The Man

Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
​See also : Top 10  Nude  Ancient painting  Sculpture  Italy  Giacometti  Giacometti 1947-53  Bacon  Bacon 1963-69  Later Bacons  USA  Basquiat  Animals  Bird  Christianity
Chronology : 15th century  1480-1499  16th century  1500-1519  20th century   1940-1949  1947  1960-1969  1964  1969  1970-1979  1976  1980-1989  1981  1982  1983

1480 Young Man holding a Roundel by Botticelli
2021 SOLD for $ 92M by Sotheby's

Botticelli painted two works in a mixed technique of great originality. A man holds with both hands a round image which he proudly shows to visitors. This medallion is an additive piece that has been inserted into the wood of the painting.

The earliest is a 58 x 44 cm tempera painted around 1474, kept in the Uffizi Gallery. The added element is a gilded gesso medal bearing the effigy of Cosimo de Medici. The second, 58 x 39 cm tempera painted around 1480, was sold for $ 92M by Sotheby's on January 28, 2021, lot 15. Its added element is an icon of an elderly bearded saint painted on a gold background.

In both cases, there is no doubt that Botticelli designed and made the recess in the wood to place the insert. The position of the fingers around the added object is very precise. However, we can legitimately question if the currently inserted piece is original.

Cosimo's medal probably meets the artist's original intention. The Quattrocento portraits are painted with great care in the physiognomy, but also with elements that symbolize the social position, character or life of the model. The Lady with an Ermine painted by Leonardo in 1489 is a perfect example. The medal inserted in Botticelli's painting is a tribute of the model to the founder of the political power of the Medici.

The image of the bearded saint is an authentic fragment of a Sienese painting from the Trecento. The absence of an attribute to identify the saint is an anomaly if we consider the importance given to it by its holder. It may have been inserted later to replace another detached or damaged image.

Beyond these doubts, both paintings are direct witnesses of the iconographic inventiveness of one of the greatest masters of the Quattrocento.

The portrait of the young man holding the icon is in an exceptional state of conservation. This unidentified prince is sympathetic by his desire to have his medallion admired. His attitude is straight. The dark mauve pigment of the tunic is luxurious and rare.

​The image is shared by Wikimedia.

Response by Grok :
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Sotheby's @Sothebys Jan 28, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Sandro Botticelli’s masterpiece Young Man Holding a Roundel, one of the most significant portraits of any period ever to appear at auction, and a defining work of the Florentine Renaissance achieves $92.2 million -- a new auction record for the artist

  • The sale of Sandro Botticelli’s "Young Man Holding a Roundel" for $92.2 million in January 2021 set a record for the artist, reflecting the rarity of his works hitting the market, with only a handful of his paintings auctioned in the past century, as noted in a 2021 Sotheby’s analysis.
  • This artwork, created around 1480 during the Florentine Renaissance, showcases Botticelli’s linear style influenced by the Medici family’s patronage, a period when Florence became a hub for artistic innovation, supported by economic prosperity from trade and banking, per historical records from the Uffizi Gallery.
  • The auction sparked debate on cultural heritage, with some arguing its sale abroad (likely to a private collector) diminishes public access, aligning with a 2019 UNESCO report highlighting how 70% of global art auctions involve works leaving their country of origin.

1500 Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci
2017 SOLD for $ 450M by Christie's

The Salvator Mundi painted by Leonardo was known in workshop's copies but the original was considered lost. The meticulous inspection made by the experts with modern techniques has just brought one of these paintings to the rank of original with undeniable arguments.

The picture shows Christ holding the orb of the world in his left hand and blessing with the raised fingers of his right hand. The mystical message without the divine attribute of the halo competes with the holy shrouds recognized as authentic at his time while adding attitude and gesture. The orb that prophesies the rescue of the world is a reflective crystal ball through which the viewer perceives the palm of the hand.

This painting had belonged to King Charles I of England. It was probably hanging in the private apartments of Queen Henriette who was born in the French royal family. Its previous whereabouts are unknown. A possible hypothesis is a French royal order during the Italian wars. King Louis XII was so impressed by the Last Supper that he wanted to take the wall to France.

The analyzes provided a lot of information on the realization and history of this painting. The perfection of the expression is concentrated in the lips and the gaze, anticipating the Mona Lisa. The mouth was drawn by the technique of pierced drawing used by other great masters of that time including Raphael and Andrea del Sarto. One of the eyes was softened by a spread of color pushed by the wrist of the artist.

Leonardo cared little for the supporting materials. The conservation woes of the Last Supper are famous. The original panel of Salvator Mundi was early split because of a knot in the wood. The accident caused awkward repainting on the face. Anonymous owners then extended these repaints to the point that only peripheral regions including the hands were still visible in their original quality.

All of that has been conscientiously repaired. Fortunately the sfumato remained in very good condition under the disagreeable layers that were removed. This signature Leonardo technique makes it possible to compare the Salvator Mundi with the Mona Lisa which is the culmination of his art. The perfectionist preparation of his paintings could last several years. A date around 1500 is plausible for the Salvator Mundi.

Christ the savior of the world by Leonardo, oil on panel 66 x 46 cm, was sold for $ 450M by Christie's on November 15, 2017, lot 9 B. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.​

​Responses by Grok :
  • The $450M sale of Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi in 2017 at Christie's set a record as the most expensive artwork ever auctioned, though some art historians, like Frank Zöllner, question its attribution due to extensive restoration obscuring its original quality.
  • Rediscovered in 2005 and authenticated in 2011, the painting's journey from a $45 misattribution in 1958 to a Leonardo masterpiece highlights the evolving expertise of art scholars, supported by evidence like preparatory drawings at Windsor Castle.
  • The debate over its authenticity challenges the art market's reliance on high-profile sales, with studies suggesting over 20 copies exist, raising questions about the uniqueness and value of the restored version.
​Quote
​Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 16, 2017
Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece Salvator Mundi achieves $450,312,500, a #worldauctionrecord for any work of art sold at auction.
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  • The X post by Christie's highlights the record-breaking $450.3 million sale of Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi in 2017, a painting once sold for just $45 in 1958, revealing a dramatic shift in its perceived value driven by evolving art authentication debates.
  • Recent studies, including analysis by the Prado Museum's Ana Gonzalez Mozo in 2021, suggest Leonardo may not have painted Salvator Mundi himself, challenging its attribution and sparking controversy over whether it’s an original or a workshop copy, supported by historical inventories linking it to his pupil Salaì.
  • The sale’s buyer, Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al Saud, was later linked to a complex art market scandal involving Yves Bouvier, with lawsuits alleging a $380 million markup, as reported in 2018, raising questions about transparency in high-stakes auctions.

Asking Grok to compare with Mona Lisa :

Comparison: Salvator Mundi (Leonardo da Vinci, sold Christie’s 2017) vs. Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci)
Salvator Mundi (c. 1499–1510)
Mona Lisa (c. 1503–1519)
Subject
Salvator Mundi : Christ as Savior of the World (Salvator Mundi), blessing with right hand, holding crystal orb
Mona Lisa : Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo
Iconography
Salvator Mundi : Religious (Christ Pantocrator type), highly symbolic (orb = universe/crystal purity)
Mona Lisa : Secular portrait, though with enigmatic psychological depth
Auction / Ownership
Salvator Mundi : Sold at Christie’s New York, 15 Nov 2017, lot 9B for $450.3 million (highest price ever for any work of art at auction). Bought by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (effectively for the Louvre Abu Dhabi, on loan since 2018)
Mona Lisa : In the Louvre since 1797 (French state property). Priceless, effectively unsellable
Condition & Authenticity
Salvator Mundi : Heavily damaged and restored multiple times (overpainted, thinned panel, extensive repainting especially in face and hair). Authenticity accepted by most (but not all) scholars after 2005–2011 restoration. Some prominent experts (e.g. Carmen Bambach, Michael Daley) still doubt full Leonardo authorship or consider it a workshop piece heavily retouched by him.
Mona Lisa : Exceptionally well-preserved for a 500-year-old poplar panel. Universally accepted as entirely by Leonardo’s hand
Size
Salvator Mundi : 65.7 × 45.7 cm (25⅞ × 18 in)
Mona Lisa : 77 × 53 cm (30 × 21 in)
Support
Salvator Mundi : Walnut panel
Mona Lisa : Poplar panel
Technique
Salvator Mundi : Oil (with some tempera?), heavy use of sfumato, very fine brushwork in final layers
Mona Lisa : Oil, extreme sfumato, almost invisible brushstrokes, pentimenti visible in infrared
Provenance
Salvator Mundi : English royal collection (Charles I), later lost, rediscovered 1900 in very poor state, sold 1958 for £45 as “follower of Leonardo”, restored 2005–2011, re-attributed
Mona Lisa : Continuously documented since François I bought it from Leonardo c. 1518
Current locationO
Salvator Mundi : Officially owned by Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia; stored in Geneva or Saudi Arabia (not publicly exhibited since September 2018 cancelled Louvre Abu Dhabi show)
Mona Lisa : Louvre, Paris (permanent display in Salle des États)
Cultural status
Salvatot Mundi : Most expensive painting ever sold; controversial because of condition, restoration, and price
Mona Lisa : The single most famous painting in the world; ultimate icon of Renaissance art
Artistic innovations visible
Salvator Mundi : Transparent crystal orb with attempted (but optically imperfect) refraction; extremely delicate sfumato in the face; soft curling hair
Mona Lisa : Revolutionary atmospheric perspective, psychological ambiguity, “smile”, subtle modeling of flesh with no hard lines
Restoration controversies
Salvator Mundi : 2005–2011 restoration by Dianne Dwyer Modestini removed heavy overpaint but added significant retouching (especially blessing hand and hair). Critics say the face is now largely 21st-century paint
Mona Lisa : 19th and early 20th-century varnishes removed; very conservative modern treatments
Scholarly consensus
Salvator Mundi : Accepted as autograph Leonardo by the majority since the 2011 National Gallery exhibition, but a vocal minority still considers it workshop with Leonardo interventions
​Mona Lisa : 100 % consensus as fully autograph
Key Similarities
  • Both are undisputed (or almost undisputed) works by Leonardo da Vinci from roughly the same late period (c. 1500–1515).
  • Both use extreme sfumato and soft modeling with almost invisible transitions.
  • Both were painted in oil (unusual in Italy at the time).
  • Both have enigmatic, slightly melancholic expressions.
  • Both have suffered damage and restoration, though to vastly different degrees.
Key Differences in a Nutshell
  • Purpose: religious icon vs. private secular portrait
  • Condition: one is among the best-preserved Renaissance paintings, the other among the most damaged and heavily restored
  • Market value: one is literally priceless and belongs to France; the other is the only Old Master ever to cross $400 million
  • Public visibility: Mona Lisa is seen by 30,000 people a day behind bulletproof glass; Salvator Mundi has essentially disappeared from public view since 2018
  • Consensus: Mona Lisa is the gold standard of Leonardo’s genius; Salvator Mundi remains the most debated and polarizing Leonardo in existence.
In short: the Mona Lisa is the universally acknowledged masterpiece; the Salvator Mundi is the miraculous (and controversial) survivor that became the most expensive painting in history.

1947 L'Homme au Doigt by Giacometti
2015 SOLD for $ 140M by Christie's

After the war Alberto Giacometti reinstalled himself in his Parisian studio which had been carefully maintained by Diego. His life is stabilized by his meeting with Annette. He wants to exhibit through his sculptures his own view about the human nature, close to Sartre's existentialism.

Alberto appreciates that some new art is required and that his diminutive sculptures will not appeal anybody. His characters will now be life-size. They will be threadlike as the floor lamps that the artist formerly conceived for Jean-Michel Frank, fragile in their bodies and solid in their bronze. These humans are not identifiable but the original plaster tirelessly kneaded by the artist's hand brings them a tormented texture that resembles their creator.

The seminal story of his new creativity takes place immediately after the war, tentatively in 1945. He goes to the cinema in Montparnasse. On the boulevard, he sees men walking and women standing. Everyone knows the reason for his or her immediate action, which is not accessible to others. A crowd is a gathering of lonely characters. Alberto is no longer inspired by cinema, which is nothing more than a projection of light on a screen. He decides that his art will be closer to real life.

Pierre Matisse is interested and promises to organize an exhibition in New York in January 1948 of this art which, in October 1947, does not yet exist. The works must be designed and the bronzes have to be melt. The artist is in a hurry which is not his usual practice. The meeting with the agents of the foundry is scheduled for the next morning. Alberto is not ready.

He is not happy with his prototype and demolishes it. In a night of frenzied creation, he realizes L'Homme au doigt. When it is carried out for the factory, the plaster is achieved but it is still wet. Seven bronzes including an artist's proof are edited by the Alexis Rudier company.

The man points the finger to show the way to the other two sculptures in the trilogy, L'Homme qui marche and his opposite the everlasting Femme debout. This horizontal finger is a sign of authority, hope and renewal. L'Homme au doigt emits the founding message before disappearing from Alberto's creations, unlike the other two figures that will accompany his whole career, 

The plaster had been kneaded in a hurry, giving a tormented and scarred texture from which some observers said that L'Homme au doigt is Alberto's self portrait. One bronze, the number 6/6, was hand-painted by the artist. It strengthens the resemblance. The pointing man is not God between Adam and Eve, he is Alberto, the creative artist.

This number 6/6 178 cm high is the most outstanding piece of bronze by Alberto. It was sold for $ 140M by Christie's on May 11, 2015, lot 29A. 

Man is walking with energy but nobody knows why, not even the character. The energy of his step is useful, or not, his compass shaped legs prophesying the imbalance of the future. Woman is waiting and passive. She however must have a role, like the tree in the forest.

​Other figures will soon be created as well as groups and busts. 

​Response by Grok :
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Trivia Encyclopedia @edpearce080759 May 11, 2023
"L'Homme au doigt" (man pointing) a 1947 work by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti was auctioned for $141.3m at Christie's in New York City on May 11, 2015, setting the record for most expensive sculpture sold at an auction. https://encyclopaediaoftrivia.blogspot.com/2017/11/sculpture.html…

  • "L'Homme au doigt," created by Alberto Giacometti in 1947, reflects his unique technique of elongating figures to explore human fragility, with studies showing his sculptures evoke existential themes backed by art historians like Reinhold Hohl in Alberto Giacometti (1971).
  • The $141.3 million sale in 2015 at Christie's broke records, surpassing Giacometti's prior high of $103.4 million for "Walking Man I" in 2010, highlighting a surge in demand for modern art fueled by wealthy collectors, with global art auction sales reaching $26 billion that year per TEFAF's Art Market Report.
  • The anonymous buyer's possible Asian origin aligns with a trend of Asian collectors dominating high-value art purchases, as evidenced by a 2023 Art Basel report noting 29% of global auction sales now come from Asia, challenging Western art market dominance.
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Giacometti apparently did not reuse his primordial figure L'Homme au Doigt after the seminal 1947 cast of 6 plus 1 artist's proof. Tell the reason why : existentialist thoughts or technical issue with the pointing arms and finger ? Where are now the plasters and bronzes of L'Homme au Doigt ? Compare with Le Nez, conceived in plaster in 1947 but apparently not cast in bronze before 1964.

Alberto Giacometti's L'Homme au doigt (Pointing Man), conceived in 1947, was cast in bronze in an edition of six numbered copies plus one artist's proof shortly after its creation (using the Alexis Rudier foundry). Contrary to the premise in your question, Giacometti did cast and edition the work in 1947–48, rather than limiting it to a single cast or avoiding reuse of the model.
The sculpture was modeled in plaster in a single intense session (Giacometti described completing it "in one night between midnight and nine the next morning," with the plaster still wet when collected by the foundry). No reliable sources indicate that he deliberately avoided recasting or editions due to existentialist philosophy (though his postwar figures, including this one, are often interpreted through an existential lens of isolation, fragility, and human presence, as discussed by Jean-Paul Sartre) or technical difficulties with the extended pointing arm and finger (the thin, elongated forms were characteristic of his mature style and successfully cast without noted structural issues).
Current Locations of L'Homme au doigt Casts
  • Four casts are in major museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, and Tate Modern, London.
  • The remaining casts are held by the Fondation Giacometti (Paris) and private collections.
  • One notable cast (6/6, hand-painted by the artist) sold at Christie's in 2015 for $141.3 million (a record for any sculpture at auction) and is now in a private collection (reportedly owned by Steven A. Cohen).
The original plaster model is preserved by the Fondation Giacometti in Paris.
Comparison with Le Nez
Le Nez (The Nose), also conceived in plaster in 1947 (with a revised version in 1949), follows a different trajectory: Giacometti reworked the composition multiple times over the years (altering the cage structure, suspension, and details), but he did not authorize bronze casting until around 1964–65. This delay aligns with his postwar practice for some works—keeping plasters in the studio for ongoing modification rather than immediate editioning—possibly reflecting his relentless pursuit of capturing perceptual "reality" and distance (a phenomenological concern tied to existential themes of alienation and the absurd). The bronze edition (typically 6 casts) was produced later, with examples in institutions like the Centre Pompidou (Paris) and private collections. Original and variant plasters remain with the Fondation Giacometti.
​In summary, while both works emerged from Giacometti's pivotal 1947 breakthrough toward elongated, emaciated figures symbolizing postwar human vulnerability, L'Homme au doigt was promptly editioned in bronze, whereas Le Nez exemplifies his habit of delaying casting for certain pieces to allow further evolution. No evidence supports a specific technical fragility in the pointing gesture as a reason for limited production.

1964 Buffalo by Rauschenberg
​2019 SOLD for $ 89M by Christie's

Real life is a collection of disparate elements that sometimes arise simultaneously. Robert Rauschenberg wants to express this complexity. In 1952 he takes part in the first ever multidisciplinary happening of art organized by John Cage. His frenzy to gather varied artefacts of everyday life makes him appear as a follower to Duchamp.

Around March 1962 Andy Warhol begins to use screen printing to easily multiply his paintings. After a visit in September to Warhol's studio, Rauschenberg considers in this technique the possibility of mingling images cut off from news magazines with photographs of his own life.

Rauschenberg makes his first trials in this mixed technique with black and white impressions. He uses quadrichromy from the spring of 1963. Two artworks 213 x 152 cm copy as their major elements a portrait of Kennedy during the presidential campaign of 1960, the repetition of the detail of his pointing finger, and a NASA image of September 1963 showing an astronaut floating in space under a parachute. The title, Retroactive, is a statement by the artist that after being captured, a moment belongs inexorably to the past.

Kennedy dies in November 1963, plunging even deeper into the past. In 1964 the Democratic Party sympathizer Rauschenberg reuses the portrait and the finger in a new composition that now includes the Coca-Cola logo, a bunch of keys and a helicopter in the Vietnam war. Relegated to a corner, the NASA image clipped below the parachute indicates that this technical feat disappears gradually from the present of the artist.

This oil and silkscreen ink on canvas 244 x 184 cm oddly titled Buffalo II is exhibited from June to October 1964 at the Venice Biennale, where Rauschenberg becomes the first American to be awarded the International Grand Prize in Painting. Considering that his message has been received, the artist scraps the screens of his elementary images to devote himself to other conceptual researches.

Buffalo II was sold for $ 89M from a lower estimate of $ 50M by Christie's on May 15, 2019, lot 5 B. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house in which this artwork is commented by the son of the artist.

Response by Grok :

Quote Christie's @ChristiesInc
May 16, 2019
Robert Rauschenberg's 'Buffalo II' from the Mayer Family Collection achieves $88,805,000, setting a new #WorldAuctionRecord for the artist https://bit.ly/2Jk180J

  • The artwork "Buffalo II" by Robert Rauschenberg, sold for $88.8 million in 2019, blends silkscreen images of John F. Kennedy with abstract elements, reflecting a 1960s commentary on media saturation and political iconography, a period marked by Kennedy's assassination in 1963 which shifted public perception of political imagery.
  • Rauschenberg's technique, validated by art historian R. Feinstein's 1990 Whitney Museum analysis, uses silkscreen to merge mass media with fine art, challenging traditional boundaries and aligning with Pop Art's critique of consumerism, a movement peaking as TV ownership in the U.S. rose from 9% in 1950 to 90% by 1962.
  • The record-breaking sale at Christie's highlights a 2019 art market trend where Pop Art fetched $1.2 billion globally, per Art Basel’s UBS report, suggesting a cultural fascination with mid-century American identity amid modern political polarization.

BACON

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​1969 Three Studies of Lucian Freud
2013 SOLD for $ 142M by Christie's​

As early as 1944, the triptych is the favorite medium of Bacon. The three perspectives cancel the plane of the canvas to provide to the viewer the mental illusion of a three-dimensional space.

Heads in small sizes often come to auction, but larger works are exceptional. On November 12, 2013, Christie's sold for $ 142M Three Studies of Lucian Freud, three oils on canvas painted in 1969, 198 x 148 cm for each element. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.

The two artists have been friends for nearly a quarter of century. Francis is in his George Dyer period and his appeal to Lucian has no reason to be erotic. Always looking for a total empathy with his entourage, Bacon pays tribute to a rival whom he admires. The seating position is gentle, but the colors and deformities of the face express the passions, in front of a strident yellow background.

Bacon locked Freud in a threadlike prism, similar to a squaring but proving his intent of the three-dimensional nature of the triptych. This desire to control his friend is fictional and symbolic because Bacon, as almost every time, worked this triple portrait from photos made by John Deakin.​​

​Response by Grok :

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Christie's @ChristiesInc Apr 2, 2020
#ThrowbackThursday For almost 30 years, artists #FrancisBacon and #LucianFreud were near-inseparable companions - friends, foils & confidants, they painted each other & pushed each other’s art to new heights. Francis Bacon, 'Three Studies of Lucian Freud’, 1969.

  • The artwork "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" (1969) by Francis Bacon, featured in the post, sold for $142.4 million in 2013, making it one of the most expensive paintings ever auctioned, reflecting Bacon's mastery in capturing psychological depth through distorted figures, as supported by art historian David Sylvester’s interviews with Bacon.
  • Bacon and Lucian Freud’s 30-year friendship, ending in a mysterious falling-out in the 1970s, fueled mutual artistic influence, with Freud’s rigorous life studies contrasting Bacon’s expressive distortions, a dynamic explored in the 2022 Konbini article on their evolving styles.
  • The triptych format echoes Bacon’s fascination with movement and isolation, possibly influenced by his wartime experiences and Eadweard Muybridge’s motion studies, offering a visual narrative of Freud that challenges traditional portraiture conventions.

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1976 Triptych
2008 SOLD for $ 86M by Sotheby's​​

In 1976 Francis Bacon prepares an exhibition of new works at the Galerie Claude Bernard in Paris. The highlight is a triptych in oil and pastel on canvas, 198 x 148 cm for each element. It was sold for $ 86M by Sotheby's on May 14, 2008, lot 33.
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This triptych brings together a synthesis of Francis' career, as Picasso had done twenty years earlier with his series of Les Femmes d'Alger.

Five years after the suicide of George Dyer, Francis confirms that the major inspirations of his art and of his life are suffering, guilt and punishment. The main figure in the central panel is a headless Prometheus tortured by the eagle, in a composition similar to 'Painting 1946'. Other symbols on this panel include the Furies disguised as pelicans and a chalice dripping with blood.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the young artist was gradually destroying his own work. This phase of creative dissatisfaction ended after the revelation to him of the two most tragic characters in the Greek theater, Prometheus and Orestes by Aeschylus.

The very first work he considered completed, Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, in 1944, a triptych of elements 94 x 74 cm, is an interpretation of the mourners inspired by the Furies of Orestes. 'Painting 1946', 198 x 132 cm, was commented by Bacon : he had started painting a figure of a monkey, the alter ego of mankind, when the punishing eagle arrived in his subconscious.

The triptychs of 198 x 148 cm panels are the format chosen by Bacon in his later career for works he could consider as his masterpieces.

Response by Grok 4 :

Francis Bacon's "Triptych, 1976" (also known as "Triptych 1976") was sold at Sotheby's New York contemporary art auction on May 14, 2008, for $86,281,000, setting a record at the time for the most expensive work of contemporary art ever sold at auction.

This large-scale oil on canvas work (each panel measuring about 78 x 58 inches) depicts distorted, fleshy figures in Bacon's signature raw and existential style, inspired by his relationship with George Dyer, who had died in 1971.

​The buyer was reportedly Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire.This record held until 2013, when another Bacon triptych, "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" (1969), sold for $142.4 million at Christie's, surpassing it as the artist's most expensive work at auction. As of 2025, Bacon's works continue to command high prices, with several exceeding $50 million in recent sales, though none have topped the 2013 record.

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​1981 Triptych inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus
2020 SOLD for $ 85M by Sotheby's

Francis Bacon has long sought his way to illustrate human weaknesses and suffering. The major influence on his art is the Oresteia by Aeschylus. When he discovers this trilogy, he stops destroying his own productions. It is certainly no coincidence that his seminal work, made in 1944 at the age of 35, is a triptych.

This painting is titled Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. As a challenge against Christianity, he does not display the Passion but pictures of the Furies who forever pursue their vengeance on the guilty Orestes.

In 1962 Bacon begins using a new format for his completed works : the triptych of oils on canvas sized 198 x 148 cm for each element. He will make 28 of them. Aeschylus continues to haunt him. A triptych painted in 1976 featuring in the central panel Prometheus devoured by the eagle in the presence of the Furies was sold for $ 86M iby Sotheby's on May 14, 2008.

On June 29, 2020, Sotheby's sold for $ 85M from a lower estimate of $ 60M Triptych inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus, painted in 1981, lot 105. Please watch the First Look video and the Expert Voices video shared by the auction house.
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Unlike the Prometheus in the example above, the artist avoids any narrative aspect in his Oresteia to better focus on the sensations. The main figure of each of the three elements is made up of contorted nudity fragments. Homosexual, sado-masochist and atheist, Francis Bacon proclaims his difference by taking Aeschylus as a reference for interpreting the human passions and the impossibility of escaping the Furies of destiny.

Response by Grok 4 :

  • The triptych "Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus" by Francis Bacon, created in 1981, features three distorted, biomorphic figures evoking the vengeful Furies from Aeschylus's 5th-century BC tragedy, which chronicles the cycle of murder and retribution in the House of Atreus, with a 2019 exhibition at the Centre Pompidou highlighting how Bacon drew from literary sources like Aeschylus to explore human anguish and existential dread.
  • Sold for $84.55 million at Sotheby's hybrid online auction in June 2020 by the Astrup Fearnley Museet in Oslo—founded by Norwegian shipping heir Hans Rasmus Astrup, who acquired it in 1987—the work exceeded its $60-80 million estimate amid the COVID-19 pandemic, marking one of the highest prices for a Bacon triptych and reflecting the art market's resilience during global lockdowns.
  • The painting's raw, contorted forms and stark orange backdrop symbolize the inescapable fate and psychological torment in the Oresteia, themes Bacon revisited from his 1944 triptych also inspired by the Furies, with art historians noting parallels to post-war trauma; a 2022 analysis in a cultural blog connects this to Bacon's "destruction of myth," amid a broader 20th-century trend where Greek tragedies influenced over 50 major artworks, per scholarly reviews.

BASQUIAT

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​January ​1982
​2017 SOLD for $ 110M by Sotheby's

The participation of Jean-Michel Basquiat in a collective exhibition in February 1981 attracted the attention of three merchants who will separately have  a leading role in the start of his career : Emilio Mazzoli, Annina Nosei and Bruno Bischofberger.

It is to the honor of Annina Nosei to have convinced Jean-Michel that her basement was more appropriate than the streets of New York to let his skills explode. This close collaboration during which the artist can finally work regularly on very large canvases lasted from September 1981 to November 1982.

During that first year Jean-Michel mostly displays characters in full length, apostles of negritude whose transparency of the flesh reveals the skeleton. His perfectly mastered technique with acrylic, spray and oilstick and his fast and accurate stroke bring the expression of an activism unprecedented in art.

The monumental heads painted in 1982 are the culmination of the art of Jean-Michel. On May 18, 2017, Sotheby's  sold for $ 110M from an estimate in excess of $ 60M a painting 183 x 173 cm executed in January 1982 for the Nosei Gallery, lot 24.

Like many opus by Jean-Michel, it is untitled. The theme is limited to a huge head to which bright colors and aggressive teeth provide an angry expression. By its transparency, it is a skull or perhaps a mask. Without neck or body, it floats before a blue sky that is perhaps only a gap in a tagged wall.

Response by Grok :

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Sotheby's @Sothebys May 19, 2017
#WorldAuctionRecord Basquiat's seminal 'Untitled' work from 1982 soars to $110.5 million - after 10 minutes of bidding

  • The 1982 Basquiat painting "Untitled," sold for $110.5 million in May 2017, broke records as the highest auction price for an American artist, surpassing Andy Warhol’s $105 million, and was bought by Japanese collector Yusaku Maezawa, reflecting a surge in demand for contemporary art driven by global wealth concentration.
  • Studies from the Journal of Art Crime (2018) suggest high-value art auctions, like this one, are increasingly scrutinized for potential money laundering, with estimates indicating up to 10% of global art transactions may involve illicit funds, challenging the narrative of pure artistic appreciation.
  • The painting’s skull motif ties to Basquiat’s exploration of mortality and African-American identity, influenced by his Haitian-Puerto Rican heritage, and its sale price underscores how cultural narratives can inflate value, as evidenced by its 5,700% increase from its $19,000 sale in 1984.

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​March 1982 Untitled (Demon)
2022 SOLD for $ 85M by Phillips

Jean-Michel Basquiat made two trips to Italy early in his career. The first visit in the spring of 1981 was caused by the exhibition dedicated to him in Modena by Emilio Mazzoli.

Jean-Michel returns to Modena in March 1982. Through the example of the Field next to the other road painted there in 1981 on a 221 x 401 cm canvas, he appreciated that the basement of Annina Nosei was already not sufficient to match his grand vision. This painting was sold for $ 37M by Christie's in 2015. He will part from the Nosei gallery in favor of Bischofberger in the summer of 1982.

During his Spring 1982 stay in Modena, he executes a pair of paintings on the traditional Italian theme of paradise and hell but as usual he blurs the message to exacerbate his vision of the power to the blacks. An advised art critic would later comment that Jean-Michel Basquiat had been the Jimi Hendrix of painting.

Jean-Michel understood the visual advantage of gigantism which will be one of the essential characteristics of the art of our time : the size of the canvas is 239 x 500 cm. It is painted in acrylic without oil stick, enabling to introduce some drippings below the puddles of bright colors surrounding the horned head.

Some observers see a self-portrait in this devil. This is an excessive opinion because the lines are stylized, but indeed this threatening tribal face reflects the ambition of the young artist to become a redeemer of the world.

That vision of hell was sold for $ 57M by Christie's on May 10, 2016, lot 36 B, and for $ 85M by Phillips on May 18, 2022, lot 12. Please watch the video shared by Phillips.

Jean-Michel had not needed to give a title to his Demon, unlike the divine figure which he called Profit I by one of his usual claw blows against capitalism. The contrast is striking : here the background is dark and tagged, the round mouth is shouting a sermon that nobody will listen.

Profit I, 220 x 400 cm, had established a temporary world record at auction for the artist on May 14, 2002 when it was sold by Christie's for $ 5.5M, lot 34.

​Responses by Grok 4 :

  • The 1982 untitled painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a monumental self-portrait depicting a horned devil's head with vibrant streams of color and measuring 16 feet wide, sold for a record-breaking $57.3 million at Christie’s on May 10, 2016, acquired by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, who outbid others via telephone, underscoring the artist's rising prominence among global high-net-worth collectors.
  • Crafted during Basquiat's explosive early 1980s period in New York City, the work captures his fusion of street art, African-American heritage, and raw emotional intensity, contrasting his graffiti origins as SAMO© with his transition to fine art, amid a backdrop of racial tensions and the AIDS crisis that would later claim his life at age 27.
  • This Christie’s sale marked a pivotal escalation in Basquiat’s market value, surpassing his previous auction high of $48.8 million for "Dustheads" and setting the stage for the $110.5 million record in 2017—also bought by Maezawa—illustrating sustained investor enthusiasm fueled by emerging Asian markets, though in-depth academic research on these valuation dynamics remains sparse.

Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled (1982), a striking piece featuring his signature skull motif, sold for $85,000,000 at Phillips New York on May 18, 2022, as lot 12 in their Contemporary Art Evening Sale. This sale marked a significant moment, reflecting the strong demand for Basquiat's work in the art market.

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​1983 In this Case
2021 SOLD for $ 93M by Christie's

There is a tragic turning point in the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat after his two wonder years. As early as January 1983, he tells Geldzahler that his art is now 80 % anger.

In the first phase, the skull viewed through the head or in place of it was a mere artefact, just like the bones viewed through the skin. The two monumental "skull" views of 1982, one sold for $ 110M by Sotheby's in 2017 and the other for $ 57M by Christie's in 2016, use the skull for featuring a terrible and playful demon. Both paintings are untitled.

Also in 1982, an acrylic, oilstick and collage on canvas is titled Red Skull. It displays around that new theme Jean-Michel's signature explosions of seven bright colors. This painting 152 x 152 cm was sold for £ 16.5M by Christie's on October 6, 2017, lot 8.

The game becomes serious. On May 11, 2021, Christie's sold at lot 8 A for $ 93M In this case, acrylic and oilstick on canvas 198 x 187 cm painted in 1983. The April 26 press release had announced an estimate of $ 50M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.

The skull occupies now the whole surface of the canvas, without a reference to a skin. A half of it is missing, evidencing the post death decay. The surrounding color is a very violent red. The cheek embeds a one-hand clock ticking the disaster of time and the precarity of black men in the US society. The single eye is yellow and the teeth are green.

This opus is considered convincingly as a tribute to the street artist Michael Stewart, beaten to death in September 1983 by the police while attempting to tag in the New York subway. The young African-American graffiti artist was a close friend of Jean-Michel of whom he was dating a previous girlfriend.

The title is a pun, of course. It does not refer to the trivial phrase nor to the cranial case but to the coffin of the friend, while also forwarding a desire of Jean-Michel to go to court against the brutality of the cops.

​Response by Grok :

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Deeds Magazine @Deedsmag Jul 2, 2024
Replying to @Deedsmag
“In This Case” (1983), which fetched $93.1 million, is another testament to Basquiat’s genius. The large, looming skull in the painting is both a memento mori and a powerful symbol of the artist’s exploration of mortality and identity.

  • The 1983 painting "In This Case" by Jean-Michel Basquiat, highlighted in the post, fetched $93.1 million at auction, reflecting his profound impact on neo-expressionism, a movement that surged in the 1980s as documented by art historians like Donald Kuspit in peer-reviewed journals such as Art Journal.
  • Basquiat’s use of a looming skull as a memento mori ties to his exploration of mortality, influenced by his Haitian heritage and the African diaspora, with studies like those in African Arts (1987) noting how such motifs challenged Western art norms.
  • The painting’s creation coincided with Basquiat’s peak fame, a period marked by his 1983 collaboration with Andy Warhol, which, per a 2020 Art History study, boosted his market value amid the art world’s growing interest in multicultural perspectives.