Jean-Michel BASQUIAT (1960-1988)
See also : Top 10 Painting USA USA II The Man Groups Man and woman Animals
Chronology : 20th century 1980-1989 1981 1982 1983
Chronology : 20th century 1980-1989 1981 1982 1983
1981 The Modern Bucolics
2015 SOLD for $ 37M including premium
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 is estimated $ 25M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 13, 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 is estimated $ 25M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 13, lot 55B.
1981 Taggers and Policemen
2017 SOLD for $ 35M including premium
Suddenly at ease in 1981 thanks to the support of Annina Nosei, Jean-Michel Basquiat views his future as one of the greatest African-American heroes.
Real life is not so simple. Segregation remains latent in the high society and street artists considered as mere vandals are mercilessly pursued by the police. We cannot blame him for this fear of the cops : two years later one of his friends will be killed in a muscled police intervention.
Whether white or black the policeman is an enemy of his freedom. Jean-Michel makes some caricature portrait paintings of these brutes who maintain the public order. By defiance and by support of his friends who remain in the street, he adds on the back wall some inscriptions appearing as hastily written. In a later phase of his career these often incomprehensible messages will become preponderant.
A 182 x 121 cm panel adorned with the remarkable IRONY OFNEGROPLCEMN tag was sold for £ 8.2M including premium by Phillips de Pury on June 28, 2012.
On May 17 in New York, Christie's sells a panel of same size painted with acrylic and oilstick which is one of the rare examples in the art of Jean-Michel where the character is a white man. It is estimated $ 22M, lot 55 B.
This policeman is a massive man with broad shoulders whose function is recognizable in his uniform and kepi. The mouth is open in a cry and the gaze is bloody. On the wall the stylized drawing of a gaunt eagle is a mocking symbol of the federal authority. Below the eagle the tag LA HARA appears four times as a challenge inspired from 'La jara' meaning the cops in Puerto-Rican slang.
Real life is not so simple. Segregation remains latent in the high society and street artists considered as mere vandals are mercilessly pursued by the police. We cannot blame him for this fear of the cops : two years later one of his friends will be killed in a muscled police intervention.
Whether white or black the policeman is an enemy of his freedom. Jean-Michel makes some caricature portrait paintings of these brutes who maintain the public order. By defiance and by support of his friends who remain in the street, he adds on the back wall some inscriptions appearing as hastily written. In a later phase of his career these often incomprehensible messages will become preponderant.
A 182 x 121 cm panel adorned with the remarkable IRONY OFNEGROPLCEMN tag was sold for £ 8.2M including premium by Phillips de Pury on June 28, 2012.
On May 17 in New York, Christie's sells a panel of same size painted with acrylic and oilstick which is one of the rare examples in the art of Jean-Michel where the character is a white man. It is estimated $ 22M, lot 55 B.
This policeman is a massive man with broad shoulders whose function is recognizable in his uniform and kepi. The mouth is open in a cry and the gaze is bloody. On the wall the stylized drawing of a gaunt eagle is a mocking symbol of the federal authority. Below the eagle the tag LA HARA appears four times as a challenge inspired from 'La jara' meaning the cops in Puerto-Rican slang.
1981 The Warrior from the Street
2014 SOLD 35 M$ including premium
At the beginning of 1981, the enigmatic SAMO, a young artist from the streets of New York, participated in an exhibition in Queens. This will be the year of his fame under his real name, Jean-Michel Basquiat.
On May 13 in New York, Christie's sells one of his earliest paintings on canvas, 173 x 262 cm, lot 36 in the catalog, estimated $ 20M. This work includes everything that we may imagine from the street art by SAMO : large size, strident colors, war symbols, fierce humor. The mixing of techniques has already reached its top level of efficiency : acrylic, oil stick, metallic spray enamel.
The warrior is crowned and sexual, with organs visible by transparency. In attack position, he is by one hand Jupiter brandishing the lightning and by the other hand a rebel crusader wielding the sword. The claws of the feet reinforce the doubts about his belonging to mankind.
Unlike other paintings of the same period, this one is sprinkled with wild and incomprehensible words which are martial onomatopoeia (TAR TAR TAR ) or lyrical tunes (OEOEE). Later, such strange expressions shall almost always enhance the social revolt of his characters.
This painting has certainly been made in the studio arranged for Jean-Michel in the basement of Annina Nosei, who sold the artwork in the following year.
POST SALE COMMENT
This seminal Basquiat was sold for $ 35M including premium.
On May 13 in New York, Christie's sells one of his earliest paintings on canvas, 173 x 262 cm, lot 36 in the catalog, estimated $ 20M. This work includes everything that we may imagine from the street art by SAMO : large size, strident colors, war symbols, fierce humor. The mixing of techniques has already reached its top level of efficiency : acrylic, oil stick, metallic spray enamel.
The warrior is crowned and sexual, with organs visible by transparency. In attack position, he is by one hand Jupiter brandishing the lightning and by the other hand a rebel crusader wielding the sword. The claws of the feet reinforce the doubts about his belonging to mankind.
Unlike other paintings of the same period, this one is sprinkled with wild and incomprehensible words which are martial onomatopoeia (TAR TAR TAR ) or lyrical tunes (OEOEE). Later, such strange expressions shall almost always enhance the social revolt of his characters.
This painting has certainly been made in the studio arranged for Jean-Michel in the basement of Annina Nosei, who sold the artwork in the following year.
POST SALE COMMENT
This seminal Basquiat was sold for $ 35M including premium.
1981 Artistic Miracle in a Basement
2012 SOLD 26.4 M$ including premium
In 1981, Annina Nosei offered to a very young street artist a place to work in the basement of her gallery in New York. The result certainly exceeded the intention. Who could really predict that the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat would be within a few months the first strong representation of angers and hopes of the abandoned of the society?
The mystery of the instant makeover of Jean-Michel at Nosei does not stay in the grammar of his figuration, whose originality was already recognizable in his graffiti. It is the amazing technical mastery that he suddenly demonstrated for large formats which he had never practiced.
Jean-Michel was already mastering his drawing which he applied in increasingly detailed layers. And he also mastered color, executed in oilstick, acrylic and spray enamel applied with a spontaneity that would have pleased the abstract expressionists.
We do not know the exact day of the works made by Basquiat in Nosei basement but the canvas, 198 x 173 cm, for sale by Christie's in New York on December 14, is known as one of the first.
The fisherman is standing with his black body revealing the skeleton. He wears a crown of thorns and a halo of the same nature. The huge fish is hanging from the line. Basquiat is a threat to the well-meaning art of his time, and the fish could be a voodoo poison taken out of water by a new ambiguous god.
The estimate is not published, but according to the earliest releases this work is expected in the region of $ 20M. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Christie's had convinced us that this painting is a key work of early Basquiat art: $ 26.4 million including premium.
The mystery of the instant makeover of Jean-Michel at Nosei does not stay in the grammar of his figuration, whose originality was already recognizable in his graffiti. It is the amazing technical mastery that he suddenly demonstrated for large formats which he had never practiced.
Jean-Michel was already mastering his drawing which he applied in increasingly detailed layers. And he also mastered color, executed in oilstick, acrylic and spray enamel applied with a spontaneity that would have pleased the abstract expressionists.
We do not know the exact day of the works made by Basquiat in Nosei basement but the canvas, 198 x 173 cm, for sale by Christie's in New York on December 14, is known as one of the first.
The fisherman is standing with his black body revealing the skeleton. He wears a crown of thorns and a halo of the same nature. The huge fish is hanging from the line. Basquiat is a threat to the well-meaning art of his time, and the fish could be a voodoo poison taken out of water by a new ambiguous god.
The estimate is not published, but according to the earliest releases this work is expected in the region of $ 20M. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Christie's had convinced us that this painting is a key work of early Basquiat art: $ 26.4 million including premium.
1982 The Energy of a Skull
2017 SOLD for $ 110M including premium
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.
A new year begins, with new advances in his artistic language. On May 18 in New York, Sotheby's sells at lot 24 a painting 183 x 173 cm executed in January 1982 for the Nosei Gallery. The April 19 press release announces an estimate over $ 60M.
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.
The monumental heads painted in 1982 are the culmination of the art of Jean-Michel. The devil's head on a canvas 239 x 500 cm painted in March in Modena for Mazzoli was sold for $ 57M including premium by Christie's on May 10, 2016. Pairs of characters also appear : Dustheads was sold for $ 49M including premium on 15 May 2013, also by Christie's.
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.
A new year begins, with new advances in his artistic language. On May 18 in New York, Sotheby's sells at lot 24 a painting 183 x 173 cm executed in January 1982 for the Nosei Gallery. The April 19 press release announces an estimate over $ 60M.
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.
The monumental heads painted in 1982 are the culmination of the art of Jean-Michel. The devil's head on a canvas 239 x 500 cm painted in March in Modena for Mazzoli was sold for $ 57M including premium by Christie's on May 10, 2016. Pairs of characters also appear : Dustheads was sold for $ 49M including premium on 15 May 2013, also by Christie's.
1982 A Black Demon in Modena
2016 SOLD for $ 57M including premium
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. He discovered Europe and painted the very weird Field next to the other road. This mural sized canvas 221 x 401 cm tells that the basement of Annina Nosei is already not sufficient to match his grand vision. This painting was sold for $ 37M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2015.
Jean-Michel returns to Modena in March 1982. 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.
On May 10 in New York, Christie's sells the devil's figure at lot 36 B. 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 critics 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.
Jean-Michel did not need to give a title to his Demon, unlike the divine figure which he called Profit 1 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.
The press release of April 15 indicates that this Untitled is estimated in excess of $ 40M.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's. This masterpiece is discussed by Brett Gorvy.
The first visit in the spring of 1981 was caused by the exhibition dedicated to him in Modena by Emilio Mazzoli. He discovered Europe and painted the very weird Field next to the other road. This mural sized canvas 221 x 401 cm tells that the basement of Annina Nosei is already not sufficient to match his grand vision. This painting was sold for $ 37M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2015.
Jean-Michel returns to Modena in March 1982. 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.
On May 10 in New York, Christie's sells the devil's figure at lot 36 B. 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 critics 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.
Jean-Michel did not need to give a title to his Demon, unlike the divine figure which he called Profit 1 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.
The press release of April 15 indicates that this Untitled is estimated in excess of $ 40M.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's. This masterpiece is discussed by Brett Gorvy.
1982 The Hallucinations of Jean-Michel Basquiat
2013 SOLD 49 M$ including premium
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 is estimated $ 25M, for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15. Here is the link to the catalog.
I invite you to play the audio shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Well supported by the media effort of Christie's, this painting is recognized as one of the masterpieces by Basquiat. The result, $ 49M including premium, is exceeding all expectations.
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 is estimated $ 25M, for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15. Here is the link to the catalog.
I invite you to play the audio shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Well supported by the media effort of Christie's, this painting is recognized as one of the masterpieces by Basquiat. The result, $ 49M including premium, is exceeding all expectations.
1982 A Frenetic and Happy Basquiat
2013 SOLD 18.8 M£ including premium
In 1981, Jean-Michel Basquiat rushed like a rocket in the world of art. Despite his young age, his painting technique is complex and flawless. He paints the fearsome gods of the pantheon of his imagination.
Success came immediately. In 1982, he diversified his grammar. Compared to most of the works of the previous year, the painting for sale on June 25 at Christie's in London is remarkably optimistic.
The colors in acrylic and oilstick are pure and bright. The drawing reminds the frenetic graffiti, as if the work had been painted on a white wall. Using a large format is essential for highlighting the art of our time, and this panel measures 183 x 244 cm.
The two characters of different colors in a non-identifiable external environment are looking straight at the viewer. In the very specific style of Basquiat, they are as ugly as the couples of tourists by Duane Hanson, but for once they are happy.
POST SALE COMMENT
This cool painting from the second great year of Basquiat was sold for £ 18.8M including premium.
Success came immediately. In 1982, he diversified his grammar. Compared to most of the works of the previous year, the painting for sale on June 25 at Christie's in London is remarkably optimistic.
The colors in acrylic and oilstick are pure and bright. The drawing reminds the frenetic graffiti, as if the work had been painted on a white wall. Using a large format is essential for highlighting the art of our time, and this panel measures 183 x 244 cm.
The two characters of different colors in a non-identifiable external environment are looking straight at the viewer. In the very specific style of Basquiat, they are as ugly as the couples of tourists by Duane Hanson, but for once they are happy.
POST SALE COMMENT
This cool painting from the second great year of Basquiat was sold for £ 18.8M including premium.
1983 The Funny Wizard
2018 SOLD for $ 31M including premium
At the end of 1982 Jean-Michel Basquiat is probably not satisfied with his art from the two years that brought him the fame. With his full color control by the oilstick he had lined up funny characters and skeletons that virulently campaign for the African-American cause. The humorous tags that were revealing his street training eventually disappeared.
Visitors to his exhibitions might believe that he is a visual artist rather than a thinker. He begins a monumental composition related to the prophetic meaning of life. Identified under the title Flesh and Spirit, it is divided into two 184 x 368 cm canvases adjacent one above the other. The whole surface 368 x 368 cm is broken down into four quadrants to be read from left to right and from top to bottom like a page of comic strips.
The first three images show an alchemy interweaving the skull and the bones, the brain and the fleshy limbs, with repetitions of words that guide the path of thought and are sometimes crossed out for avoiding the errors. For the first time in the art of Jean-Michel the word is everywhere and the color is rare.
The last quadrant is completed with a black rectangle in which the interaction between Flesh and Spirit is expressed in a diagram of the greatest simplicity and clarity. Just below it the artist figured a derrick with the word Petrol to announce that the control of the anatomical mystery opens the next phase which is the fight against the consumer society.
Flesh and Spirit is finished just in time for an exhibition in New York in January 1983. It is immediately bought by Dolores Ormandy Neumann who finds in this artwork an achievement of the street art and states with sagacity that she may consider it as Basquiat's Rosetta stone.
Flesh and Spirit will be sold by Sotheby's in New York on May 16 as lot 24. The press release of March 28 announces an estimate in the region of $ 30M.
Basquiat continues in 1983 with this new style of narrative figuration. Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta was sold for $ 23.7M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2014. Brother's Sausage was sold for $ 18.6M including premium on November 17, 2016, also by Sotheby's.
Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Visitors to his exhibitions might believe that he is a visual artist rather than a thinker. He begins a monumental composition related to the prophetic meaning of life. Identified under the title Flesh and Spirit, it is divided into two 184 x 368 cm canvases adjacent one above the other. The whole surface 368 x 368 cm is broken down into four quadrants to be read from left to right and from top to bottom like a page of comic strips.
The first three images show an alchemy interweaving the skull and the bones, the brain and the fleshy limbs, with repetitions of words that guide the path of thought and are sometimes crossed out for avoiding the errors. For the first time in the art of Jean-Michel the word is everywhere and the color is rare.
The last quadrant is completed with a black rectangle in which the interaction between Flesh and Spirit is expressed in a diagram of the greatest simplicity and clarity. Just below it the artist figured a derrick with the word Petrol to announce that the control of the anatomical mystery opens the next phase which is the fight against the consumer society.
Flesh and Spirit is finished just in time for an exhibition in New York in January 1983. It is immediately bought by Dolores Ormandy Neumann who finds in this artwork an achievement of the street art and states with sagacity that she may consider it as Basquiat's Rosetta stone.
Flesh and Spirit will be sold by Sotheby's in New York on May 16 as lot 24. The press release of March 28 announces an estimate in the region of $ 30M.
Basquiat continues in 1983 with this new style of narrative figuration. Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta was sold for $ 23.7M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2014. Brother's Sausage was sold for $ 18.6M including premium on November 17, 2016, also by Sotheby's.
Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1984 Undiscovered Genius of Los Angeles
2018 SOLD for $ 45M including premium
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 in New York, Phillips sells as lot 5 Flexible, acrylic and oilstick 259 x 191 cm painted in Venice in 1984 on horizontally stacked wood.
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 has been preserved until now in his estate by his sisters. The March 28 press release announces an estimate in excess of $ 20M. The low resolution image is shared by WikiArt "for fair fuse" under the copyright of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
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 in New York, Phillips sells as lot 5 Flexible, acrylic and oilstick 259 x 191 cm painted in Venice in 1984 on horizontally stacked wood.
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 has been preserved until now in his estate by his sisters. The March 28 press release announces an estimate in excess of $ 20M. The low resolution image is shared by WikiArt "for fair fuse" under the copyright of Jean-Michel Basquiat.