Midi de la France
See also : Landscape Groups Van Gogh Cézanne UK II Hockney
Chronology : 19th century 1880-1889 1888 1889 1890-1899 1895 1970-1979 1972
Chronology : 19th century 1880-1889 1888 1889 1890-1899 1895 1970-1979 1972
1883-1885 L'Estaque by Cézanne
2021 SOLD for $ 55M by Christie's
The impressionist solutions are no longer suitable to Paul Cézanne. He comes back to Provence with the aim of expressing the quintessence and the warmth of the most beautiful Mediterranean landscapes.
L'Estaque is one of his first choices, prompted by memories from his youth when his mother had rented a cottage for summer holidays. From the top of the hill and beyond the houses, the bay and the islands of Marseille offer a vast and sumptuous panorama.
In the early 1880s Cézanne rents a small house in L'Estaque, away from his family left to live in Aix. He works outdoor like the Impressionnistes, but his synthetic and cloisonné analysis of shapes and colors is paving the way for the 20th century art. He is already meticulously in quest of the perfection of colors in their whole range. He manages to provide to the viewer a sensation instead of a mere copy of the landscape.
Painted in that early phase between 1883 and 1885, L'Estaque aux toits rouges is a significant demonstrator of these fertile experiments. In this panoramic view from the top of the hill, the contrast is striking between the geometric pattern of sun bathed houses with no shadow and the blue hues of sky and sea.
This oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm was sold for $ 55M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 10C. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A view boldly enclosing the same panorama in a vertical format, oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm painted in 1885, was sold for £ 13.5M by Christie's on February 4, 2015, lot 8.
These pictures had a direct influence on the development of the Cubisme by Braque.
L'Estaque is one of his first choices, prompted by memories from his youth when his mother had rented a cottage for summer holidays. From the top of the hill and beyond the houses, the bay and the islands of Marseille offer a vast and sumptuous panorama.
In the early 1880s Cézanne rents a small house in L'Estaque, away from his family left to live in Aix. He works outdoor like the Impressionnistes, but his synthetic and cloisonné analysis of shapes and colors is paving the way for the 20th century art. He is already meticulously in quest of the perfection of colors in their whole range. He manages to provide to the viewer a sensation instead of a mere copy of the landscape.
Painted in that early phase between 1883 and 1885, L'Estaque aux toits rouges is a significant demonstrator of these fertile experiments. In this panoramic view from the top of the hill, the contrast is striking between the geometric pattern of sun bathed houses with no shadow and the blue hues of sky and sea.
This oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm was sold for $ 55M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 10C. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A view boldly enclosing the same panorama in a vertical format, oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm painted in 1885, was sold for £ 13.5M by Christie's on February 4, 2015, lot 8.
These pictures had a direct influence on the development of the Cubisme by Braque.
1888 The Studio of the South
2015 SOLD for $ 66M including premium
Arrived at Arles in 1888 at the end of winter, Vincent van Gogh engaged with nature in Provence, with the wonderful colors of spring from the hill of Montmajour and the hard summer sun over the works in the fields.
He moved to the maison jaune where he wanted to create a community of artists named by him L'Atelier du Midi. Paul Gauguin arrived as his first guest on 23 October.
A period of fine weather, from October 29 to November 2, allows a first outdoor session. The two artists set their easels in the Alyscamps dominated by the bright yellow of the autumn leaves.
They must come to some understanding. Two of van Gogh paintings include forms within sharp outlines that could appeal to Gauguin. Their very different conceptions of artistic creation begin however to oppose the two artists from that first trials. Gauguin is a cerebral man for whom the achievement must be consistent with the original design, van Gogh is an impulsive wishing that the spontaneous gesture contributes to the artwork.
On May 5 in New York, Sotheby's sells a view of the Alyscamps painted on November 1, 1888, oil on canvas 92 x 74 cm, lot 18. The press release of April 13 is expecting a price in excess of $ 40M.
The composition is geometric, with its perspective view of the allée of trees. The contrast between the warm colors of soil and trees and the cold blue sky make this van Gogh painting resolutely away from the flat colors of Gauguin. The expression is enhanced by the rich shades of the palette. This painting contains the elements that will generate misunderstanding and estrangement between the two great artists.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's. Its image is also shared by Wikimedia.
He moved to the maison jaune where he wanted to create a community of artists named by him L'Atelier du Midi. Paul Gauguin arrived as his first guest on 23 October.
A period of fine weather, from October 29 to November 2, allows a first outdoor session. The two artists set their easels in the Alyscamps dominated by the bright yellow of the autumn leaves.
They must come to some understanding. Two of van Gogh paintings include forms within sharp outlines that could appeal to Gauguin. Their very different conceptions of artistic creation begin however to oppose the two artists from that first trials. Gauguin is a cerebral man for whom the achievement must be consistent with the original design, van Gogh is an impulsive wishing that the spontaneous gesture contributes to the artwork.
On May 5 in New York, Sotheby's sells a view of the Alyscamps painted on November 1, 1888, oil on canvas 92 x 74 cm, lot 18. The press release of April 13 is expecting a price in excess of $ 40M.
The composition is geometric, with its perspective view of the allée of trees. The contrast between the warm colors of soil and trees and the cold blue sky make this van Gogh painting resolutely away from the flat colors of Gauguin. The expression is enhanced by the rich shades of the palette. This painting contains the elements that will generate misunderstanding and estrangement between the two great artists.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's. Its image is also shared by Wikimedia.
1889 The Field beyond the Window
2017 SOLD for $ 81M including premium
On May 8, 1889 Vincent van Gogh enters the asylum for insanes of Dr. Peyron in Saint-Rémy de Provence. Rightly considered as dangerous for himself, he is not allowed to walk outside but a small workshop is attributed to him. In this narrow universe Vincent interprets the works of other artists and looks beyond the window through the thick bars.
On June 18, Vincent paints La Nuit étoilée in which the stars are transformed into whirlwinds of fire. Anxious about the loss of control of his mental health, Vincent believes being appeased by the energy of his hallucination. Doctors fear another major crisis. They are right : it happens in mid-July.
Supervised by the doctors, Vincent does not paint during his crises. He takes his brushes again in the last days of August. The window of his room looks to the east. The sun rising above the wheat field is blinding and hypnotic, and also reveals the bright colors that constitute the soil. The colors are intermingled like swirls, scars and tongues of fire with an extreme violence.
This oil on canvas 50 x 65 cm is titled Laboureur dans un champ. The man, the horse and the plow in mid-distance against the light offer a new opus of the favorite theme of Vincent's career, a result of his lifelong empathy with the soil workers.
Healing through hard work that released his impulses was only an illusion but it produced unprecedented masterpieces. The next crisis comes in December.
Laboureur dans un champ will be sold as lot 28 A by Christie's in New York on November 13. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image below is shared by Wikimedia.
On June 18, Vincent paints La Nuit étoilée in which the stars are transformed into whirlwinds of fire. Anxious about the loss of control of his mental health, Vincent believes being appeased by the energy of his hallucination. Doctors fear another major crisis. They are right : it happens in mid-July.
Supervised by the doctors, Vincent does not paint during his crises. He takes his brushes again in the last days of August. The window of his room looks to the east. The sun rising above the wheat field is blinding and hypnotic, and also reveals the bright colors that constitute the soil. The colors are intermingled like swirls, scars and tongues of fire with an extreme violence.
This oil on canvas 50 x 65 cm is titled Laboureur dans un champ. The man, the horse and the plow in mid-distance against the light offer a new opus of the favorite theme of Vincent's career, a result of his lifelong empathy with the soil workers.
Healing through hard work that released his impulses was only an illusion but it produced unprecedented masterpieces. The next crisis comes in December.
Laboureur dans un champ will be sold as lot 28 A by Christie's in New York on November 13. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image below is shared by Wikimedia.
1889 Threats on Arles
2015 SOLD for $ 54M including premium
Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles in February 1888. He decided to stay there, charmed by the beauty of the surrounding countryside. His paintings of blooming orchards are joyous.
His mental health had always been fragile. The tension in his relationship with Gauguin rushed his delirious crises requiring his internment in psychiatric hospitals. His anguished questioning about the unknown cause of his illness worsens his condition. He cannot work during his crises.
On November 5 in New York, Sotheby's sells Paysage sous un ciel mouvementé, oil on canvas 60 x 74 cm, lot 14 estimated $ 50M. This artwork was made in mid-April 1889 within a very short period of lull that allowed him again to paint outdoors. This insignificant countryside surrounding Arles cannot be located with more accuracy.
That new spring looked very different to him from that of the previous year. The flowery meadow that occupies the foreground is not welcoming although a little character is coming to pick flowers. It is well lit but not sunny. The trees are twisted off by the wind.
The clouds are processed in a thick impasto involving all shades of gray, with a great violence that anticipates the whirlpools in the starry sky of the following months. This tormented painting is already attesting the fatal drift of his genius into dementia.
His mental health had always been fragile. The tension in his relationship with Gauguin rushed his delirious crises requiring his internment in psychiatric hospitals. His anguished questioning about the unknown cause of his illness worsens his condition. He cannot work during his crises.
On November 5 in New York, Sotheby's sells Paysage sous un ciel mouvementé, oil on canvas 60 x 74 cm, lot 14 estimated $ 50M. This artwork was made in mid-April 1889 within a very short period of lull that allowed him again to paint outdoors. This insignificant countryside surrounding Arles cannot be located with more accuracy.
That new spring looked very different to him from that of the previous year. The flowery meadow that occupies the foreground is not welcoming although a little character is coming to pick flowers. It is well lit but not sunny. The trees are twisted off by the wind.
The clouds are processed in a thick impasto involving all shades of gray, with a great violence that anticipates the whirlpools in the starry sky of the following months. This tormented painting is already attesting the fatal drift of his genius into dementia.
Discover the unique connoisseurship of Evelyn and Louis Franck #VanGogh http://t.co/phe5dtq0Lp pic.twitter.com/FAiGFBbBim
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) October 14, 20151889 The Happiness of Outdoor Painting
2018 SOLD for $ 40M including premium
In July 1889 Vincent van Gogh suffered a relapse of his crises while he was interned in the asylum at Saint-Rémy. Once again he managed to convince the doctors that working was good for his health. He was right but unfortunately temporarily only.
Laboureur dans un champ is a masterpiece of that new phase, composed from memory and from what he could see from the window. This oil on canvas 50 x 65 cm completed in September 2, 1889, was sold for $ 81M including premium by Christie's on November 13, 2017.
Vue de l'asile et de la chapelle Saint-Paul de Mausole à Saint-Rémy, oil on canvas 45 x 60 cm, was painted in mid-October. It was sold by Christie's from the deceased estate of Elizabeth Taylor on February 7, 2012 for £ 10.1M including premium over a lower estimate of £ 5M, lot 12.
I discussed it in this column at that time, commenting it as follows : This is an overview of the buildings of the asylum, in a gentle stylized realism. The swirling textures of the sky and trees open the way to the masterpieces of Auvers, and in the whole lower part of the image the tangle of colors of the field is already foreshadowing the colorists of the next century..
The importance of this view in Vincent's art has been re-evaluated. It appears now as being the only landscape in that fall that Vincent had painted outdoors throughout, under the close surveillance of an attendant.
In his signature line previously used in Laboureur, Vincent offers in this view a much quieter rendering. Feeling that he was on the way to recover, he was happy with his great control of his brushstroke and delighted with the automnal colors.
It is estimated $ 35M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15, lot 24 A. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Laboureur dans un champ is a masterpiece of that new phase, composed from memory and from what he could see from the window. This oil on canvas 50 x 65 cm completed in September 2, 1889, was sold for $ 81M including premium by Christie's on November 13, 2017.
Vue de l'asile et de la chapelle Saint-Paul de Mausole à Saint-Rémy, oil on canvas 45 x 60 cm, was painted in mid-October. It was sold by Christie's from the deceased estate of Elizabeth Taylor on February 7, 2012 for £ 10.1M including premium over a lower estimate of £ 5M, lot 12.
I discussed it in this column at that time, commenting it as follows : This is an overview of the buildings of the asylum, in a gentle stylized realism. The swirling textures of the sky and trees open the way to the masterpieces of Auvers, and in the whole lower part of the image the tangle of colors of the field is already foreshadowing the colorists of the next century..
The importance of this view in Vincent's art has been re-evaluated. It appears now as being the only landscape in that fall that Vincent had painted outdoors throughout, under the close surveillance of an attendant.
In his signature line previously used in Laboureur, Vincent offers in this view a much quieter rendering. Feeling that he was on the way to recover, he was happy with his great control of his brushstroke and delighted with the automnal colors.
It is estimated $ 35M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15, lot 24 A. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1889 The Superb Fall
2019 SOLD for $ 40M including premium
The arrival of Vincent van Gogh in Provence marks the beginning of a creative frenzy that is interrupted only by his fits of dementia. He still and ever seeks to vary his themes and styles to become the best artist in the world.
La Nuit étoilée, oil on canvas painted in June 1889 at the asylum of St-Rémy, is unprecedented in the history of art. Vincent first wanted to paint the colors of the night. In order for them to be clearly visible, he oversized the Moon and the stars which have become swirls of colors.
La Nuit étoilée is also a landscape with the village of St-Rémy and the Alpilles. It is dominated in the foreground by an isolated floating tree, disproportionate and asymmetrical. With its longevity and its evergreen leaves, the cypress is the symbol of eternal life and the tree of the graveyards.
In October 1889 nature offers a satisfaction to Vincent : that autumn is superb. The artist paints the colors of the garden. With a texture of violent lines, the brushstroke has integrated the style of the Starry Night. In the foreground two or three thin trunks twist. The only vertical reference in this unbalanced universe is the tall cypress, in the distance, with the same asymmetry as the tree of the Starry Night.
A view in St. Paul's Hospital Garden, oil on canvas 67 x 52 cm, was sold for £ 9M including premium by Christie's on June 23, 2010.
Painted in vibrant colors, Trees in the Garden of the Asylum, oil on canvas 42 x 34 cm, will be sold as lot 15A by Christie's in New York on May 13. The March 27 press release announces an estimate in the region of $ 25M. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A view in St. Paul's Hospital Garden, oil on canvas 67 x 52 cm, was sold for £ 9M by Christie's on June 23, 2010, lot 17. It was painted in October 1889 is in the same style and theme as the example above.
La Nuit étoilée, oil on canvas painted in June 1889 at the asylum of St-Rémy, is unprecedented in the history of art. Vincent first wanted to paint the colors of the night. In order for them to be clearly visible, he oversized the Moon and the stars which have become swirls of colors.
La Nuit étoilée is also a landscape with the village of St-Rémy and the Alpilles. It is dominated in the foreground by an isolated floating tree, disproportionate and asymmetrical. With its longevity and its evergreen leaves, the cypress is the symbol of eternal life and the tree of the graveyards.
In October 1889 nature offers a satisfaction to Vincent : that autumn is superb. The artist paints the colors of the garden. With a texture of violent lines, the brushstroke has integrated the style of the Starry Night. In the foreground two or three thin trunks twist. The only vertical reference in this unbalanced universe is the tall cypress, in the distance, with the same asymmetry as the tree of the Starry Night.
A view in St. Paul's Hospital Garden, oil on canvas 67 x 52 cm, was sold for £ 9M including premium by Christie's on June 23, 2010.
Painted in vibrant colors, Trees in the Garden of the Asylum, oil on canvas 42 x 34 cm, will be sold as lot 15A by Christie's in New York on May 13. The March 27 press release announces an estimate in the region of $ 25M. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A view in St. Paul's Hospital Garden, oil on canvas 67 x 52 cm, was sold for £ 9M by Christie's on June 23, 2010, lot 17. It was painted in October 1889 is in the same style and theme as the example above.
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#AuctionUpdate Vincent van Gogh's 'Arbres dans le jardin de l'asile' from the collection of S.I. Newhouse realizes $40,000,000 https://t.co/kTl39lKfJq pic.twitter.com/IP2q8HHFV9
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) May 13, 2019
October 1889 Cabanes de Bois by van Gogh
2021 SOLD for $ 71M by Christie's
The marvelous autumn in Provence enables Vincent to restart his communion with nature. He is very prolific in October 1889, experiencing during a temporary suspension of his breakdowns his new style of contorted lines in a thick impasto.
Indeed Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers et cyprès is an opposition between the quietness of the rural scenery and the furious desire of the artist to survive while he is still a resident in the asylum at Saint-Rémy.
The composition is simple, centered on the group of two huts. The expression is provided by the mingling of the full range of bright colors of the fall, from the incandescent soil to the purple mountains and the turquoise blue sky though the green and gray foliages, the red roofs and the violet shadows.
Cabanes, oil on canvas 45 x 60 cm, was sold for $ 71M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 4C.
Indeed Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers et cyprès is an opposition between the quietness of the rural scenery and the furious desire of the artist to survive while he is still a resident in the asylum at Saint-Rémy.
The composition is simple, centered on the group of two huts. The expression is provided by the mingling of the full range of bright colors of the fall, from the incandescent soil to the purple mountains and the turquoise blue sky though the green and gray foliages, the red roofs and the violet shadows.
Cabanes, oil on canvas 45 x 60 cm, was sold for $ 71M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 4C.
Christie's is honored to announce The Cox Collection: The Story of Impressionism, one of the greatest American collections to ever appear in the auction market, featuring masterpieces by Caillebotte, Cézanne and Van Gogh. https://t.co/mbwxiH4FIc pic.twitter.com/D3w0IP4gyU
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) July 29, 2021
November 1889 Champs près des Alpilles
2022 SOLD for $ 52M by Christie's
In November 1889, Vincent is treated for six months in the Saint-Rémy hospital. The leaves of the superb autumn have fallen from the trees but the confined artist is still excited by the purity of the air in the Provençal countryside.
His art was definitely not a copy of the nature but an emotional interpretation through carefully selected colors which he felt instrumental to his survival. A viral form of modern art was being developed in that asylum by that mentally disabled man in the time span of a few months.
Champs près des Alpilles is a winter landscape view taken from outside the entrance of the asylum. It displays the lilac rocky scenery of the Alpilles hills behind a winter field centered by a single leafless almond tree, tentatively an expression of the artist's loneliness unless it is a mere copy from a print by Hokusai.
Vincent presented this painting as an adieu to his former neighbor in Arles and supporting friend the facteur Roulin. At that time he was hoping to leave Provence. He reported that gift to his brother Theo in January 1890.
This oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm was sold for $ 52M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 23C.
His art was definitely not a copy of the nature but an emotional interpretation through carefully selected colors which he felt instrumental to his survival. A viral form of modern art was being developed in that asylum by that mentally disabled man in the time span of a few months.
Champs près des Alpilles is a winter landscape view taken from outside the entrance of the asylum. It displays the lilac rocky scenery of the Alpilles hills behind a winter field centered by a single leafless almond tree, tentatively an expression of the artist's loneliness unless it is a mere copy from a print by Hokusai.
Vincent presented this painting as an adieu to his former neighbor in Arles and supporting friend the facteur Roulin. At that time he was hoping to leave Provence. He reported that gift to his brother Theo in January 1890.
This oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm was sold for $ 52M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 23C.
Following last November’s blow-out sale of works by Vincent van Gogh ($160 million in only four works by the artist were sold in the New York sales), Christie’s has announced a $45m landscape for the May sales.@ChristiesInc https://t.co/s8CwnKCNV5 pic.twitter.com/MNOLoLgONK
— LiveArt (@artmarket) February 25, 2022
1895 Clairière by Cézanne
2022 SOLD for $ 42M by Sotheby's
From 1886, Paul Cézanne was developing in all his themes a new art mingling vision and mind. For that purpose he replaced the Impressionniste brush stroke by a construction of tiny geometric elements, preferring to perfect the confrontation of colors than to respect the perspective.
As for landscapes he tirelessly revisited the same themes : the wide open scenery of the Montagne Sainte-Victoire and the closed views of woods and glades.
This phase reached its culmination in large formats around 1895 in an unusually reductive palette of blue, green and ochre in various intensities.
Clairière, oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm, flattens the perspective. De-accessioned from the Toledo Museum of Art, it was sold for $ 42M from a lower estimate of $ 30M by Sotheby's on May 17, 2022, lot 16. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
As for landscapes he tirelessly revisited the same themes : the wide open scenery of the Montagne Sainte-Victoire and the closed views of woods and glades.
This phase reached its culmination in large formats around 1895 in an unusually reductive palette of blue, green and ochre in various intensities.
Clairière, oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm, flattens the perspective. De-accessioned from the Toledo Museum of Art, it was sold for $ 42M from a lower estimate of $ 30M by Sotheby's on May 17, 2022, lot 16. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1972 A Nest for Two Boys
2018 SOLD for $ 90M including premium
David Hockney reaches his paradise on Earth in 1964. In Los Angeles the sky and the water of the pools are blue in different shades to which the midday sun brings a perfect purity. This atmosphere exacerbates his homosexual sensibility. Peter Schlesinger becomes his lover and muse in 1966.
David sees by chance on the floor of his studio the conjunction of two photographs that can constitute a scene : a swimmer under water and a standing boy watching something in the distance. The relationship between two men has always been one of his favorite themes. He has just found a way to express his affair with Peter.
It is not so easy for this hypersensitive artist. He destroys a first version. The sudden break between the lovers occurs around that time. In the spring of 1972 David leaves with two assistants to take photographs in a house of director Tony Richardson named Le Nid du Duc in the countryside above Saint-Tropez. During the summer of 1969 David and Peter had spent a few happy days at that place.
A photograph of the swimmer suits him. It will not be a self-portrait in the picture. For the properly dressed observer who will be standing up by the pool, he finds in his archives some photographs of the real Peter, as if David now agreed to entrust Peter to an unidentifiable swimmer.
The acrylic on canvas 213 x 305 cm painted in 1972 is titled Portrait of an Artist and subtitled Pool with Two Figures. The swimmer is under water and Peter is at the edge of the pool. Although Peter's gaze is directed towards the swimmer, communication between them is impossible.
In 1974 a biopic titled A Bigger Splash tells the story of the breaking up of David and Peter. David plays his own role. The film incorporates sequences that had been shot during the preparation of the Portrait of an Artist. The mix of emotion and real intimacy makes A Bigger Splash a cult film of the gay communities, to the point of shocking David himself. He will change his mind later.
This painting will be sold by Christie's in New York on November 15 as lot 9 C. The press release of September 13 announces an estimate in the region of $ 80M. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house including sequences from the movie.
The low resolution image is shared by Wikimedia for fair use.
David sees by chance on the floor of his studio the conjunction of two photographs that can constitute a scene : a swimmer under water and a standing boy watching something in the distance. The relationship between two men has always been one of his favorite themes. He has just found a way to express his affair with Peter.
It is not so easy for this hypersensitive artist. He destroys a first version. The sudden break between the lovers occurs around that time. In the spring of 1972 David leaves with two assistants to take photographs in a house of director Tony Richardson named Le Nid du Duc in the countryside above Saint-Tropez. During the summer of 1969 David and Peter had spent a few happy days at that place.
A photograph of the swimmer suits him. It will not be a self-portrait in the picture. For the properly dressed observer who will be standing up by the pool, he finds in his archives some photographs of the real Peter, as if David now agreed to entrust Peter to an unidentifiable swimmer.
The acrylic on canvas 213 x 305 cm painted in 1972 is titled Portrait of an Artist and subtitled Pool with Two Figures. The swimmer is under water and Peter is at the edge of the pool. Although Peter's gaze is directed towards the swimmer, communication between them is impossible.
In 1974 a biopic titled A Bigger Splash tells the story of the breaking up of David and Peter. David plays his own role. The film incorporates sequences that had been shot during the preparation of the Portrait of an Artist. The mix of emotion and real intimacy makes A Bigger Splash a cult film of the gay communities, to the point of shocking David himself. He will change his mind later.
This painting will be sold by Christie's in New York on November 15 as lot 9 C. The press release of September 13 announces an estimate in the region of $ 80M. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house including sequences from the movie.
The low resolution image is shared by Wikimedia for fair use.
