with heavy criticisms against mankind and society. In addition to the revolutionary language of the former street child, his artistic success is due to the exceptional quality of his technique and to the originality of his figuration.
1982 is another great year. Dustheads, 183 x 213 cm, is a fascinating work. Two characters side by side look at the viewer with stupidity and wickedness. The figure on the right dominates with his hilarious face and strident colors. Are they aliens or voodoo masks?
They may only be hallucinations. The title Dustheads comes directly from the slang of the drug. 1982 was a transition year for Basquiat, and this work is curiously close to the most disturbing figures of his former street art.
Despite its aggressiveness, Dustheads is an engaging work that has not yet been reached by the obscurity of his future political message. It was sold for $ 49M from a lower estimate of $ 25M by Christie's on May 15, 2013, lot 10.
1982 is another great year. Dustheads, 183 x 213 cm, is a fascinating work. Two characters side by side look at the viewer with stupidity and wickedness. The figure on the right dominates with his hilarious face and strident colors. Are they aliens or voodoo masks?
They may only be hallucinations. The title Dustheads comes directly from the slang of the drug. 1982 was a transition year for Basquiat, and this work is curiously close to the most disturbing figures of his former street art.
Despite its aggressiveness, Dustheads is an engaging work that has not yet been reached by the obscurity of his future political message. It was sold for $ 49M from a lower estimate of $ 25M by Christie's on May 15, 2013, lot 10.
1982 Warrior
2021 SOLD for HK$ 324M by Christie's
A very good connoisseur of art history, Jean-Michel Basquiat tries out a wide variety of themes in Annina Nosei's basement in 1981. His father is of Haitian origin and his mother is of Puerto- Rican origin. His vision of the world is total, from tribal Africa to the streets of New York.
The Fisherman is one of the very first paintings of the Nosei phase. Basquiat replaced the nudity of the primitive man with a transparency displaying the skeleton through the black skin. The inspiration of the nail fetishes of Congo brings an additional aggressiveness which does not spare the terrible fish. The Grebo masks from Ivory Coast provides the hallucinatory gaze and the relentless mouth. This 198 x 173 cm canvas painting was sold for $ 26.4M by Christie's on November 14, 2012.
It is better to be the first in your village than the second in Rome or New York. The fisherman is already a paltry king, with a crown of thorns. The artist reuses the character as a warrior, with a deadly sword.
Basquiat seeks the best effects to support his social message. The canvas does not replace the graffiti wall and is too far from tribal art. He tries wood.
A Warrior painted in 1982 is a good demonstrator of this perfectionism applied to a theme which is already a series. Through its auction history, this 183 x 122 cm acrylic, oilstick and spray on wood panel is also a pioneer in the global export of the Basquiat market. It was sold three times by Sotheby's : in New York for $ 1.8M on November 9, 2005, in London for £ 2.8M on June 21, 2007 and for £ 5.6M on June 26, 2012. It was sold for HK $ 324M from a lower estimate of HK $ 240M by Christie's on March 23, 2021, lot 1.
The Fisherman is one of the very first paintings of the Nosei phase. Basquiat replaced the nudity of the primitive man with a transparency displaying the skeleton through the black skin. The inspiration of the nail fetishes of Congo brings an additional aggressiveness which does not spare the terrible fish. The Grebo masks from Ivory Coast provides the hallucinatory gaze and the relentless mouth. This 198 x 173 cm canvas painting was sold for $ 26.4M by Christie's on November 14, 2012.
It is better to be the first in your village than the second in Rome or New York. The fisherman is already a paltry king, with a crown of thorns. The artist reuses the character as a warrior, with a deadly sword.
Basquiat seeks the best effects to support his social message. The canvas does not replace the graffiti wall and is too far from tribal art. He tries wood.
A Warrior painted in 1982 is a good demonstrator of this perfectionism applied to a theme which is already a series. Through its auction history, this 183 x 122 cm acrylic, oilstick and spray on wood panel is also a pioneer in the global export of the Basquiat market. It was sold three times by Sotheby's : in New York for $ 1.8M on November 9, 2005, in London for £ 2.8M on June 21, 2007 and for £ 5.6M on June 26, 2012. It was sold for HK $ 324M from a lower estimate of HK $ 240M by Christie's on March 23, 2021, lot 1.
October 1982 Versus Medici
2021 SOLD for $ 51M by Sotheby's
Jean-Michel Basquiat was deeply immersed in art history, through his education and through his stays in Italy. He appreciated very early that he had changed street painting into a major new form of art, raising to unprecedented heights the African-American pictorial expression.
A triptych in acrylic, oilstick and collage on three joined canvases 214 x 138 cm overall, dated October 1982, reveals how Jean-Michel viewed at the young age of 22 his own place in art history.
The title, Versus Medici, is clear. Jean-Michel is a follower of the greatest family of art patrons of the Italian Renaissance, but he is also their antagonist because they symbolise the white wealth and power. It is also a pun against the famous Venus de Medici.
The standing character is towering. He is not a male or a female, and his face is neither white or black, so this one cannot be a disguised self portrait. With the bowl cut hair and the triangular pair of legs, he looks like an Egyptian sarcophagus. In an astonishing reference to the past, the background surface of the lower part is in the Medici red and gold.
Jean-Michel adds his signature style, including the detailed view of stomach and intestinal system beyond the skin. The three-pointed crown behind the character expresses the access of Basquiat to his desired art royalty. A three-time graffiti is written in pseudo Greek letters, and probably means his personal Apotheosis. The word ELBOW neatly scraped below the arm reminds that an artwork always had a preparation phase.
Versus Medici was sold by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021, lot 105, for $ 51M from a lower estimate of $ 35M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
A triptych in acrylic, oilstick and collage on three joined canvases 214 x 138 cm overall, dated October 1982, reveals how Jean-Michel viewed at the young age of 22 his own place in art history.
The title, Versus Medici, is clear. Jean-Michel is a follower of the greatest family of art patrons of the Italian Renaissance, but he is also their antagonist because they symbolise the white wealth and power. It is also a pun against the famous Venus de Medici.
The standing character is towering. He is not a male or a female, and his face is neither white or black, so this one cannot be a disguised self portrait. With the bowl cut hair and the triangular pair of legs, he looks like an Egyptian sarcophagus. In an astonishing reference to the past, the background surface of the lower part is in the Medici red and gold.
Jean-Michel adds his signature style, including the detailed view of stomach and intestinal system beyond the skin. The three-pointed crown behind the character expresses the access of Basquiat to his desired art royalty. A three-time graffiti is written in pseudo Greek letters, and probably means his personal Apotheosis. The word ELBOW neatly scraped below the arm reminds that an artwork always had a preparation phase.
Versus Medici was sold by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021, lot 105, for $ 51M from a lower estimate of $ 35M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1983 In this Case
2021 SOLD for $ 93M by Christie's
There is a tragic turning point in the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat after his two wonder years. As early as January 1983, he tells Geldzahler that his art is now 80 % anger.
In the first phase, the skull viewed through the head or in place of it was a mere artefact, just like the bones viewed through the skin. The two monumental "skull" views of 1982, one sold for $ 110M by Sotheby's in 2017 and the other for $ 57M by Christie's in 2016, use the skull for featuring a terrible and playful demon. Both paintings are untitled.
Also in 1982, an acrylic, oilstick and collage on canvas is titled Red Skull. It displays around that new theme Jean-Michel's signature explosions of seven bright colors. This painting 152 x 152 cm was sold for £ 16.5M by Christie's on October 6, 2017, lot 8.
The game becomes serious. On May 11, 2021, Christie's sold at lot 8 A for $ 93M from an estimate of $ 50M In this case, acrylic and oilstick on canvas 198 x 187 cm painted in 1983. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The skull occupies now the whole surface of the canvas, without a reference to a skin. A half of it is missing, evidencing the post death decay. The surrounding color is a very violent red. The cheek embeds a one-hand clock ticking the disaster of time and the precarity of black men in the US society. The single eye is yellow and the teeth are green.
This opus is considered convincingly as a tribute to the street artist Michael Stewart, beaten to death in September 1983 by the police while attempting to tag in the New York subway. The young African-American graffiti artist was a close friend of Jean-Michel of whom he was dating a previous girlfriend.
The title is a pun, of course. It does not refer to the trivial phrase nor to the cranial case but to the coffin of the friend, while also forwarding a desire of Jean-Michel to go to court against the brutality of the cops.
In the first phase, the skull viewed through the head or in place of it was a mere artefact, just like the bones viewed through the skin. The two monumental "skull" views of 1982, one sold for $ 110M by Sotheby's in 2017 and the other for $ 57M by Christie's in 2016, use the skull for featuring a terrible and playful demon. Both paintings are untitled.
Also in 1982, an acrylic, oilstick and collage on canvas is titled Red Skull. It displays around that new theme Jean-Michel's signature explosions of seven bright colors. This painting 152 x 152 cm was sold for £ 16.5M by Christie's on October 6, 2017, lot 8.
The game becomes serious. On May 11, 2021, Christie's sold at lot 8 A for $ 93M from an estimate of $ 50M In this case, acrylic and oilstick on canvas 198 x 187 cm painted in 1983. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The skull occupies now the whole surface of the canvas, without a reference to a skin. A half of it is missing, evidencing the post death decay. The surrounding color is a very violent red. The cheek embeds a one-hand clock ticking the disaster of time and the precarity of black men in the US society. The single eye is yellow and the teeth are green.
This opus is considered convincingly as a tribute to the street artist Michael Stewart, beaten to death in September 1983 by the police while attempting to tag in the New York subway. The young African-American graffiti artist was a close friend of Jean-Michel of whom he was dating a previous girlfriend.
The title is a pun, of course. It does not refer to the trivial phrase nor to the cranial case but to the coffin of the friend, while also forwarding a desire of Jean-Michel to go to court against the brutality of the cops.
1984 Flexible
2018 SOLD for $ 45M by Phillips
In March 1983 Larry Gagosian exhibited artworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat in his West Hollywood gallery. A few months later the artist tries the Californian adventure and installs his studio in Venice. He thus temporarily escapes New York where he felt the difficulty of transforming his skill into a lasting fame. Basquiat mingles little with the surrounding worldly life : he came to Los Angeles for working.
One night in the yard of his studio, Jean-Michel meets a tramp. The palisade was therefore useless. It would be more useful as a support for his paintings. He disassembles it and reuses the slats until that source is depleted. It is a simple and clever way to give his work an additional feature of street art. Later in New York he will purchase boards to continue this new practice while including tags therein.
On May 17, 2018, Phillips sold as lot 5 for $ 45M from a lower estimate of $ 20M Flexible, acrylic and oilstick 259 x 191 cm painted in Venice in 1984 on horizontally stacked wood. The low resolution image is shared by WikiArt "for fair use" under the copyright of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The larger-than-life African-American character with transparent skin is an alter ego of Jean-Michel. The left forearm is disproportionately lengthened to reach the right hand, forming a flexible frame above the head. The very straight head is proud, expressing the desire for glory of the artist.
Flexible is the masterpiece of this transition phase. A photograph of 1986 shows the artist sitting on a decorated cube with the towering Flexible on the back wall of the workshop. This painting had been preserved in his estate by his sisters.
One night in the yard of his studio, Jean-Michel meets a tramp. The palisade was therefore useless. It would be more useful as a support for his paintings. He disassembles it and reuses the slats until that source is depleted. It is a simple and clever way to give his work an additional feature of street art. Later in New York he will purchase boards to continue this new practice while including tags therein.
On May 17, 2018, Phillips sold as lot 5 for $ 45M from a lower estimate of $ 20M Flexible, acrylic and oilstick 259 x 191 cm painted in Venice in 1984 on horizontally stacked wood. The low resolution image is shared by WikiArt "for fair use" under the copyright of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The larger-than-life African-American character with transparent skin is an alter ego of Jean-Michel. The left forearm is disproportionately lengthened to reach the right hand, forming a flexible frame above the head. The very straight head is proud, expressing the desire for glory of the artist.
Flexible is the masterpiece of this transition phase. A photograph of 1986 shows the artist sitting on a decorated cube with the towering Flexible on the back wall of the workshop. This painting had been preserved in his estate by his sisters.
1985 Untitled (with Don Quixote and Jaguar)
2021 SOLD for HK$ 290M by Sotheby's
Jean-Michel Basquiat comes from the street but he indeed cannot bring a wall into his studio or a fortiori into an exhibition room. During his stay in California in 1983, he appreciates that a wooden fence could be a good substitute to have the viewers remind the deep roots of his art.
This material unprecedented in pictorial art also invites to polyptychs. For the great narrative works, wood is thus an alternative to canvas of which a great example is the 1983 Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta, sold by Sotheby's in 2014 for $ 23.7M.
On June 18, 2021, Sotheby's sold for HK $ 290M an Untitled painted in 1985, lot 15. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This acrylic and oilstick on wood is a triptych 217 x 275 cm overall. The idea of using raw material in major art is reinforced by the unequal depth of the three panels, up to 30 cm for the protruding right panel.
The most visible figure is a black alien, with an extensive double row of teeth and a body transparent to the bright white digestive system. Don Quixote riding his poor horse is a direct symbol of Basquiat's impossible social fight.
The three panels have different dominant hues. The common character of the three images is a jaguar whose colored body is over Don Quixote on the central panel. The tail is linking it to the protruding right panel. The otherwise nearly blank left panel has an oversized black drawing of the head with terrible fangs plus a hanging colored debris of the skin.
On February 10, 1985, The New York Times Magazine reported on 'New Art New Money' about the irresistible rise in fame of the 24 year old Basquiat. The cover page was illustrated with a seated portrait of Jean-Michel in front of the unfinished triptych narrated above, when the jaguar had not yet been added.
This material unprecedented in pictorial art also invites to polyptychs. For the great narrative works, wood is thus an alternative to canvas of which a great example is the 1983 Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta, sold by Sotheby's in 2014 for $ 23.7M.
On June 18, 2021, Sotheby's sold for HK $ 290M an Untitled painted in 1985, lot 15. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This acrylic and oilstick on wood is a triptych 217 x 275 cm overall. The idea of using raw material in major art is reinforced by the unequal depth of the three panels, up to 30 cm for the protruding right panel.
The most visible figure is a black alien, with an extensive double row of teeth and a body transparent to the bright white digestive system. Don Quixote riding his poor horse is a direct symbol of Basquiat's impossible social fight.
The three panels have different dominant hues. The common character of the three images is a jaguar whose colored body is over Don Quixote on the central panel. The tail is linking it to the protruding right panel. The otherwise nearly blank left panel has an oversized black drawing of the head with terrible fangs plus a hanging colored debris of the skin.
On February 10, 1985, The New York Times Magazine reported on 'New Art New Money' about the irresistible rise in fame of the 24 year old Basquiat. The cover page was illustrated with a seated portrait of Jean-Michel in front of the unfinished triptych narrated above, when the jaguar had not yet been added.
