Decade 1900-1909
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Nude Children Cities Landscape Flowers Klimt France Monet London and Venice Venice Picasso Picasso < 1907 Picasso 1907-1931
See also : Nude Children Cities Landscape Flowers Klimt France Monet London and Venice Venice Picasso Picasso < 1907 Picasso 1907-1931
PICASSO
1
1901 La Gommeuse
2015 SOLD for $ 67M by Sotheby's
Pablo Picasso returned to Paris in May 1901, torn between the desire for debauchery and the anguish of death. He was not yet 20 years old. Thus begins his Blue Period, charged with an intense emotion that combines lust and misery.
He is gifted and already recognized. His first exhibition at Vollard's begins on 25 June. He lives at 130 Boulevard de Clichy with Pedro "Pere" Mañach who is his broker and introduces his artworks to Berthe Weill.
On November 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 67M La gommeuse, oil on canvas 81 x 54 cm, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The woman is visible down to her lower hips. She is nude by her job and not for pleasure even though her disillusioned gaze may also be attributed to absinth. Her attitude with raised shoulders and hanging breasts is miserable though she is not slender.
The title is an additional mockery. In the previous century, a gommeur was a type of ridiculous character trying to make his living by performing in the cafés-concerts. The word was later applied to women.
Art is more important. Behind Pablo's gommeuse, we see the lower part of a painting on the wall showing the legs of a ballerina along with a flower throwing. The artist is attracted and repelled by the cabaret world that ultimately is not his. The gommeuse does not watch the painting.
Pablo had here an intention for caricature which is expressed with more fancy on the recently uncovered back side of that painting. The nude body of a ballerina is surmounted by the head of Mañach according to the principle of these portraits-charges which were so popular at that time in the Parisian society.
This back also has an inscription to his friend on the occasion of his feast. If this date is interpreted as St. Peter's day, this dedication allows to date the back on 29 June 1901. The front side should logically be earlier than the sketched reverse, making this gommeuse one of the triggering prototypes of the blue period.
Thought by Grok from an ArtHitParade tweet :
He is gifted and already recognized. His first exhibition at Vollard's begins on 25 June. He lives at 130 Boulevard de Clichy with Pedro "Pere" Mañach who is his broker and introduces his artworks to Berthe Weill.
On November 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 67M La gommeuse, oil on canvas 81 x 54 cm, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The woman is visible down to her lower hips. She is nude by her job and not for pleasure even though her disillusioned gaze may also be attributed to absinth. Her attitude with raised shoulders and hanging breasts is miserable though she is not slender.
The title is an additional mockery. In the previous century, a gommeur was a type of ridiculous character trying to make his living by performing in the cafés-concerts. The word was later applied to women.
Art is more important. Behind Pablo's gommeuse, we see the lower part of a painting on the wall showing the legs of a ballerina along with a flower throwing. The artist is attracted and repelled by the cabaret world that ultimately is not his. The gommeuse does not watch the painting.
Pablo had here an intention for caricature which is expressed with more fancy on the recently uncovered back side of that painting. The nude body of a ballerina is surmounted by the head of Mañach according to the principle of these portraits-charges which were so popular at that time in the Parisian society.
This back also has an inscription to his friend on the occasion of his feast. If this date is interpreted as St. Peter's day, this dedication allows to date the back on 29 June 1901. The front side should logically be earlier than the sketched reverse, making this gommeuse one of the triggering prototypes of the blue period.
Thought by Grok from an ArtHitParade tweet :
- This 2015 X post by @ArtHitParade announces the Sotheby's sale of Pablo Picasso's "La Gommeuse," a 1901 Blue Period oil painting depicting a nude cabaret performer in melancholic green and ochre tones, for $67 million.
- The work, measuring 81x54 cm, captures themes of loneliness and Parisian nightlife, influenced by Toulouse-Lautrec, and was a gift caricature on its reverse to Picasso's friend Pere Mañach, revealed only in 2000.
- Acquired by collector William I. Koch for $3 million in 1984, it set a Blue Period Picasso auction record at $67.5 million (with premium) in November 2015, underscoring the painting's rarity and market surge.
2
1905 Fillette à la Corbeille Fleurie
2018 SOLD for $ 115M by Christie's
Pablo Picasso is back in Paris in April 1904. Barcelona had not dissipated his morbid obsessions and he needs a restart. He installs his workshop at the Bateau-Lavoir and finally manages to create a couple, with Fernande.
The miserability of his Période Bleue, based on the difficult life of circus acrobats, was socially a dead end. In 1905 he reacts with new themes where the characters imagine their future without losing a stuck or surly attitude. His painting loses its blue predominant to include warm colors like pink or orange. It is his Période Rose. These works include the Femme à l'éventail and two children, the Fillette à la corbeille de fleurs and the Garçon à la pipe.
The theme of poverty is now superseded by the optimistic and promising theme of children ready to enter adulthood. Pablo mixes the innocence of the nude with the acquisition of a first job. Although the formats are very different, the Fillette à la corbeille fleurie, 155 x 66 cm painted in 1905, and the Garçon menant un cheval, 220 x 131 cm finished in 1906, appear as pendants.
The girl is standing in profile. The body is healthy, straight. The expression is rebellious without any excuse for immodesty, in a striking psychological effect : this young person has obviously been disturbed in her occupation.
During the very short Période Rose the line is delimited and effective. The figurative realism of this Fillette makes forget that nudity may not have been necessary. This artwork successively delighted Gertrude Stein and David Rockefeller. It was sold for $ 115M by Christie's on May 8, 2018, lot 15.
Grok response :
Quote
Sol G. Moreno @solgmoreno May 10, 2018
SUBASTA HISTÓRICA #Picasso, amo y señor de la jornada del pasado martes en @ChristiesInc #NewYork con esta "Filllette à la corbeille fleurie" [102 millones dólares]. #WorldAuctionRecord
The miserability of his Période Bleue, based on the difficult life of circus acrobats, was socially a dead end. In 1905 he reacts with new themes where the characters imagine their future without losing a stuck or surly attitude. His painting loses its blue predominant to include warm colors like pink or orange. It is his Période Rose. These works include the Femme à l'éventail and two children, the Fillette à la corbeille de fleurs and the Garçon à la pipe.
The theme of poverty is now superseded by the optimistic and promising theme of children ready to enter adulthood. Pablo mixes the innocence of the nude with the acquisition of a first job. Although the formats are very different, the Fillette à la corbeille fleurie, 155 x 66 cm painted in 1905, and the Garçon menant un cheval, 220 x 131 cm finished in 1906, appear as pendants.
The girl is standing in profile. The body is healthy, straight. The expression is rebellious without any excuse for immodesty, in a striking psychological effect : this young person has obviously been disturbed in her occupation.
During the very short Période Rose the line is delimited and effective. The figurative realism of this Fillette makes forget that nudity may not have been necessary. This artwork successively delighted Gertrude Stein and David Rockefeller. It was sold for $ 115M by Christie's on May 8, 2018, lot 15.
Grok response :
Quote
Sol G. Moreno @solgmoreno May 10, 2018
SUBASTA HISTÓRICA #Picasso, amo y señor de la jornada del pasado martes en @ChristiesInc #NewYork con esta "Filllette à la corbeille fleurie" [102 millones dólares]. #WorldAuctionRecord
- The painting "Fillette à la corbeille fleurie" by Pablo Picasso, sold for $102 million at Christie’s in 2018, was created in 1905 during his Rose Period, marking a shift from his earlier Blue Period and reflecting a more optimistic tone influenced by his relationship with Fernande Olivier, as noted in J. Richardson’s 1991 biography.
- This auction set a world record for Picasso at the time, part of the Rockefeller Collection sale, which also included Monet’s "Nymphéas en fleur" for $75 million, highlighting a surprising surge in value for early 20th-century art amid a 2018 global art market boom, with Christie’s reporting $5 billion in sales that year.
- Art historians debate the painting’s subject, possibly a young model named "Linda," with studies like those in the 1971 National Gallery of Canada exhibition suggesting it critiques societal innocence, challenging the mainstream view of it as merely decorative.
3
1905 Le Garçon à la Pipe
2004 SOLD for $ 104M by Sotheby's
Le Garçon à la Pipe is a subtle blend of realism and dreamlike and, as such, will remain the archetype of the Période Rose. Dressed in blue overalls, the gloomy teenager is drawn in a fine line. The pipe marks his expectation of maturity. Picasso did not reveal his identity, because it is an allegory. He is however P'tit Louis, a boy from Montmartre who spent long hours watching the artists working at the Bateau-Lavoir.
The inspiration suddenly came to Picasso after a month of interruption of the work. In the blur of a dream, the character is positioned in front of a wallpaper with patterns of roses and wears a garland of flowers in his hair. A simultaneous use of a sharp image in a floral blur had also been attempted by Odilon Redon.
The little worker thus becomes a supernatural being. A relevant comparison was made with Verlaine's poem titled Crimen Amoris. In the dream of a delicious Orient where the seven sins supersede the five senses amidst the roses, the most handsome of the evil angels, indifferent to temptations and caresses, is a boy of sixteen who wears a crown of flowers. His ambition, annihilated at the end of the poem, was to be "the one who will create God".
Le Garçon, oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm, was sold for $ 104M by Sotheby's on May 5, 2004, lot 7.
Asked to Grok 4 : define its position in Picasso's career.
Grok thought :
"Le Garçon à la Pipe" (Boy with a Pipe), painted by Pablo Picasso in 1905, holds a significant position in his early career as a hallmark of his Rose Period. This period, spanning from 1904 to 1906, followed his melancholic Blue Period (1901-1904) and marked a shift toward warmer colors, such as pinks and oranges, and more optimistic themes influenced by his relationship with Fernande Olivier and his fascination with circus performers and harlequins.At the age of 24, Picasso created this oil on canvas portrait in his Montmartre studio, depicting a young Parisian boy known as "P'tit Louis," who frequented the area. The painting features the boy seated, holding a pipe, and adorned with a wreath of roses, set against a floral background. It exemplifies the transitional nature of Picasso's work at this time, blending realistic portraiture with symbolic elements and a dreamlike quality.
This piece not only represents Picasso's evolving style but also his growing establishment in the Parisian art scene. Following the Rose Period, Picasso would move into his African-influenced period and eventually co-found Cubism, revolutionizing modern art. "Le Garçon à la Pipe" thus stands as a pivotal work in his pre-Cubist phase, showcasing his mastery of color and form before his more radical innovations.
The painting gained further notoriety when it was sold at Sotheby's in 2004 for $104.2 million, setting a record at the time for the most expensive painting ever auctioned.
The inspiration suddenly came to Picasso after a month of interruption of the work. In the blur of a dream, the character is positioned in front of a wallpaper with patterns of roses and wears a garland of flowers in his hair. A simultaneous use of a sharp image in a floral blur had also been attempted by Odilon Redon.
The little worker thus becomes a supernatural being. A relevant comparison was made with Verlaine's poem titled Crimen Amoris. In the dream of a delicious Orient where the seven sins supersede the five senses amidst the roses, the most handsome of the evil angels, indifferent to temptations and caresses, is a boy of sixteen who wears a crown of flowers. His ambition, annihilated at the end of the poem, was to be "the one who will create God".
Le Garçon, oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm, was sold for $ 104M by Sotheby's on May 5, 2004, lot 7.
Asked to Grok 4 : define its position in Picasso's career.
Grok thought :
"Le Garçon à la Pipe" (Boy with a Pipe), painted by Pablo Picasso in 1905, holds a significant position in his early career as a hallmark of his Rose Period. This period, spanning from 1904 to 1906, followed his melancholic Blue Period (1901-1904) and marked a shift toward warmer colors, such as pinks and oranges, and more optimistic themes influenced by his relationship with Fernande Olivier and his fascination with circus performers and harlequins.At the age of 24, Picasso created this oil on canvas portrait in his Montmartre studio, depicting a young Parisian boy known as "P'tit Louis," who frequented the area. The painting features the boy seated, holding a pipe, and adorned with a wreath of roses, set against a floral background. It exemplifies the transitional nature of Picasso's work at this time, blending realistic portraiture with symbolic elements and a dreamlike quality.
This piece not only represents Picasso's evolving style but also his growing establishment in the Parisian art scene. Following the Rose Period, Picasso would move into his African-influenced period and eventually co-found Cubism, revolutionizing modern art. "Le Garçon à la Pipe" thus stands as a pivotal work in his pre-Cubist phase, showcasing his mastery of color and form before his more radical innovations.
The painting gained further notoriety when it was sold at Sotheby's in 2004 for $104.2 million, setting a record at the time for the most expensive painting ever auctioned.
4
1909 Femme Assise
2016 SOLD for £ 43M by Sotheby's
In 1909 Pablo spends the summer with Fernande in a Catalan village named Horta, only accessible by mule track. During the same summer, Kandinsky gets himself isolated in Murnau with Gabriele. Independently of each other, these two artists become the theorists who are inventing the art of the twentieth century.
On June 21, 2016, Sotheby's sold for £ 43M a portrait of Fernande by Pablo, oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm conceived and painted in Horta, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
The fragmentation in blocks that gave its name to Cubism offers a similar processing for the three themes tested by Pablo in Horta: portrait, landscape and still life. The outlines of the subject are visible with a little effort leading to recognize the broad face of Fernande. The colors are subject to a similar mix : we are not in front of a portrait but of an image suggesting the features of a seated woman in the warm Catalan summer.
For several of its characteristics, Cubism is a dead end. In the following years, the trend to a dull monochrome increases the difficulty of interpreting the image without offering the puzzling breakthrough of abstraction. The loss of the three-dimensional effect generates the trials of collages which will not save the Cubism.
It does not matter, because every artist can now engage his own style in an original expressive quest. From Picasso, the modern art has become multifaceted.
Grok thought :
Quote
New York Times Arts @nytimesarts Jun 23, 2016
Picasso’s ‘Femme Assise’ Sells for $63.7 Million, an Auction High for Cubism http://nyti.ms/28NHzrY
On June 21, 2016, Sotheby's sold for £ 43M a portrait of Fernande by Pablo, oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm conceived and painted in Horta, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
The fragmentation in blocks that gave its name to Cubism offers a similar processing for the three themes tested by Pablo in Horta: portrait, landscape and still life. The outlines of the subject are visible with a little effort leading to recognize the broad face of Fernande. The colors are subject to a similar mix : we are not in front of a portrait but of an image suggesting the features of a seated woman in the warm Catalan summer.
For several of its characteristics, Cubism is a dead end. In the following years, the trend to a dull monochrome increases the difficulty of interpreting the image without offering the puzzling breakthrough of abstraction. The loss of the three-dimensional effect generates the trials of collages which will not save the Cubism.
It does not matter, because every artist can now engage his own style in an original expressive quest. From Picasso, the modern art has become multifaceted.
Grok thought :
Quote
New York Times Arts @nytimesarts Jun 23, 2016
Picasso’s ‘Femme Assise’ Sells for $63.7 Million, an Auction High for Cubism http://nyti.ms/28NHzrY
- The 2016 Sotheby's auction of Picasso's 1909 Cubist painting "Femme Assise" fetched $63.7 million, establishing a record for any Cubist work that remains unbroken as of 2025, highlighting the scarcity of early analytic Cubism pieces in private hands.
- Depicting a seated woman through fragmented geometric forms in muted blues and ochres, the oil-on-canvas measures 81 by 60 inches and exemplifies Picasso's shift toward abstraction alongside Braque.
- The sale, part of a $151.9 million evening total, reflected booming demand for Modernist art amid post-recession market recovery, with the painting bought anonymously after competitive bidding.
KLIMT
1
1903 Birch Forest
2022 SOLD for $ 105M by Christie's
Gustav Klimt is the leader of the Sezessionsstil, or Viennese Secession, which he created in 1898 for the promotion of a new art including the utilitarian arts. He is the friend of Emilie Flöge who runs an avant-garde fashion house with her sisters. Gustav's art is made up of very rich textures that can be applied to Emilie's dresses. Helene Flöge is the widow of Gustav's younger brother.
Gustav's symbolism is charged with an eroticism which shocks the Viennese. He is not afraid of scandal but needs rest. He spends summers in Litzlberg on the Attersee, where he is the guest of the Flöge family.
In this tranquil atmosphere, Gustav maintains another art for his own pleasure. He paints outdoors the landscapes of forests, clearings and ponds on square formats, like Monet is doing at the same time. He does not forget the application to women's clothing, for which depth and horizon are of no use.
An oil on canvas 110 x 110 cm painted in 1903 was sold by Christie's on November 8, 2006 for $ 40M, lot 51 coming from the restitution to the heirs of the Bloch-Bauer family. It was sold for $ 105M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 17. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The birch trees form an unlimited pattern of vertical streaks with no horizon. The variable width of the trunks cancels the vanishing points, superseded by the overlaid arrangement of the color strokes. The leaves on the ground are painted with spots inspired by pointillism which bring a sparkle of colors.
Klimt's attention to the applied arts has taken him beyond post-impressionism up to the limits of an immersive abstraction.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 10, 2022
#AuctionRecord From the Paul G. Allen Collection Gustav Klimt’s ‘Birch Forest’ set an auction record for the artist with a price realized of $104.585 million
Gustav's symbolism is charged with an eroticism which shocks the Viennese. He is not afraid of scandal but needs rest. He spends summers in Litzlberg on the Attersee, where he is the guest of the Flöge family.
In this tranquil atmosphere, Gustav maintains another art for his own pleasure. He paints outdoors the landscapes of forests, clearings and ponds on square formats, like Monet is doing at the same time. He does not forget the application to women's clothing, for which depth and horizon are of no use.
An oil on canvas 110 x 110 cm painted in 1903 was sold by Christie's on November 8, 2006 for $ 40M, lot 51 coming from the restitution to the heirs of the Bloch-Bauer family. It was sold for $ 105M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 17. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The birch trees form an unlimited pattern of vertical streaks with no horizon. The variable width of the trunks cancels the vanishing points, superseded by the overlaid arrangement of the color strokes. The leaves on the ground are painted with spots inspired by pointillism which bring a sparkle of colors.
Klimt's attention to the applied arts has taken him beyond post-impressionism up to the limits of an immersive abstraction.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 10, 2022
#AuctionRecord From the Paul G. Allen Collection Gustav Klimt’s ‘Birch Forest’ set an auction record for the artist with a price realized of $104.585 million
- The painting "Birch Forest" by Gustav Klimt, sold for $104.585 million in 2022, reflects his fascination with nature’s cathedral-like structures, a theme supported by research on how forests inspire awe and reduce stress, as shown in a 2019 study from the Journal of Environmental Psychology.
- This record-breaking sale from the Paul G. Allen Collection highlights a shift in art valuation, with Christie’s 2022 auction exceeding $1 billion, challenging the notion that tech billionaires undervalue traditional art, contrary to some critics' views on modern investment trends.
- The artwork’s autumnal golden tones and shimmering light effect, achieved through Klimt’s dabbing technique, align with his later style shift toward decorative naturalism, a departure from his earlier Symbolist works, as noted in art historical analyses from the Vienna Secession movement.
2
1906 Blumenwiese
2025 SOLD for $ 86M by Sotheby's
Blumenwiese, oil on canvas 110 x 110 cm painted by Klimt, was sold for $ 86M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2025, lot 11. The literature and exhibition history in Sotheby's catalogue invariably dates it no later than 1906. It may be considered that it anticipates the Bauerngarten whose terminus ante quem according to its Sotheby's catalogue is an exhibition in Vienna in 1908.
Asking Grok to compare these two paintings.
Grok thought :
Overview
Gustav Klimt's Blumenwiese (Blooming Meadow) and Bauerngarten (Blumengarten, or Flower Garden) are two exemplary floral landscapes from the artist's mature period, when he spent summers painting en plein air around Lake Attersee in Austria. Both works showcase Klimt's synthesis of natural observation with decorative, almost symbolic abstraction, influenced by Impressionism, Pointillism, and his own evolving style toward vibrant color fields and geometric harmony. They share striking similarities in format and theme but differ in composition, execution, and market context. Blumenwiese, from the Leonard A. Lauder collection, is set for auction at Sotheby's on November 18, 2025, as lot 11 in the Leonard A. Lauder, Collector Evening Auction. Bauerngarten was sold at Sotheby's on March 1, 2017, also as lot 11 in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale, fetching £48 million ($59 million including fees).Key Similarities
In summary, these paintings epitomize Klimt's innovative approach to landscapes, blending realism with abstraction. Bauerngarten offers a more formalized beauty, while Blumenwiese emphasizes untamed vitality—potentially appealing to different collectors. The upcoming sale of Blumenwiese could surpass Bauerngarten's record, given the art market's growth since 2017 and the Lauder provenance's prestige.
Asking Grok to compare these two paintings.
Grok thought :
Overview
Gustav Klimt's Blumenwiese (Blooming Meadow) and Bauerngarten (Blumengarten, or Flower Garden) are two exemplary floral landscapes from the artist's mature period, when he spent summers painting en plein air around Lake Attersee in Austria. Both works showcase Klimt's synthesis of natural observation with decorative, almost symbolic abstraction, influenced by Impressionism, Pointillism, and his own evolving style toward vibrant color fields and geometric harmony. They share striking similarities in format and theme but differ in composition, execution, and market context. Blumenwiese, from the Leonard A. Lauder collection, is set for auction at Sotheby's on November 18, 2025, as lot 11 in the Leonard A. Lauder, Collector Evening Auction. Bauerngarten was sold at Sotheby's on March 1, 2017, also as lot 11 in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale, fetching £48 million ($59 million including fees).Key Similarities
- Artistic Period and Style: Both paintings date from Klimt's "golden years" of landscape work (circa 1905–1910), where he shifted from detailed naturalism to more expressive, mood-driven compositions. They employ a square canvas to create a contemplative, tapestry-like effect, with high horizon lines that immerse the viewer in the floral expanse. Klimt's brushwork blends loose Impressionist touches with Pointillist dots of color, transforming everyday nature into shimmering, almost erotic arrays of blooms—echoing themes in his figurative masterpieces like The Kiss.
- Subject Matter: Each captures the exuberance of summer flora in vibrant hues, drawing from rustic gardens or meadows near Litzlberg on the Attersee. They represent Klimt's fascination with nature's profusion, where flowers symbolize life, beauty, and subtle anthropomorphic qualities.
- Physical Attributes: Identical in size (110 x 110 cm) and medium (oil on canvas), both are signed by the artist in the lower right or left, emphasizing their status as finished, exhibition-ready works.
- Exhibition and Provenance History: Both have rich pedigrees, including early 20th-century exhibitions in Vienna and Prague, and loans to major institutions like the Österreichische Galerie and National Gallery of Canada. They transitioned from European public or private collections to high-profile auctions.
- Auction Coincidences: Remarkably, both appeared as lot 11 at Sotheby's, highlighting their parallel paths in the art market.
- Composition and Depiction: Blumenwiese portrays a wild, untamed meadow with a diffuse spread of blooms, evoking a sense of natural disorder and open space—titles in catalogues vary (e.g., Garden Landscape or Flowering Meadow), reflecting its interpretive flexibility. In contrast, Bauerngarten features a more structured cottage garden with identifiable flowers (poppies, daisies, zinnias, roses) arranged in a triangular "floral pyramid," balancing geometry with organic chaos for a harmonious, symbolic depth.
- Dating Variations: Bauerngarten is firmly dated to 1907, aligning with Klimt's peak landscape output. Blumenwiese has inconsistent attributions across sources (circa 1904–1908), with the auction catalogue settling on circa 1908, potentially affecting perceptions of its place in Klimt's oeuvre.
- Market Context and Value: Bauerngarten achieved £48 million ($59 million) in 2017, marking it as one of the highest-priced Klimt landscapes at the time and signaling a rebound in the art market post-recession. Blumenwiese, as part of the prestigious Lauder collection (valued overall at $400 million), carries an estimate exceeding $80 million—reflecting market inflation, the work's rarity (never before at auction), and the buzz around the Lauder sale, which includes other Klimt masterpieces. The higher estimate may also stem from Blumenwiese's association with Lauder, a renowned collector, versus Bauerngarten's museum provenance from the Národní Galerie in Prague.
In summary, these paintings epitomize Klimt's innovative approach to landscapes, blending realism with abstraction. Bauerngarten offers a more formalized beauty, while Blumenwiese emphasizes untamed vitality—potentially appealing to different collectors. The upcoming sale of Blumenwiese could surpass Bauerngarten's record, given the art market's growth since 2017 and the Lauder provenance's prestige.
3
1907 Bauerngarten
2017 SOLD for £ 48M by Sotheby's
The greatest artists express their vision of the world. Klimt goes further : he wants to change the life.
The Klimt and Flöge families are closely linked. Gustav Klimt becomes the brother-in-law of Helene Flöge in 1891 and her tutor in the following year. Helene and her sister Emilie open a business of couture and fashion in Vienna in 1904. Emilie was Gustav's companion from 1891 until the artist's death in 1918.
The Schwestern Flöge workshop is experimenting with new garments for the Viennese avant-garde, including loose dresses hung from the shoulders without using a corset. The very famous blouses of Gustav Klimt, which give him such a neglected attitude according to the conceptions of today's fashion, proceed from the same trend.
The shape of the garment is not enough : women also deserve a shimmering decoration. Gustav observes trees and flowers as patterns of texture. Their bright colors were created by nature. Gustav does not cancel the shapes of the flowers. If he had, he would have been the first abstract artist.
Gustav reveals the woman's head as the only realistic element in his portraits. The body is hidden by an ample garment whose limits loosely overlap the background of the image and whose details are luxurious and colorful. Adele Bloch-Bauer I, oil on canvas 138 x 138 cm painted in 1907, was sold for $ 135M on June 18, 2006 in a private sale by Christie's to Ronald Lauder.
On March 1, 2017, Sotheby's sold for £ 48M as lot 11 Bauerngarten, oil on canvas 110 x 110 cm painted in 1907 during the holidays of Gustav at the Attersee. Poppies, daisies and zinnias spread their colors in an endless meadow with no horizon. These flowers are dominated by a triangle of roses that confirms the artist's intention for the design of a dress.
Please watch the very short video shared by Sotheby's.
Grok thought :
Quote
Wall Power @artmarket Feb 24, 2017
The New York Times Thinks Sotheby’s Is Getting Frisky with Its Klimt http://artmarketmonitor.com/2017/02/24/the-new-york-times-thinks-sothebys-is-getting-frisky-with-its-klimt/…
The Klimt and Flöge families are closely linked. Gustav Klimt becomes the brother-in-law of Helene Flöge in 1891 and her tutor in the following year. Helene and her sister Emilie open a business of couture and fashion in Vienna in 1904. Emilie was Gustav's companion from 1891 until the artist's death in 1918.
The Schwestern Flöge workshop is experimenting with new garments for the Viennese avant-garde, including loose dresses hung from the shoulders without using a corset. The very famous blouses of Gustav Klimt, which give him such a neglected attitude according to the conceptions of today's fashion, proceed from the same trend.
The shape of the garment is not enough : women also deserve a shimmering decoration. Gustav observes trees and flowers as patterns of texture. Their bright colors were created by nature. Gustav does not cancel the shapes of the flowers. If he had, he would have been the first abstract artist.
Gustav reveals the woman's head as the only realistic element in his portraits. The body is hidden by an ample garment whose limits loosely overlap the background of the image and whose details are luxurious and colorful. Adele Bloch-Bauer I, oil on canvas 138 x 138 cm painted in 1907, was sold for $ 135M on June 18, 2006 in a private sale by Christie's to Ronald Lauder.
On March 1, 2017, Sotheby's sold for £ 48M as lot 11 Bauerngarten, oil on canvas 110 x 110 cm painted in 1907 during the holidays of Gustav at the Attersee. Poppies, daisies and zinnias spread their colors in an endless meadow with no horizon. These flowers are dominated by a triangle of roses that confirms the artist's intention for the design of a dress.
Please watch the very short video shared by Sotheby's.
Grok thought :
Quote
Wall Power @artmarket Feb 24, 2017
The New York Times Thinks Sotheby’s Is Getting Frisky with Its Klimt http://artmarketmonitor.com/2017/02/24/the-new-york-times-thinks-sothebys-is-getting-frisky-with-its-klimt/…
- This 2017 tweet by @artmarket, an art market commentary account, links to a blog post critiquing a New York Times preview of Sotheby's London auction for Gustav Klimt's "Bauerngarten," a lush floral landscape painted around 1905-1907 during Klimt's Attersee summer retreats.
- The playful "frisky" phrasing interprets Sotheby's high expectations for the lot, estimated at $45 million; it sold for $59.3 million on March 1, 2017, becoming the auction's top price and Klimt's third-highest sale at the time, signaling robust demand for his post-Secession landscapes.
- Accompanying the tweet is the painting's vivid image—featuring layered greens, whites, reds, and oranges in Klimt's signature mosaic-like style—underscoring its appeal as a rare, well-provenanced work from a Swiss private collection since 1938.
The New York Times Thinks Sotheby’s Is Getting Frisky with Its Klimt https://t.co/3mgODvO8HY pic.twitter.com/etX2peYay3
— Art Market Monitor (@artmarket) February 24, 2017
MONET
1
1903 Le Parlement
2022 SOLD for $ 76M by Christie's
In the early autumn 1899 Claude and Alice Monet are in London for family purpose. Under their windows at the Savoy Hotel, the Thames river flows eastward between the Charing Cross railway bridge and the Waterloo road bridge.
The artist returns alone in the following year to the same hotel for a longer stay, in February and March. He loved the winter fog of London. Not for its mist but for its ever vanishing colors.
After Constable, Monet was a skilled interpreter of the English sky. He was more directly influenced from the atmosphere of London by Turner in the 1830s and by the nocturnal colors of the Thames by Whistler in the 1870s.
The light changes at every moment with the clouds pushed by the wind and the instability of the fog. He observes that some effects of light through the fog do not exceed five minutes. His control is total and even his method for applying his brush varies depending on the desired effect.
He applies every day an ambitious working plan with a schedule of the utmost rigor. Taking advantage of the benevolent help of the Savoy, he prepares dozens of canvases to translate in parallel all the shimmers of pink fog in the morning on Waterloo Bridge and in the early afternoon on Charing Cross Bridge.
In February 1900 he adds as a third view the sunset above the neo-Gothic buildings of the Houses of Parliament and the river. This activity was requiring the outdoor installation of his easels in parallel in the garden of St. Thomas's Hospital, as he had done in Giverny in 1891 for painting the Peupliers. Already a famous artist, Monet easily gets the authorization to work in this place. Every afternoon at 4:00, he leaves the hotel to retrieve or resettle his easels at the hospital.
The change of light in the early spring terminates the session when the sun is now higher and the light has changed. By considering the three views altogether, Monet started a hundred paintings during the 1900 stay.
He leaves London before spring when the sun is now higher and the light has changed. He returns with his paintings in 1901 during the same season but snow and cold prevent a further progress.
That selection of only three view points, all of them along the River Thames, for expressing the atmosphere of a big city was an amazing artistic conception. Monet is definitely not a tourist : the rest of the city does not interest him.
He reworked all of them simultaneously in his studio at Giverny and signed them with the date of the completion. He thus painted 41 views of the elegant Waterloo bridge, 37 views of Charing Cross bridge and 19 views of the Towers of Parliament. He considered that work as a whole and did not give visibility before the last of them was finished in 1904. Their exhibition by Durand-Ruel in that year got a considerable success. He also made pastels.
The artist returns alone in the following year to the same hotel for a longer stay, in February and March. He loved the winter fog of London. Not for its mist but for its ever vanishing colors.
After Constable, Monet was a skilled interpreter of the English sky. He was more directly influenced from the atmosphere of London by Turner in the 1830s and by the nocturnal colors of the Thames by Whistler in the 1870s.
The light changes at every moment with the clouds pushed by the wind and the instability of the fog. He observes that some effects of light through the fog do not exceed five minutes. His control is total and even his method for applying his brush varies depending on the desired effect.
He applies every day an ambitious working plan with a schedule of the utmost rigor. Taking advantage of the benevolent help of the Savoy, he prepares dozens of canvases to translate in parallel all the shimmers of pink fog in the morning on Waterloo Bridge and in the early afternoon on Charing Cross Bridge.
In February 1900 he adds as a third view the sunset above the neo-Gothic buildings of the Houses of Parliament and the river. This activity was requiring the outdoor installation of his easels in parallel in the garden of St. Thomas's Hospital, as he had done in Giverny in 1891 for painting the Peupliers. Already a famous artist, Monet easily gets the authorization to work in this place. Every afternoon at 4:00, he leaves the hotel to retrieve or resettle his easels at the hospital.
The change of light in the early spring terminates the session when the sun is now higher and the light has changed. By considering the three views altogether, Monet started a hundred paintings during the 1900 stay.
He leaves London before spring when the sun is now higher and the light has changed. He returns with his paintings in 1901 during the same season but snow and cold prevent a further progress.
That selection of only three view points, all of them along the River Thames, for expressing the atmosphere of a big city was an amazing artistic conception. Monet is definitely not a tourist : the rest of the city does not interest him.
He reworked all of them simultaneously in his studio at Giverny and signed them with the date of the completion. He thus painted 41 views of the elegant Waterloo bridge, 37 views of Charing Cross bridge and 19 views of the Towers of Parliament. He considered that work as a whole and did not give visibility before the last of them was finished in 1904. Their exhibition by Durand-Ruel in that year got a considerable success. He also made pastels.
The subgroup of the Parliament from St. Thomas's at sunset consists of 19 oil paintings in a unique format 81 x 93 cm.
Le Parlement - soleil couchant, numbered 1603 by Wildenstein, was sold for $ 40.5M by Christie's on May 11, 2015, lot 24A. Dated 1902, this painting is one of the first that was completed by the artist, perhaps because the very expressive sky is particularly successful. Despite the clouds, the sun plays behind the high tower and the soft pink shades apply to the edges of the clouds and to the reflections in the river.
The Wildenstein 1604, with the same title and subtitle, was dated 1903 by the artist. Both were included in the 1904 exhibition of Monet's Vues de la Tamise à Londres at the Galerie Durand-Ruel.
Both sceneries were captured at about the same time at around 5 o'clock in another twilight, W1603 at a later date. W1603 displays a striking appearance of the sun amidst dramatic clouds while W1604 is foggy in violets, lilacs, blues and deep pink with a ghostly silhouette of the Parliament buildings.
W1604 was sold for $ 76M from a lower estimate of $ 40M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 10C. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok response :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc May 13, 2022
#AuctionUpdate Claude Monet’s ‘Le Parlement, soleil couchant’ realizes $75.96 million 
Le Parlement - soleil couchant, numbered 1603 by Wildenstein, was sold for $ 40.5M by Christie's on May 11, 2015, lot 24A. Dated 1902, this painting is one of the first that was completed by the artist, perhaps because the very expressive sky is particularly successful. Despite the clouds, the sun plays behind the high tower and the soft pink shades apply to the edges of the clouds and to the reflections in the river.
The Wildenstein 1604, with the same title and subtitle, was dated 1903 by the artist. Both were included in the 1904 exhibition of Monet's Vues de la Tamise à Londres at the Galerie Durand-Ruel.
Both sceneries were captured at about the same time at around 5 o'clock in another twilight, W1603 at a later date. W1603 displays a striking appearance of the sun amidst dramatic clouds while W1604 is foggy in violets, lilacs, blues and deep pink with a ghostly silhouette of the Parliament buildings.
W1604 was sold for $ 76M from a lower estimate of $ 40M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 10C. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok response :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc May 13, 2022
#AuctionUpdate Claude Monet’s ‘Le Parlement, soleil couchant’ realizes $75.96 million 
- Claude Monet's "Le Parlement, soleil couchant" (1903), depicting London's Houses of Parliament at sunset in hazy Impressionist style, sold for $75.96 million at Christie's New York on May 12, 2022, exceeding its $40-60 million estimate by nearly 27%.
- Part of the Collection of Anne H. Bass, this Thames series work highlights Monet's fascination with London's atmospheric light, with the sale contributing to an $831 million total for Christie's 20th Century Evening Auction.
- The result underscores robust post-pandemic demand for blue-chip Impressionist art, marking the highest Monet price between 2020-2025 and rivaling records like his 2019 "Meules" at $110.7 million.
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2
1903 Waterloo Bridge
2022 SOLD for $ 65M by Christie's
Monet enjoyed the ever changing light of London in winter. While he observed the Waterloo Bridge, the sun rays rarely pierced the morning fog, enriched it with ephemeral lilac, blue and violet tones.
Waterloo Bridge, soleil voilé, oil on canvas 65 x 100 cm dated 1903, was sold by Christie's for $ 8.3M on November 11, 1997, lot 107, and for $ 65M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 41. It had been exhibited at the Galerie Durand-Ruel in 1904. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Specific details including a single boat on the Thames are immersed in the haze of smoke and fog. The carriages are expressed in an evanescent glittering procession across the bridge, in a later moment than the early morning usually practiced by Monet for this view.
Grok thought :
Quote
Duille @DuilleDesign Nov 14, 2022
"Waterloo Bridge, soleil voilé". Claude Monet. 1903. Image: Christie's
Waterloo Bridge, soleil voilé, oil on canvas 65 x 100 cm dated 1903, was sold by Christie's for $ 8.3M on November 11, 1997, lot 107, and for $ 65M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 41. It had been exhibited at the Galerie Durand-Ruel in 1904. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Specific details including a single boat on the Thames are immersed in the haze of smoke and fog. The carriages are expressed in an evanescent glittering procession across the bridge, in a later moment than the early morning usually practiced by Monet for this view.
Grok thought :
Quote
Duille @DuilleDesign Nov 14, 2022
"Waterloo Bridge, soleil voilé". Claude Monet. 1903. Image: Christie's
- Posted five days after its $64.5 million sale at Christie's from Paul G. Allen's collection, the image highlights Monet's 1903 impressionist masterpiece depicting London's foggy Thames, emphasizing its recent market milestone.
- The painting, from Monet's Thames series painted during 1899-1904 London stays, innovatively fuses natural veiling sunlight with industrial smoke, as noted in peer-reviewed analyses like those in the Journal of the Courtauld and Warburg Institutes.
- DuilleDesign, an independent studio drawing from Charles Rennie Mackintosh's organic motifs, shares it as evident inspiration, bridging impressionist light effects with Art Nouveau's emphasis on harmony between architecture and environment.
3
1908 Grand Canal
2022 SOLD for $ 57M by Sotheby's
The next Wildenstein number from the example above is a very similar view of the Grand Canal with Santa Maria della Salute in the opposite bank, in the same 73 x 92 cm format. It is taken from farther away from the first pole, and the lower step corner of the Palazzo Barbaro over the canal has been added.
These after lunch pictures ended at 3 o'clock Claude's working day. He would then relax until twilight in a gondola tour with Alice.
The weather is sunny. The difference between both pieces is the attempt by the artist to catch subtle changes in the mirage-like atmosphere and haze of the water scenery caught in another early afternoon.
The surface of the canal is iridescent of a wide range of reflected colors providing the effect of a splashing water. Far away gondolas have been added.
This oil on canvas was sold for $ 57M by Sotheby's on May 18, 2022, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Wall Power @artmarket Mar 25, 2022
The Monet market has been raging. Now Sotheby's is pulling out a Venetian painting with a $50m asking price. They may be shooting too low: https://liveart.io/blogs/editorials/sothebys-announces-in-taipei-50m-monet-for-may…
These after lunch pictures ended at 3 o'clock Claude's working day. He would then relax until twilight in a gondola tour with Alice.
The weather is sunny. The difference between both pieces is the attempt by the artist to catch subtle changes in the mirage-like atmosphere and haze of the water scenery caught in another early afternoon.
The surface of the canal is iridescent of a wide range of reflected colors providing the effect of a splashing water. Far away gondolas have been added.
This oil on canvas was sold for $ 57M by Sotheby's on May 18, 2022, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Wall Power @artmarket Mar 25, 2022
The Monet market has been raging. Now Sotheby's is pulling out a Venetian painting with a $50m asking price. They may be shooting too low: https://liveart.io/blogs/editorials/sothebys-announces-in-taipei-50m-monet-for-may…
- This 2022 post by art market commentator @artmarket highlights the post-pandemic surge in Monet prices, linking to news of a rare 1908 Venetian canvas estimated at $50 million for Sotheby's May auction, suggesting the price was conservative.
- The attached image depicts Claude Monet's "Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute," one of six similar views from his Venice trip, with only three privately held; prior sales of comparable works ranged from $6.8 million to $36 million pre-2020, but pandemic-era demand doubled values for similar pieces.
- The painting sold for a record $56.6 million, exceeding estimates by 13% and setting a benchmark for Monet's Venice series, underscoring the post's prescient insight into market momentum
The Monet market has been raging. Now Sotheby's is pulling out a Venetian painting with a $50m asking price. They may be shooting too low: https://t.co/wmtcwaJhA4 pic.twitter.com/Hj59nApK2e
— LiveArt (@artmarket) March 25, 2022
