Cy TWOMBLY (1928-2011)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Abstract art II
Chronology : 1962 1968 1969 1970-1979 1970 21st century 2000-2009 2005 2007
See also : Abstract art II
Chronology : 1962 1968 1969 1970-1979 1970 21st century 2000-2009 2005 2007
Intro
Cy Twombly is interested with the illusion of gesture in the art of Franz Kline. By chance in 1953 he spends his military service as a cryptographer. During this mission he begins to draw intertwined scribbles that are tentatively the hidden expression of a primordial feeling.
His art finds at that time a higher complexity. He positions a proto-writing on a large surface with colored pencils. This meaningless writing does not escape the graphology. A rising and colorful proto-writing is a mark of optimism or enthusiasm. The primordial art of Twombly was early admired and analyzed by the semiologists such as Roland Barthes and Philippe Sollers.
His end goal is to find the origins of thinking, and not just of writing. The American history is too recent for this ambition. In 1957 he spends the summer on the island of Procida in the Bay of Naples. Dazzled by the atmosphere that transcends time, he decides to live in Italy and meets his future wife in Rome.
In the same year he discovers in Mallarmé's poems the expressive force of silence. Without apparent link with the Achromes, he inscribes his gestures on white surfaces. Sometimes this false writing aggregates and forms an almost imperceptible word.
He set up his workshop in Rome in 1959, as close as possible to the Colosseum, and imagines the mythological meaning of the graffiti defaced by time. He proposes in his paintings and drawings an ever modified semiology in an indecipherable language in which he is probably the only one to identify some signification.
The Roman gods had an orgiastic reputation. Also inspired by Sade, the artist imagines that the pornographic graffiti is a timeless expression, and he endeavors to achieve it with modern techniques. His drawing with graphite pencil and wax crayon on a canvas painted in oil is stealthy, abundant and unevenly positioned, as if the artist, inside his comfortable studio, wished to imitate the illegal gestures of the former passions.
His first works in Rome are uneven arrangements on a neutral background of spots of various colors and mixed materials often placed directly by the finger on the canvas. His paintings gradually reach very large sizes.
A mixed technique on canvas 200 x 230 cm executed in 1961 was sold for $ 32M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 50C. This Untitled is not located. The figures from a large area of the upper right are laid in a gray cloud. Some pseudo antique marks have been carefully erased by further layers of scribbles.
His art finds at that time a higher complexity. He positions a proto-writing on a large surface with colored pencils. This meaningless writing does not escape the graphology. A rising and colorful proto-writing is a mark of optimism or enthusiasm. The primordial art of Twombly was early admired and analyzed by the semiologists such as Roland Barthes and Philippe Sollers.
His end goal is to find the origins of thinking, and not just of writing. The American history is too recent for this ambition. In 1957 he spends the summer on the island of Procida in the Bay of Naples. Dazzled by the atmosphere that transcends time, he decides to live in Italy and meets his future wife in Rome.
In the same year he discovers in Mallarmé's poems the expressive force of silence. Without apparent link with the Achromes, he inscribes his gestures on white surfaces. Sometimes this false writing aggregates and forms an almost imperceptible word.
He set up his workshop in Rome in 1959, as close as possible to the Colosseum, and imagines the mythological meaning of the graffiti defaced by time. He proposes in his paintings and drawings an ever modified semiology in an indecipherable language in which he is probably the only one to identify some signification.
The Roman gods had an orgiastic reputation. Also inspired by Sade, the artist imagines that the pornographic graffiti is a timeless expression, and he endeavors to achieve it with modern techniques. His drawing with graphite pencil and wax crayon on a canvas painted in oil is stealthy, abundant and unevenly positioned, as if the artist, inside his comfortable studio, wished to imitate the illegal gestures of the former passions.
His first works in Rome are uneven arrangements on a neutral background of spots of various colors and mixed materials often placed directly by the finger on the canvas. His paintings gradually reach very large sizes.
A mixed technique on canvas 200 x 230 cm executed in 1961 was sold for $ 32M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 50C. This Untitled is not located. The figures from a large area of the upper right are laid in a gray cloud. Some pseudo antique marks have been carefully erased by further layers of scribbles.
Cy Twombly (1928–2011), the American painter known for his large-scale abstract works featuring looping scribbles, graffiti-like marks, and calligraphic elements, has no documented history of formal psychiatric evaluation or diagnosed mental illness. Biographies and critical analyses portray him as a reclusive, erudite artist deeply immersed in classical literature, mythology, and poetry, who lived much of his life in Italy. His style—often described as "childlike but not childish" (in his own words)—evokes vulnerability, emotional rawness, and psychological intimacy, but this reflects deliberate artistic choices rather than pathology.
Key Aspects of Twombly's Art and Potential Psychological Interpretations
Twombly's signature marks—feverish loops, scratches, and scribbles on vast canvases—stem from techniques like automatic drawing (influenced by Surrealism) and experiments in the dark during his military service as a cryptologist. Critics interpret these as extensions of the artist's nervous system, conveying openness, exposure, and raw emotionalism. Roland Barthes noted the inimitable, gestural quality of his lines, while others link them to primitive mark-making, ancient graffiti, or repressed impulses.
His works frequently incorporate poetic inscriptions (e.g., from Virgil, Keats, or Rilke), blending abstraction with literary references to evoke memory, eroticism, mythology, and transience. Psychoanalytic readings (e.g., in Mary Jacobus's Reading Cy Twombly: Poetry in Paint) explore themes of desire, loss, and the unconscious, drawing parallels to Freudian ideas of repression or the "return of the repressed" in mythic motifs like Leda and the Swan.
Comparisons to "outsider art" or childlike drawings (e.g., in discussions of mental illness in art) highlight how Twombly's scribbles resemble those produced in psychiatric contexts, but deliberately so—as a sophisticated subversion of high art conventions, not evidence of disorder. His art challenges viewers psychologically, provoking reactions from awe to frustration (e.g., "my kid could do that"), mirroring defenses against vulnerability or the unfamiliar.
Examples of Famous Works
Twombly's blackboard series (e.g., gray grounds with white looping lines) and vibrant later pieces (e.g., Bacchus series with red spirals) exemplify this gestural freedom.
Portrait of the Artist
Twombly was known for his private, introspective demeanor.
In summary, while Twombly's art invites rich psychological and psychoanalytic interpretation—evoking the unconscious, emotional exposure, and regressive creativity—there is no basis for a clinical psychiatric diagnosis. His work represents a masterful, intentional exploration of human interiority rather than symptoms of mental health issues. Art historians emphasize his intellectual depth and control, transforming apparent chaos into profound expression.
Special Report
Rome Period Influences
Cy Twombly's Rome period, beginning with his permanent move to Italy in 1957 (after an earlier 1952 trip with Robert Rauschenberg), represents a profound shift and maturation in his art. He lived and worked primarily in Rome, with time in nearby locations like Bassano in Teverina, Gaeta, and coastal areas, until his death in 2011. This era is often described as his "Baroque period" due to the spirited, visceral application of paint, crayon, and pencil, contrasting with the more restrained blackboard paintings that followed later.
Twombly himself identified as a "Mediterranean painter," emphasizing place, sensibility, and the total field of Mediterranean culture—its mythologies, history, art, poets, painters, and sculptors—over nationality. The past served as a "springboard" for him: "Ancient things are new things. Everything lives in the moment... but its influence can go on forever."
Core Influences from the Roman and Mediterranean Environment
The physical and cultural density of Rome and its surroundings deeply shaped Twombly's mark-making. Key elements include:
Rome unlocked Twombly's lifelong fascination with Greco-Roman culture, which he engaged through reading (often in English translation) and direct encounters:
Twombly did not abandon his American roots but synthesized them with European traditions:
By 1961 (the year of the Agnes Gund Untitled and Ferragosto series), Twombly achieved a breakthrough: larger scale, vibrant color, and visceral physicality. Works feature dense clusters of loops, swirls, pictographs, and obliterated scrawls in warm tones, evoking sunlit Mediterranean energy or archaeological density. The explicit "Roma" inscriptions signal this dialogue with place. These canvases treat the surface as a site of accumulated gesture, memory, and history—raw and bodily, yet steeped in antiquity.
This foundation enabled the more explicit mythic confrontations of 1962 (Leda and the Swan), where 1961's gestural vocabulary translates historical layering into erotic turbulence. Later series, like those on the Trojan War or Commodus, continued blending personal/political volatility with classical precedents.
Legacy of the Rome Period
Twombly's Rome years positioned him uniquely in postwar art: he sustained painterly abstraction amid Pop, Minimalism, and Conceptualism by fusing gestural immediacy with cultural depth. His "scribbled" language—lyrical rather than aggressive—revivified the past without nostalgia, influencing how artists approach gesture, text, allusion, and the dialogue between ancient and contemporary. Exhibitions like Cy Twombly: Making Past Present (Getty, MFA Boston) highlight how antiquity remained a consistent wellspring, making his work feel both timeless and vitally of its moment.
In works like the 1961 Untitled from Agnes Gund's collection, these influences converge: the canvas as weathered wall, poetic field, and mythic landscape. Twombly's immersion in Rome transformed his art from American gestural roots into a deeply personal, encyclopedic engagement with Mediterranean civilization—eroded surfaces, erotic impulses, historical echoes, and the fleeting poetry of the present.
Twombly himself identified as a "Mediterranean painter," emphasizing place, sensibility, and the total field of Mediterranean culture—its mythologies, history, art, poets, painters, and sculptors—over nationality. The past served as a "springboard" for him: "Ancient things are new things. Everything lives in the moment... but its influence can go on forever."
Core Influences from the Roman and Mediterranean Environment
The physical and cultural density of Rome and its surroundings deeply shaped Twombly's mark-making. Key elements include:
- Ancient Ruins, Weathered Surfaces, and Graffiti: Twombly was attuned to the scarred marble of Roman walls, monuments, and archaeological sites. These provided layered, accretive textures—scratches, drips, and scribbles overlaying grand cultural achievements. He brought a pre-existing "deeply aesthetic sense of eroded or ancient surfaces of time" from his American years, which aligned perfectly with Rome's composite walls (recycled stones with ancient fragments) and graffiti. This was not mere imitation; it evoked human desire, endurance, and the unstable mix of eros and animistic superstition. Early visits to Etruscan tombs (Tarquinia, Cerveteri) and Pompeii graffiti left a lasting imprint, blending primitivism with high culture.
- Landscape and Light: The Italian countryside, Tyrrhenian coast, and seasonal rhythms (e.g., intense summer heat inspiring the Ferragosto series of 1961) stimulated him. He loved train rides through valleys and saw landscape as one of his favorite subjects. Works from this period often feel like archaeological sites or atmospheric "landscapes of myth," with frenetic gestures, sfumato (hazy transitions), and bursts of color against lighter grounds.
- Everyday Life and Sensory Experience: Twombly absorbed the "balance of life" in Italy—the natural flow of people, seasons, and environment—more than the art scene itself. He rented an apartment facing the Colosseum and worked in studios like Via Margutta. Personal events, such as the birth of his son in Rome, intertwined with historical echoes.
Rome unlocked Twombly's lifelong fascination with Greco-Roman culture, which he engaged through reading (often in English translation) and direct encounters:
- Mythology: Myths provided "ideal material for a landscape of myth and metamorphosis." The 1961 Untitled works (including those inscribed "Roma") and the Ferragosto series channel a broader mythic atmosphere through energetic, encrusted surfaces. This directly fed into 1962's Leda and the Swan series (one at MoMA), where frenetic scribbles evoke the erotic violence and transformation of Zeus (as swan) seducing Leda. Twombly explored themes of Eros and Thanatos, blending sensual and aggressive passions. Other myths included the Birth of Venus and references to Achilles or Mars.
- History and Literature: Roman history inspired works like the Nine Discourses on Commodus (1963), linking ancient imperial volatility and assassination to contemporary events (e.g., JFK). He drew on poets such as Virgil, Homer, Mallarmé (whose ideas on touch and desire influenced mark-making), and others. Titles and inscribed words/fragments function as poetic cues rather than literal illustrations—evoking mood, memory, and the passage of time.
- Archaeology and Philosophy: Twombly's approach mirrored excavation: fragmentary finds, gaps filled by imagination, and a "system of systems" connecting ideas across mythology, poetry, mathematics, geometry, and natural history. He visited sites extensively, absorbing ritual, fetish, and symmetrical plastic order.
Twombly did not abandon his American roots but synthesized them with European traditions:
- Abstract Expressionism (Pollock, Kline, de Kooning): Gestural energy and action painting provided the bodily urgency. His "childlike but not childish" lines built on this while becoming more lyrical and elaborate.
- Historical European Art: Leonardo da Vinci (for line, motion, and studies like Leda), Poussin (landscape and classical harmony—Twombly had a "Poussin period" and admired brown tones in old masters), and Mannerist virtuosity. He referenced Futurism for speed and Italian Renaissance/Baroque dynamism. Influences from collage and primitivism attuned him to Rome's layered surfaces.
- Poetry and Writing: Mallarmé and others shaped his integration of text as visual rhythm. Marks function like "force fields of allusion"—graffiti-like yet poetic, bridging writing, drawing, and painting.
By 1961 (the year of the Agnes Gund Untitled and Ferragosto series), Twombly achieved a breakthrough: larger scale, vibrant color, and visceral physicality. Works feature dense clusters of loops, swirls, pictographs, and obliterated scrawls in warm tones, evoking sunlit Mediterranean energy or archaeological density. The explicit "Roma" inscriptions signal this dialogue with place. These canvases treat the surface as a site of accumulated gesture, memory, and history—raw and bodily, yet steeped in antiquity.
This foundation enabled the more explicit mythic confrontations of 1962 (Leda and the Swan), where 1961's gestural vocabulary translates historical layering into erotic turbulence. Later series, like those on the Trojan War or Commodus, continued blending personal/political volatility with classical precedents.
Legacy of the Rome Period
Twombly's Rome years positioned him uniquely in postwar art: he sustained painterly abstraction amid Pop, Minimalism, and Conceptualism by fusing gestural immediacy with cultural depth. His "scribbled" language—lyrical rather than aggressive—revivified the past without nostalgia, influencing how artists approach gesture, text, allusion, and the dialogue between ancient and contemporary. Exhibitions like Cy Twombly: Making Past Present (Getty, MFA Boston) highlight how antiquity remained a consistent wellspring, making his work feel both timeless and vitally of its moment.
In works like the 1961 Untitled from Agnes Gund's collection, these influences converge: the canvas as weathered wall, poetic field, and mythic landscape. Twombly's immersion in Rome transformed his art from American gestural roots into a deeply personal, encyclopedic engagement with Mediterranean civilization—eroded surfaces, erotic impulses, historical echoes, and the fleeting poetry of the present.
1961 Untitled (Roma)
2026 for sale on May 18 by Christie's
Untitled 1961 by Twombly, Offered in the 20th Century Evening Sale on 18 May 2026 at Christie’s in New York from the collection of Agnes Gund. Intention, inspiration, breakthrough, figured myth if identified, key features, legacy. Compare with 1961 Untitled, sold by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 50C and with 1961 Untitled (Roma) ex Macklowe, sold by Sotheby's on November 15, 2021, lot 9. Influence on Leda and the Swan, one at the MoMA and the other one sold by Christie's on May 17, 2017, lot 6 B.
Untitled (1961) by Cy Twombly, from the collection of Agnes Gund, is a prime example of the artist's transformative Rome period. It will be offered in Christie's 20th Century Evening Sale on May 18, 2026, in New York, with an estimate of $40–60 million, lot 20A. The video is shared by the auction house.
Key Details
Twombly moved permanently to Rome in 1957 and by 1961 had fully embraced the Mediterranean environment—its ancient ruins, layered history, graffiti-scarred walls, poetry, and myths—as a wellspring for his work. This painting (and the year overall) marks a breakthrough in his mature style: he synthesizes gestural abstraction (echoing Abstract Expressionism) with a highly personal, calligraphic "writing" of marks that feel both ancient and immediate.
The canvas functions as a layered landscape or archaeological site: bold, frenetic gestural marks, scratches, scribbles, and smears evoke weathered walls, bodily energy, and the passage of time. Inspiration draws from Rome's physical and cultural density—the "enthrallment with the city" and an "ongoing dialogue with history." Twombly inscribes "Roma," signaling this explicitly. His marks are not purely abstract; they channel subconscious impulses, poetic rhythm, and classical allusions without literal illustration. Critics often describe 1961 works (including the Ferragosto series) as visceral "letters of love" to Italy, blending Baroque aspiration, raw physicality, and emotional urgency.
No single figured myth is identified in descriptions of this specific Untitled, unlike more explicit works. Instead, it evokes a broader mythic/historical atmosphere through its energetic, encrusted surface—reminiscent of antiquity's layered traces, decay, and renewal.
Key Features
This work exemplifies Twombly's unique position in postwar art: he sustained and reinvented painterly abstraction when many turned to Pop, Minimalism, or Conceptualism. His "graffiti-like" or "scribbled" language—merging line as experience (not illustration), poetry, and classical past—has influenced generations. The 1961 period is widely seen as a high point, with comparable examples in institutions like MoMA and the Art Institute of Chicago. Gund's acquisition and long-term stewardship underscore its cultural weight; her sale proceeds will support her estate, continuing her legacy of philanthropy and connoisseurship.
Comparisons with Other 1961 Untitled Works
Influence on the Leda and the Swan Series (1962)
The energetic, visceral mark-making and mythic undercurrents of 1961 works like these directly fed into Twombly's Leda and the Swan paintings of 1962—explicit engagements with the classical myth of Zeus (as swan) seducing Leda, blending erotic violence, transformation, and bodily frenzy.
These pieces remain touchstones for understanding Twombly's singular fusion of the ancient and the immediate, influencing how later artists approach gesture, text, and cultural layering. The Gund Untitled offers a rare institutional-quality opportunity in 2026, building on the strong auction precedents from 2017 and 2021.
Untitled (1961) by Cy Twombly, from the collection of Agnes Gund, is a prime example of the artist's transformative Rome period. It will be offered in Christie's 20th Century Evening Sale on May 18, 2026, in New York, with an estimate of $40–60 million, lot 20A. The video is shared by the auction house.
Key Details
- Medium and Size: Oil, graphite, wax crayon, and oil-based house paint on canvas; 49½ x 57¼ in. (125.7 x 145.4 cm).
- Inscriptions: Signed and dated "Cy Twombly 1961 Rome" (upper left); signed again, inscribed "Roma 1961" (lower center or stretcher).
- Provenance: Acquired by Agnes Gund (longtime MoMA president and major patron) just before Twombly’s landmark 1994 MoMA retrospective; it hung in her Manhattan apartment for decades.
Twombly moved permanently to Rome in 1957 and by 1961 had fully embraced the Mediterranean environment—its ancient ruins, layered history, graffiti-scarred walls, poetry, and myths—as a wellspring for his work. This painting (and the year overall) marks a breakthrough in his mature style: he synthesizes gestural abstraction (echoing Abstract Expressionism) with a highly personal, calligraphic "writing" of marks that feel both ancient and immediate.
The canvas functions as a layered landscape or archaeological site: bold, frenetic gestural marks, scratches, scribbles, and smears evoke weathered walls, bodily energy, and the passage of time. Inspiration draws from Rome's physical and cultural density—the "enthrallment with the city" and an "ongoing dialogue with history." Twombly inscribes "Roma," signaling this explicitly. His marks are not purely abstract; they channel subconscious impulses, poetic rhythm, and classical allusions without literal illustration. Critics often describe 1961 works (including the Ferragosto series) as visceral "letters of love" to Italy, blending Baroque aspiration, raw physicality, and emotional urgency.
No single figured myth is identified in descriptions of this specific Untitled, unlike more explicit works. Instead, it evokes a broader mythic/historical atmosphere through its energetic, encrusted surface—reminiscent of antiquity's layered traces, decay, and renewal.
Key Features
- Frenetic, scratched, and daubed marks: Dense clusters of loops, swirls, geometric forms, numerical hints, pictographs, and obliterated scrawls, often in smoky sfumato (soft, hazy transitions) with warm pinks, salmon tones, and bursts of color against a lighter ground.
- Tactile physicality: Heavy graphite pressure in dark areas versus delicate traces; sweeping gestures that leave "smoky clouds" and sparse zones of isolated lines or pigment.
- Scale and presence: Intimate yet commanding for its size, with white/negative space holding power akin to color and matter.
- Overall effect: A "frenetically scratched and daubed canvas" that feels spontaneous, bodily, and experiential—rooted in action while evoking memory and myth.
This work exemplifies Twombly's unique position in postwar art: he sustained and reinvented painterly abstraction when many turned to Pop, Minimalism, or Conceptualism. His "graffiti-like" or "scribbled" language—merging line as experience (not illustration), poetry, and classical past—has influenced generations. The 1961 period is widely seen as a high point, with comparable examples in institutions like MoMA and the Art Institute of Chicago. Gund's acquisition and long-term stewardship underscore its cultural weight; her sale proceeds will support her estate, continuing her legacy of philanthropy and connoisseurship.
Comparisons with Other 1961 Untitled Works
- Christie's, November 11, 2021, lot 50C (sold for $32 million): This larger monumental canvas (approx. 78⅜ x 90¾ in. / 199 x 230.5 cm) features oil, wax crayon, graphite, and colored pencil. It displays an "encyclopedic" array of enigmatic iconography in delicate sfumato, with dense marks, circular loops, swirls, geometric/numerical elements, and poetic gestures. Like the Gund piece, it was painted in Italy during this pivotal year and evokes antiquity/Mediterranean experience through physicality and historical weight. The Gund Untitled is smaller and more focused on bold gestural layering with explicit "Roma" inscriptions, while the 2021 lot emphasizes broader, hazy atmospheric density and varied symbols. Both highlight Twombly's mastery of line generating form and potency.
- Untitled (Roma), 1961, ex-Macklowe Collection, Sotheby's November 15, 2021, lot 9: This belongs to the same fertile Rome moment. Smaller or differently scaled 1961 "Roma"-inscribed works often feature oil-based house paint, pencil, and crayon with effusive, sunlit or explosive energy—quick washes, frenetic lines, and totemic or phallic suggestions in some variants. The Macklowe example shares the gestural urgency and classical dialogue but may differ in density or color emphasis compared to the more intimately scaled Gund painting or the expansive 2021 Christie's lot. All three capture Twombly channeling Rome's layered past into raw, bodily mark-making at a career peak. (Exact sale details for the Macklowe lot vary in records, but it was a highlighted 1961 work from a major collection.)
Influence on the Leda and the Swan Series (1962)
The energetic, visceral mark-making and mythic undercurrents of 1961 works like these directly fed into Twombly's Leda and the Swan paintings of 1962—explicit engagements with the classical myth of Zeus (as swan) seducing Leda, blending erotic violence, transformation, and bodily frenzy.
- MoMA version (Rome, 1962): Oil, pencil, and crayon on canvas (6' 3" x 6' 6¾" / 190.5 x 200 cm). It remains a museum highlight, with swirling, aggressive gestures evoking the myth's turbulent union. The frenetic scribbles, smears, and physical urgency echo the 1961 Untitleds' gestural landscapes, now channeled into narrative/mythic drama.
- Christie's version, May 17, 2017, lot 6B (sold for $52,887,500): A closely related 1962 canvas (approx. 75¼ x 78¾ in. / 191 x 200 cm), also titled Leda and the Swan. It achieved a record for a 1960s Twombly at the time. The sister work to MoMA's shares the explosive, bodily energy and classical theme. The 1961 paintings' raw scratches, loops, and atmospheric density provided the formal vocabulary—translating landscape-like historical layering into mythic/erotic turbulence. Twombly's Rome immersion (evident in the "Roma" inscriptions and Mediterranean references) intensified this shift: from implicit historical dialogue in 1961 to overt mythological confrontation in 1962.
These pieces remain touchstones for understanding Twombly's singular fusion of the ancient and the immediate, influencing how later artists approach gesture, text, and cultural layering. The Gund Untitled offers a rare institutional-quality opportunity in 2026, building on the strong auction precedents from 2017 and 2021.
1962 Leda and the Swan
2017 SOLD for $ 53M by Christie's
Cy Twombly visited Italy for the second time in 1957. He perceives that Rome is still retaining the traces of the carnal violence of its mythology and of its antique history, in its monuments and their graffiti but also in the tradition transmitted through all these centuries by poets and artists.
He thus observes the indecipherable graffiti by which ancient human beings desired to record their ephemeral passions . The expression of extreme feelings through abstract art becomes the thread of Cy Twombly's lifelong career. The terrible Roman mythology feeds his inspiration.
He then lives semi-permanently in Rome where he develops his new style which exacerbated all the passions simultaneously : erotic, pornographic, criminal, scatological. He tries to feel by himself all these impulses in a semi-automatic creative act for which he paints directly with his hands and adds his own graffiti.
The rape of Leda by Jupiter in the form of a swan is for him a complete theme, with his sexual act that generates a mythical fecundity.
In 1962 Twombly executed two Leda and the Swan in the same format 191 x 200 cm certainly chosen to give an idea of the life size representation of this scuffle in an abstraction mixing the illusion of bodies and feathers. One of them is exhibited in the Museum Of Modern Art in New York. The other was sold for $ 53M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Christie's on May 17, 2017, lot 6 B.
The comparison between both works is significant. Their similar explosion demonstrates that the artist's scripture, although based on an impulsive gesture, responds to a pre-defined global conception. The MoMA's Leda is more complete because it includes the usual graffiti missing in the version offered at auction. In both cases in the upper part of the image the small drawing of a modern window appears, symbolizing the artist's message about the timeless character of the passions.
He thus observes the indecipherable graffiti by which ancient human beings desired to record their ephemeral passions . The expression of extreme feelings through abstract art becomes the thread of Cy Twombly's lifelong career. The terrible Roman mythology feeds his inspiration.
He then lives semi-permanently in Rome where he develops his new style which exacerbated all the passions simultaneously : erotic, pornographic, criminal, scatological. He tries to feel by himself all these impulses in a semi-automatic creative act for which he paints directly with his hands and adds his own graffiti.
The rape of Leda by Jupiter in the form of a swan is for him a complete theme, with his sexual act that generates a mythical fecundity.
In 1962 Twombly executed two Leda and the Swan in the same format 191 x 200 cm certainly chosen to give an idea of the life size representation of this scuffle in an abstraction mixing the illusion of bodies and feathers. One of them is exhibited in the Museum Of Modern Art in New York. The other was sold for $ 53M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Christie's on May 17, 2017, lot 6 B.
The comparison between both works is significant. Their similar explosion demonstrates that the artist's scripture, although based on an impulsive gesture, responds to a pre-defined global conception. The MoMA's Leda is more complete because it includes the usual graffiti missing in the version offered at auction. In both cases in the upper part of the image the small drawing of a modern window appears, symbolizing the artist's message about the timeless character of the passions.
Cy Twombly's Leda and the Swan (1962): Expanded Symbolism and Interpretation
Cy Twombly's Leda and the Swan (Rome, 1962; oil, pencil, and crayon on canvas, 190.5 x 200 cm, in the MoMA collection) is one of the most visceral and abstract interpretations of the ancient Greek myth in modern art. Created during Twombly's long Roman residency (from 1957 onward), the work draws deeply from classical antiquity while filtering it through postwar abstraction, personal gesture, and mythic resonance. Unlike Renaissance depictions (e.g., Leonardo, Correggio, Rubens) that often eroticize the encounter with graceful nudity and harmonious composition, Twombly's version strips away figuration to emphasize raw energy, violence, and bodily experience—rendering the myth as chaotic, almost traumatic abstraction.
Core Myth and Narrative FoundationThe Greek myth recounts Zeus, enamored of Leda (wife of Spartan king Tyndareus), transforming into a swan to approach and ravish her. Leda conceives from both Zeus and her husband that night, laying eggs that hatch into Helen of Troy (whose beauty sparks the Trojan War), Clytemnestra, Castor, and Pollux. The story embodies metamorphosis, divine intervention in human affairs, erotic violation, and far-reaching consequences (the Trojan War as cataclysmic aftermath). In art history, it has served as an archetype of desire, power imbalance, transformation, and rebirth—often romanticized in earlier eras but increasingly interrogated for its non-consensual nature in modern readings.
Twombly's Symbolic Language
Twombly does not illustrate the myth narratively; he evokes its primal forces through gestural abstraction. The large canvas is a turbulent field of white ground marked by frantic pencil/crayon scribbles, smudges, drips, and red oil accents—creating a sense of violent motion and aftermath rather than serene seduction.
The 1962 Leda and the Swan (one of several versions Twombly painted that year) sold for $52.9 million at Christie's New York on May 17, 2017—highlighting demand for his mythic abstractions. It remains a benchmark for postwar art bridging antiquity and modernism, with its symbolism speaking to enduring themes of desire, power, and consequence.Twombly transforms the myth into a modern meditation on passion's chaos, bodily experience, and history's violent echoes—a bloody, scribbled aftermath where divine grace dissolves into human turmoil. For visual reference, the work's large scale and textured surface amplify its intensity (MoMA holds a key example).
Cy Twombly's Leda and the Swan (Rome, 1962; oil, pencil, and crayon on canvas, 190.5 x 200 cm, in the MoMA collection) is one of the most visceral and abstract interpretations of the ancient Greek myth in modern art. Created during Twombly's long Roman residency (from 1957 onward), the work draws deeply from classical antiquity while filtering it through postwar abstraction, personal gesture, and mythic resonance. Unlike Renaissance depictions (e.g., Leonardo, Correggio, Rubens) that often eroticize the encounter with graceful nudity and harmonious composition, Twombly's version strips away figuration to emphasize raw energy, violence, and bodily experience—rendering the myth as chaotic, almost traumatic abstraction.
Core Myth and Narrative FoundationThe Greek myth recounts Zeus, enamored of Leda (wife of Spartan king Tyndareus), transforming into a swan to approach and ravish her. Leda conceives from both Zeus and her husband that night, laying eggs that hatch into Helen of Troy (whose beauty sparks the Trojan War), Clytemnestra, Castor, and Pollux. The story embodies metamorphosis, divine intervention in human affairs, erotic violation, and far-reaching consequences (the Trojan War as cataclysmic aftermath). In art history, it has served as an archetype of desire, power imbalance, transformation, and rebirth—often romanticized in earlier eras but increasingly interrogated for its non-consensual nature in modern readings.
Twombly's Symbolic Language
Twombly does not illustrate the myth narratively; he evokes its primal forces through gestural abstraction. The large canvas is a turbulent field of white ground marked by frantic pencil/crayon scribbles, smudges, drips, and red oil accents—creating a sense of violent motion and aftermath rather than serene seduction.
- Phallic and erotic symbols: Explicit references include phallic forms (elongated, thrusting lines suggesting the swan's neck or penetration) and breasts/hearts (organic, rounded shapes evoking Leda's body and passion). These are not representational but raw, almost graffiti-like—emphasizing sexual energy, violation, and bodily fusion over idealized beauty.
- Hearts: Scattered hearts appear as shorthand for love, desire, or emotional intensity, but in this chaotic context, they feel ironic or wounded—suggesting the myth's blend of ecstasy and trauma.
- Window (top right): A small, framed rectangular element often interpreted as a "window" onto reality, representation, or detachment. It contrasts the canvas's visceral mess, perhaps symbolizing art's role in framing (or distancing) mythic violence—echoing Twombly's interest in how images mediate experience.
- Swan's "turbulent feathers" and blood: Red lines and smears suggest flapping wings, blood, or bodily fluids—transforming the swan's traditional grace (purity, whiteness) into something aggressive and messy. The abstraction evokes the aftermath of rape or battle rather than the act itself—feathers, beaks, and chaotic marks imply struggle and consequence.
- Scribbles, scratches, and bodily gesture: Twombly's technique—smearing, clawing, pushing with hand, brush, and stick—channels Leda's physical experience (helplessness, resistance, surrender). The marks are performative, almost violent, aligning with action painting but tempered by classical restraint.
- Violence vs. Seduction: Modern readings (influenced by feminist critiques) emphasize the myth's coercive nature—Zeus's deception and force. Twombly's bloody, tangled abstraction leans toward this barbaric aspect, contrasting serene Renaissance versions. The work reads as rape rather than mutual embrace, with turbulent marks conveying violation and power imbalance.
- Metamorphosis and Consequences: The myth's offspring (Helen) lead to war; Twombly's chaos foreshadows cataclysm. His Roman context (immersed in ancient ruins/history) adds layers of rebirth/evolution through destruction—divine-human union as origin of tragedy.
- Memory and Antiquity: Twombly, influenced by Rome's classical legacy, treats the myth as memory rather than illustration—faded, scratched, fragmented. The abstraction evokes timeless drama filtered through contemporary concerns (human expression, trauma).
- Eroticism and Abstraction: The erotic charge is visceral yet detached—raw yet poetic. Twombly's "poet-painter" approach (as noted by scholars) fuses bodily immediacy with classical distance.
The 1962 Leda and the Swan (one of several versions Twombly painted that year) sold for $52.9 million at Christie's New York on May 17, 2017—highlighting demand for his mythic abstractions. It remains a benchmark for postwar art bridging antiquity and modernism, with its symbolism speaking to enduring themes of desire, power, and consequence.Twombly transforms the myth into a modern meditation on passion's chaos, bodily experience, and history's violent echoes—a bloody, scribbled aftermath where divine grace dissolves into human turmoil. For visual reference, the work's large scale and textured surface amplify its intensity (MoMA holds a key example).
Cy Twombly's Leda and the Swan (1962) Compared to His Other Mythological Paintings
Cy Twombly's engagement with Greek and Roman mythology intensified in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly after his move to Rome in 1957–1959, where he immersed himself in classical antiquity, poetry, and the city's ruins. His mythological paintings from this period—often large-scale, mixed-media works on canvas—transform ancient narratives into abstract, gestural fields of scribbles, smears, drips, crayon marks, and sparse symbolic elements (hearts, phalluses, windows, loops). Unlike representational depictions (e.g., Renaissance versions of myths), Twombly's approach is non-illustrative: he evokes primal energies, eroticism, violence, and aftermath through bodily performance and poetic fragmentation, blending Abstract Expressionism's gesture with classical allusion.
Leda and the Swan (1962, oil, pencil, and crayon on canvas, 190.5 x 200 cm, MoMA) stands out for its raw intensity and explicit erotic/violent symbolism, but shares core traits with his other myth works from the early 1960s (e.g., 1960–1963). Twombly painted at least six versions of Leda and the Swan across 1960–1962 (one in 1960, two in 1962, others in variants), reflecting obsessive return to the theme. Here's a comparison to key contemporaneous mythological paintings:
Shared Characteristics Across Twombly's Myth Paintings (1960s)
Cy Twombly's engagement with Greek and Roman mythology intensified in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly after his move to Rome in 1957–1959, where he immersed himself in classical antiquity, poetry, and the city's ruins. His mythological paintings from this period—often large-scale, mixed-media works on canvas—transform ancient narratives into abstract, gestural fields of scribbles, smears, drips, crayon marks, and sparse symbolic elements (hearts, phalluses, windows, loops). Unlike representational depictions (e.g., Renaissance versions of myths), Twombly's approach is non-illustrative: he evokes primal energies, eroticism, violence, and aftermath through bodily performance and poetic fragmentation, blending Abstract Expressionism's gesture with classical allusion.
Leda and the Swan (1962, oil, pencil, and crayon on canvas, 190.5 x 200 cm, MoMA) stands out for its raw intensity and explicit erotic/violent symbolism, but shares core traits with his other myth works from the early 1960s (e.g., 1960–1963). Twombly painted at least six versions of Leda and the Swan across 1960–1962 (one in 1960, two in 1962, others in variants), reflecting obsessive return to the theme. Here's a comparison to key contemporaneous mythological paintings:
Shared Characteristics Across Twombly's Myth Paintings (1960s)
- Abstract, gestural language: All rely on scribbled lines, smudges, crayon scratches, and hand-applied marks rather than figuration. Myths are evoked through energy, texture, and absence—figures dissolved into chaotic fields.
- Bodily and performative mark-making: Twombly used his whole body (smearing, clawing, pushing), channeling physical/emotional experience (e.g., Leda's violation as visceral struggle).
- Symbolic elements: Hearts (love/desire), phallic forms (erotic power), windows/frames (detachment or voyeurism), and red accents (blood/passion) recur, adding layers without literal illustration.
- Classical immersion in Rome: Titles and motifs draw from Ovid, Homer, Sappho, and ancient sites; works feel like fragmented memories or ruins.
- Eroticism and consequence: Many explore desire's violent/transformative side, with aftermath (war, rebirth) implied.
- Scale and materiality: Large canvases (often 190–200 cm) with raw grounds, pencil/crayon over oil, create tactile, palimpsest-like surfaces.
- Venus / Birth of Venus (1962 variants, e.g., Birth of Venus, Venus and Mars):
- Leda is more violent and chaotic—turbulent scribbles, red smears suggesting blood/fluids, phallic thrusts, and hearts as ironic/wounded love—emphasizing rape and coercion (Zeus's deception).
- Venus works are softer, more sensual/elegant: flowing lines evoke Botticelli-like emergence from sea, with reclining figures and calmer palettes. They focus on beauty, rebirth, and harmony (Aphrodite rising), contrasting Leda's barbaric aftermath (leading to Trojan War via Helen).
- Both use hearts/phalluses, but Leda foregrounds violation; Venus explores divine femininity and erotic grace.
- Apollo / Venus and Apollo (1975 drawings, but roots in 1960s myth cycle):
- Early 1960s Apollo allusions (e.g., in School of Athens 1960–61 or Hyperion) are intellectual/poetic—cleaner lines, solar/light motifs, referencing Apollo as god of reason, music, prophecy.
- Leda contrasts sharply: Dionysian chaos (passion, body, violence) vs. Apollonian order. Apollo works feel contemplative; Leda visceral and traumatic.
- Bacchus / Dionysus (later, e.g., 2000s Bacchus series, but 1960s precursors in erotic/myth energy):
- Bacchus themes (ecstasy, wine, frenzy) share Leda's raw sensuality and bodily excess—drips, loops, red bursts evoke intoxication/ritual.
- Leda is more focused on singular violation; Bacchus broader orgiastic energy. Both channel myth's transformative power, but Leda darker (consequence: war from Helen).
- Orpheus (1979 drawings, but myth echoes in 1960s poetic works):
- Orpheus (loss, music, underworld) emphasizes elegy and fragmentation—sparse lines, poetic inscriptions.
- Leda is more aggressive/erotic; Orpheus melancholic. Both use myth for emotional depth--Leda's chaos vs. Orpheus's lament.
- Other 1960–1963 myths (e.g., Achilles Mourning the Death of Patroclus 1962, Hero and Leander, Empire of Flora, The Fall of Hyperion):
- Achilles and Hyperion (Keats-inspired) explore grief, heroism, and downfall—more mournful, with war's aftermath.
- Leda uniquely foregrounds sexual violence and divine intervention's consequences—linking personal desire to cataclysm (Trojan War).
- Flora/Hero series softer, floral/romantic; Leda stands as peak of Twombly's violent-erotic abstraction in the early 1960s.
- Leda and the Swan is among Twombly's most baroque and aggressive early myth works—explicitly bodily/violent (phallus, hearts, red "blood")—while others lean toward poetic melancholy (Orpheus), sensual emergence (Venus), or heroic tragedy (Achilles).
- It exemplifies his 1960–1963 shift toward insistent mythological motifs (Leda painted six times), blending erotic charge with abstract dissolution—raw, performative, and consequence-focused.
- Market legacy: The 1962 MoMA version sold for ~$53M in 2017, underscoring demand for his mythic abstractions.
Untitled (Blackboard)
Intro
The art of Cy Twombly is unclassifiable, expressing something different from classical abstraction or abstract expressionism. On the canvas, a few lines offer a message, but his calligraphy made in lasso loops and sawtooth does not meet any existing writing.
Yet the messages without words of Twombly deserve to be analyzed. Maybe not by you or me, but one of the keenest decipherers of his work had been Roland Barthes.
In 1967 that false writing on a dark gray background imitated the traces of chalk on the blackboard of a children school. Handwriting experts observe that it matches the Palmer method for writing which Twombly had learnt as a schoolboy.
A 122 x 140 cm Untitled made in wax crayon over an oil based background in five wide horizontal lines of repeated lasso script was sold for $ 15.2M by Christie's on May 11, 2011, lot 25.
From the next year, Twombly will try every possible disturbance of line and script.
The 1968 series titled Synopsis of a Battle uses the same technique of oil based house paint and wax crayon on canvas for displaying graffiti over a similar blackboard. An example 128 x 150 cm was sold for $ 15.3M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2022, lot 7.
Yet the messages without words of Twombly deserve to be analyzed. Maybe not by you or me, but one of the keenest decipherers of his work had been Roland Barthes.
In 1967 that false writing on a dark gray background imitated the traces of chalk on the blackboard of a children school. Handwriting experts observe that it matches the Palmer method for writing which Twombly had learnt as a schoolboy.
A 122 x 140 cm Untitled made in wax crayon over an oil based background in five wide horizontal lines of repeated lasso script was sold for $ 15.2M by Christie's on May 11, 2011, lot 25.
From the next year, Twombly will try every possible disturbance of line and script.
The 1968 series titled Synopsis of a Battle uses the same technique of oil based house paint and wax crayon on canvas for displaying graffiti over a similar blackboard. An example 128 x 150 cm was sold for $ 15.3M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2022, lot 7.
1
1968 (New York City)
2015 SOLD for $ 71M by Sotheby's
Life is not expressed in figuration. Cy Twombly tries the rhythm in a musicalist approach. His long stays in Italy provide the model of the antique graffiti, the street art from the antique times : their juxtaposition let imagine some shapes and movements, details can be pornographic, and their fast and furtive execution is an example of a graphical application of the subconscious.
From 1966 he pursues his semiotic research towards psychoanalysis. On the black canvas that resembles the chalkboard of infant schools, he draws in white his messages which are indecipherable in direct reading but must speak to the mind of the viewer.
An automatic writing can be done in pencil on paper, but modern art appeals for large formats. He paints canvases in a uniform dark gray on which he draws with a wax crayon the figures of his subconscious. These artworks are described under the generic term Blackboards chosen by art critics, not by the artist.
The first tests combine the jerky action of the hand, expressing the reflex, with geometric figures that make a link with the former graffiti of the artist. This mixed meaning blurs his intention to express life. His Blackboards do not need to rely on the persistence of ancient impulses. The most significant Blackboards will be performed in New York City.
An early example, 173 x 216 cm, painted in 1968, has been sold for $ 8.7M by Sotheby's on November 9, 2005. An oblique line of high jerky loops runs throughout the width.
On November 11, 2015, Sotheby's sold at lot 18 for $ 71M a Blackboard painted with a white wax crayon by Twombly, also in 1968, but later in its maturity than the example above. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
The line consists in an entanglement of proto-writings in repetitive loops forming six endless horizontal lines within very regular limits. The gradual width of the six lines adds an illusion that the image is tilted with respect to its canvas. This opus is also one of the largest, 173 x 229 cm.
1968 was indeed a highly experimental year. A few examples feature a blossoming roughly heart shaped, instead of the signature loops, in an arrangement of upward bending interrupted rows. Their gestural doodles in white on black in the reminiscence of the action painting cannot be considered as a proto-writing.
One of them, an oil-based house paint and wax crayon on canvas 172 x 220 cm untitled and un-located, had been owned by Robert Rauschenberg. It was sold for $ 27M by Sotheby's on November 8, 2023, lot 17 in the sale of the Fisher Landau collection. Its pattern anticipates the Blooming series painted in blood red, exhibited in 2007, of which an example was sold for $ 59M by Sotheby's in 2021.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Nov 12, 2015
Thousands of visitors came to see the Cy #Twombly painting that just set a new artist record in our ongoing sale
From 1966 he pursues his semiotic research towards psychoanalysis. On the black canvas that resembles the chalkboard of infant schools, he draws in white his messages which are indecipherable in direct reading but must speak to the mind of the viewer.
An automatic writing can be done in pencil on paper, but modern art appeals for large formats. He paints canvases in a uniform dark gray on which he draws with a wax crayon the figures of his subconscious. These artworks are described under the generic term Blackboards chosen by art critics, not by the artist.
The first tests combine the jerky action of the hand, expressing the reflex, with geometric figures that make a link with the former graffiti of the artist. This mixed meaning blurs his intention to express life. His Blackboards do not need to rely on the persistence of ancient impulses. The most significant Blackboards will be performed in New York City.
An early example, 173 x 216 cm, painted in 1968, has been sold for $ 8.7M by Sotheby's on November 9, 2005. An oblique line of high jerky loops runs throughout the width.
On November 11, 2015, Sotheby's sold at lot 18 for $ 71M a Blackboard painted with a white wax crayon by Twombly, also in 1968, but later in its maturity than the example above. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
The line consists in an entanglement of proto-writings in repetitive loops forming six endless horizontal lines within very regular limits. The gradual width of the six lines adds an illusion that the image is tilted with respect to its canvas. This opus is also one of the largest, 173 x 229 cm.
1968 was indeed a highly experimental year. A few examples feature a blossoming roughly heart shaped, instead of the signature loops, in an arrangement of upward bending interrupted rows. Their gestural doodles in white on black in the reminiscence of the action painting cannot be considered as a proto-writing.
One of them, an oil-based house paint and wax crayon on canvas 172 x 220 cm untitled and un-located, had been owned by Robert Rauschenberg. It was sold for $ 27M by Sotheby's on November 8, 2023, lot 17 in the sale of the Fisher Landau collection. Its pattern anticipates the Blooming series painted in blood red, exhibited in 2007, of which an example was sold for $ 59M by Sotheby's in 2021.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Nov 12, 2015
Thousands of visitors came to see the Cy #Twombly painting that just set a new artist record in our ongoing sale
- This 2015 Sotheby's post highlights crowds viewing Cy Twombly's "Untitled (New York City)" (1968), a chalkboard-style abstract painting that fetched $70.5 million the day prior, establishing a then-record price for the artist.
- The attached video captures silhouetted visitors in a dimly lit gallery, emphasizing the artwork's gestural scribbles and evoking Twombly's signature fusion of writing and drawing inspired by classical mythology and everyday mark-making.
- Twombly's market surge in 2015 reflected growing appreciation for his post-war abstraction, with the sale contributing to a $295 million contemporary auction total amid a stabilizing art market post-financial crisis.
2
1969
2022 SOLD for $ 38M by Sotheby's
An Untitled from 1969 reveals the rebellious energy of the artist. The edge to edge lines of loops are so intertwined that they are not easily counted at a first glance; they are in fact five lines in the usual proportions in the series with intervals fitted by overlapping narrower lines..
That mixing increases from top to bottom. In the same direction, the basic loop is degraded into a mere sawtooth.
The proto-writing reaches an unreadable effect, modeling a civilization that jumps from order to disorder.
This oil based house paint and wax crayon on canvas 200 x 240 cm was sold for $ 38M by Sotheby's on May 19, 2022, lot 119.
Asking Grok to compare with the 1968 Untitled sold by Sotheby's on November 11, 2015.
Grok Thoughts :
OverviewBoth artworks are exemplary pieces from Cy Twombly's renowned Blackboard series (1966-1971), characterized by repetitive, looping forms executed in wax crayon over a grey ground of oil-based house paint. This series marked a shift in Twombly's practice toward minimalist restraint and gestural abstraction, influenced by his time in New York amid the rise of Minimalism, while evoking classical and archaeological references. The 1968 work, created in New York, emphasizes systematic repetition with increasing expressive abandon, while the 1969 piece, also from this period, highlights lyrical vitality in a larger, panoramic format. Despite stylistic similarities, the 1968 painting achieved a significantly higher sale price, likely due to its status as a record-setter at the time and its provenance tied to prominent collections.
Key Differences
That mixing increases from top to bottom. In the same direction, the basic loop is degraded into a mere sawtooth.
The proto-writing reaches an unreadable effect, modeling a civilization that jumps from order to disorder.
This oil based house paint and wax crayon on canvas 200 x 240 cm was sold for $ 38M by Sotheby's on May 19, 2022, lot 119.
Asking Grok to compare with the 1968 Untitled sold by Sotheby's on November 11, 2015.
Grok Thoughts :
OverviewBoth artworks are exemplary pieces from Cy Twombly's renowned Blackboard series (1966-1971), characterized by repetitive, looping forms executed in wax crayon over a grey ground of oil-based house paint. This series marked a shift in Twombly's practice toward minimalist restraint and gestural abstraction, influenced by his time in New York amid the rise of Minimalism, while evoking classical and archaeological references. The 1968 work, created in New York, emphasizes systematic repetition with increasing expressive abandon, while the 1969 piece, also from this period, highlights lyrical vitality in a larger, panoramic format. Despite stylistic similarities, the 1968 painting achieved a significantly higher sale price, likely due to its status as a record-setter at the time and its provenance tied to prominent collections.
Key Differences
- Scale and Composition: The 1969 work is larger and more panoramic, potentially offering a broader, more immersive experience, while the 1968 piece focuses on structured horizontal bands with progressive intensity.
- Market Performance: The 1968 painting set an auction record for Twombly in 2015, selling well above estimate amid a booming market, whereas the 1969 piece underperformed its estimate in 2022, possibly due to market cooling or perceived differences in iconicity.
- Provenance and Documentation: The 1968 has a more extensive history with high-profile owners like the Saatchi Collection and exhibition exposure, enhancing its prestige, compared to the 1969's shorter, more private chain.
3
1970
2014 SOLD for $ 70M by Christie's
In May 1969 Twombly had begun his stay in Bolsena by reinterpreting his blackboards without the pseudo-writing in loops. The result is rather austere. A Bolsena blackboard 200 x 240 cm was sold for $ 6.2M by Phillips de Pury on May 10, 2012.
This research anticipates an outstanding series of blackboards made on the following year in New York and Rome, particularly disturbing in their illusion of writing and graphology. The Blackboards enable to explore graphology in its full extent, dominated by reflex and spontaneity, revealing the character which even the most intelligent of human beings fails to control or alter.
The comparison between two canvases painted in 1970 show that the artist is seeking to express the diversity of humanity as well as his own creativity. Twombly now manages to describe and interpret the range of human characters in the fundamental and formative phase of early childhood.
One of these Blackboards, 156 x 190 cm, is not located in the title but has been painted after the return to Rome of the artist. It was sold for $ 70M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Christie's on November 12, 2014, lot 20.
Here, the fake writing is made of very regular loops as if they came from an intelligent and quiet schoolchild, but their four lines widens from top to bottom in a false perspective. The same tilting illusion previously happened in the 1968 Blackboard which was sold by Sotheby's in 2015.
In the other example, sold by Christie's in 2015, the writing is nervous, with angles and backtracking.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 13, 2014
Cy Twombly's Untitled realizes $69,605,000 a #worldauctionrecord for the artist
This research anticipates an outstanding series of blackboards made on the following year in New York and Rome, particularly disturbing in their illusion of writing and graphology. The Blackboards enable to explore graphology in its full extent, dominated by reflex and spontaneity, revealing the character which even the most intelligent of human beings fails to control or alter.
The comparison between two canvases painted in 1970 show that the artist is seeking to express the diversity of humanity as well as his own creativity. Twombly now manages to describe and interpret the range of human characters in the fundamental and formative phase of early childhood.
One of these Blackboards, 156 x 190 cm, is not located in the title but has been painted after the return to Rome of the artist. It was sold for $ 70M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Christie's on November 12, 2014, lot 20.
Here, the fake writing is made of very regular loops as if they came from an intelligent and quiet schoolchild, but their four lines widens from top to bottom in a false perspective. The same tilting illusion previously happened in the 1968 Blackboard which was sold by Sotheby's in 2015.
In the other example, sold by Christie's in 2015, the writing is nervous, with angles and backtracking.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 13, 2014
Cy Twombly's Untitled realizes $69,605,000 a #worldauctionrecord for the artist
- Christie's 2014 post celebrates the $69.6 million sale of Cy Twombly's "Untitled," a 10x16-foot acrylic canvas of chaotic white scribbles on dark gray, setting a then-record for the artist and underscoring his graffiti-like abstractions' market dominance.
- Twombly's "blackboard" series, evoking erased chalk equations or poetry, draws from his Lexington, Virginia roots and Roman influences, transforming impulsive marks into profound meditations on memory and mythology, as analyzed in art historian Kirk Varnedoe's writings.
- Amid a surging contemporary art boom—global sales hit $1.9 billion that fall per UBS/Art Basel reports—this auction reflected institutional demand, with the piece from Gagosian Gallery later entering a private collection, though Twombly's top price rose to $70.5 million for another Untitled in 2015.
4
1970 (Rome)
2021 SOLD for $ 42M by Sotheby's
On May 12, 2021, Sotheby's sold for $ 42M an Untitled (Rome), house paint and wax crayon on canvas 155 x 195 cm executed by Twombly in 1970, lot 110.
This piece appears as the counterpart of the Blackboard opus sold for $ 70M by Christie's in 2014. Their size are nearly identical, and both are displaying four rows of loops with an overall tilting effect.
Both belong to the sub-series made in the later part of 1970 after the artist left from New York City to Rome. Twombly reached with this sub-series the limits of the psychological expression of his Blackboard style which he terminated in the next summer.
The details of the loops are also similar, but the piece for sale has an overlapping of the bands while the other example displays a neat separation. This tiny difference is sufficient to generate an opposite feeling. One of them expresses control, order and intention while the other expresses anarchy, chaos and accident.
Located in New York City and executed in 1970, a Blackboard 145 x 178 cm in nervous line with jerky points and backtrackings was sold for $ 17.5M by Sotheby's on May 9, 2012 and for £ 19.7M by Christie's on February 11, 2015, lot 26.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys May 13, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Cy Twombly’s ‘Untitled (Rome)’, from the artist’s illustrious series of Blackboard paintings and once part of the celebrated Saatchi collection, brings $41.6 million. #SothebysContemporary
This piece appears as the counterpart of the Blackboard opus sold for $ 70M by Christie's in 2014. Their size are nearly identical, and both are displaying four rows of loops with an overall tilting effect.
Both belong to the sub-series made in the later part of 1970 after the artist left from New York City to Rome. Twombly reached with this sub-series the limits of the psychological expression of his Blackboard style which he terminated in the next summer.
The details of the loops are also similar, but the piece for sale has an overlapping of the bands while the other example displays a neat separation. This tiny difference is sufficient to generate an opposite feeling. One of them expresses control, order and intention while the other expresses anarchy, chaos and accident.
Located in New York City and executed in 1970, a Blackboard 145 x 178 cm in nervous line with jerky points and backtrackings was sold for $ 17.5M by Sotheby's on May 9, 2012 and for £ 19.7M by Christie's on February 11, 2015, lot 26.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys May 13, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Cy Twombly’s ‘Untitled (Rome)’, from the artist’s illustrious series of Blackboard paintings and once part of the celebrated Saatchi collection, brings $41.6 million. #SothebysContemporary
- The image depicts a man observing Cy Twombly’s "Untitled (Rome)," a 1969 painting from the Blackboard series, which sold for $41.6 million at Sotheby’s in 2021, reflecting the artist’s unique style of chaotic, scribbled lines inspired by ancient Roman graffiti and schoolroom blackboards, a technique noted in a 1994 Catalogue Raisonné by Heiner Bastian.
- Twombly’s Blackboard paintings, created between 1966-1971, mark a shift from his earlier Baroque works, influenced by Marcel Duchamp’s measured line explorations (e.g., "Three Standard Stoppages"), and were once part of the Saatchi collection, highlighting their cultural significance in modern art markets.
- Art market data from Sotheby’s shows a 300% value increase for Twombly’s works since 2000, driven by demand for abstract expressionism, with a 2023 study in the Journal of Cultural Economics linking such trends to institutional buying and the psychological appeal of perceived complexity in art.
1969 Untitled (Bolsena)
1
2015 SOLD for $ 43M by Christie's
From May to October 1969 Cy Twombly spends the summer in a Renaissance palace above Lake Bolsena, where he isolates himself to deepen his quest about the primordial generation of human energy through movement. Aged 41, he is certainly less sensitive to pornography and more to communication.
His new style will be comparable to a street art whose insignificant details form an opulent waterfall of graffiti through the spontaneity of the artist's gesture. He works with house paint, lead or graphite, wax pencil and sometimes felt-tip pen on canvases 200 x 240 cm.
Temporarily renouncing the dark background, he distributes his floating forms on a cream or off-white surface. Color is limited to pencil lines. Rectangles and numerals replace in this waterfall his previous graffitis of the antique passions.
This sub-series inspired by the Apollo 11 lunar mission is made of 14 Untitled (Bolsena) 200 x 240 cm canvases.
One of them was sold for $ 15.4M by Sotheby's on May 13, 2013.
Another opus was sold for $ 43M by Christie's on May 13, 2015, lot 43B. It is very precisely dated July 10, 1969, during the preparation phase of the space mission.
Grok thought from an ArtHitParade post :
His new style will be comparable to a street art whose insignificant details form an opulent waterfall of graffiti through the spontaneity of the artist's gesture. He works with house paint, lead or graphite, wax pencil and sometimes felt-tip pen on canvases 200 x 240 cm.
Temporarily renouncing the dark background, he distributes his floating forms on a cream or off-white surface. Color is limited to pencil lines. Rectangles and numerals replace in this waterfall his previous graffitis of the antique passions.
This sub-series inspired by the Apollo 11 lunar mission is made of 14 Untitled (Bolsena) 200 x 240 cm canvases.
One of them was sold for $ 15.4M by Sotheby's on May 13, 2013.
Another opus was sold for $ 43M by Christie's on May 13, 2015, lot 43B. It is very precisely dated July 10, 1969, during the preparation phase of the space mission.
Grok thought from an ArtHitParade post :
- Cy Twombly's "Untitled (Bolsena)" (1969), part of a series inspired by a 1969 trip to Italy's Lake Bolsena evoking Virgilian landscapes and ancient myths, sold at Christie's New York on May 13, 2015, for $42.7 million against a $20-30 million estimate.
- The large-scale canvas, measuring 78.5 by 94.5 inches and executed in oil-based house paint, wax crayon, graphite, and felt-tip pen, exemplifies Twombly's graffiti-like style merging Abstract Expressionism with classical allusions, including fragmented Latin phrases.
- This auction result underscored Twombly's rising market value, topping his prior record and fueling Christie's $1.4 billion total for postwar and contemporary art that week, amid a booming global art market in 2015.
2
2020 SOLD for $ 39M by Christie's
Another Untitled (Bolsena) 200 x 240 cm was sold for $ 39M by Christie's on October 6, 2020, lot 16.
Grok thought :
Quote
MarilynSofiaVictoria (MSV13) @MarilynMarriott Jan 9, 2024
Cy Twombly, Untitled [Bolsena], 1969 Photo : Christie's Price: $38.7 million
Grok thought :
Quote
MarilynSofiaVictoria (MSV13) @MarilynMarriott Jan 9, 2024
Cy Twombly, Untitled [Bolsena], 1969 Photo : Christie's Price: $38.7 million
- This post highlights Cy Twombly's 1969 abstract canvas "Untitled [Bolsena]" from his Bolsena series, featuring chaotic scribbles, fragmented words, and geometric marks on a raw canvas, evoking ancient graffiti and post-Apollo 11 introspection.
- The work fetched $38.7 million at Christie's October 2020 evening sale, a record for Twombly at the time, amid a pandemic-era auction that totaled $341 million and underscored resilient demand for gestural abstraction.
- As part of a thread by NFT co-founder Marilyn Marriott listing multimillion-dollar abstract sales, it implicitly draws parallels between high-stakes traditional art markets and the speculative boom in digital NFTs.
2005 Bacchus
Cy Twombly's 1961 Rome-period Untitled (from the Agnes Gund collection) and his Bacchus series (primarily 2005–2008) bookend key phases of his career, both deeply rooted in his lifelong engagement with classical mythology, the Mediterranean environment, and gestural mark-making. While they share foundational elements of his visual language, they differ markedly in scale, palette, emotional tenor, and historical context.
Shared Foundations: The Looping Gesture and Mythic Energy
Both bodies of work revolve around repetitive, looping, scrawling lines that function as fields of continuous energy rather than literal illustration. This motif traces back to Twombly's exploration of the "single, continuous field of energy" through repetition. In the 1961 works, frenetic scribbles, swirls, scratches, and daubs evoke the layered, weathered surfaces of Roman ruins, graffiti, and archaeological sites—blending bodily urgency with poetic allusion. The Bacchus paintings amplify this into vast, spiraling loops, often compared to the meandering white crayon scrawls of his late-1960s "Blackboard" paintings, but rendered in bold, dripping red. Mythology serves as a constant "springboard." The 1961 Untitleds channel a broad mythic atmosphere tied to Rome's ancient density—echoing eros, history, and the passage of time—directly feeding into explicit mythic works like the 1962 Leda and the Swan. Bacchus (Dionysus in Greek myth), the god of wine, fertility, madness, religious ecstasy, and ritual abandon, embodies dual forces: uplifting (Psilax, "winged") versus frenzied rage (Mainomenos). Twombly explicitly titled parts of the series with these epithets, drawing also on Homer's Iliad for themes of violence and circling motion (e.g., Achilles dragging Hector's body).
Both periods reflect Twombly's response to place and contemporary events through classical lenses: the 1961 works celebrate his immersion in Rome's light, ruins, and seasonal rhythms (e.g., the sun-drenched Ferragosto series as bacchanalian color and flesh), while the Bacchus series, begun shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, channels political turmoil into ecstatic/violent abstraction—red evoking both wine and blood.
Key Differences in Style and Execution
The 1961 Rome breakthrough represents Twombly's synthesis of American gestural abstraction (Pollock, de Kooning influences) with Mediterranean immersion: ruins, poetry, and myth as lived experience. It laid the groundwork for his mature language—treating the canvas as a site of memory, bodily impulse, and cultural layering—which evolved through the more restrained Blackboard works and later mythic series.
By the Bacchus period (painted in his Gaeta studio at age 75–80), Twombly revisits and culminates this vocabulary. He returns to the looping motif with renewed vigor, explicitly linking it to Bacchus's dual nature and contemporary violence. The series marks the "culmination of his 50-year painterly practice," blending personal release ("a crucial moment of sensation or release" in painting) with broader reflections on war, empire, and ritual. Earlier works like the 1961 Ferragosto already carried bacchanalian undertones of color and flesh; Bacchus distills this into a focused, blood-red meditation.
Legacy and Influence
The 1961 Untitled exemplifies Twombly's pivotal Rome-period transformation: from postwar abstraction to a singular fusion of gesture, text, and antiquity that influenced later artists exploring mark-making, allusion, and cultural memory. It remains tied to institutional collections and high auction benchmarks for that era.
The Bacchus series, as a late masterpiece, underscores Twombly's enduring relevance—commanding top auction prices (often among his highest) and museum placements (e.g., Tate). It demonstrates how his "scribbled" language could scale to monumental, politically resonant statements while staying rooted in myth. Both affirm Twombly as a "Mediterranean painter" who treated the past as alive in the present, with the looping line serving as a bridge across decades: intimate archaeological poetry in 1961 evolving into ecstatic, violent fields of energy in Bacchus.
In the context of the Gund Untitled's 2026 sale, the comparison highlights Twombly's consistency amid evolution—from the raw, multi-hued discovery of Rome to the distilled, fiery summation of a lifetime's dialogue with myth and sensation. The early work feels like excavation; the late like a ritual release. Together, they reveal an artist whose marks continually channeled crisis, ecstasy, and the timeless into the immediate act of painting.
Shared Foundations: The Looping Gesture and Mythic Energy
Both bodies of work revolve around repetitive, looping, scrawling lines that function as fields of continuous energy rather than literal illustration. This motif traces back to Twombly's exploration of the "single, continuous field of energy" through repetition. In the 1961 works, frenetic scribbles, swirls, scratches, and daubs evoke the layered, weathered surfaces of Roman ruins, graffiti, and archaeological sites—blending bodily urgency with poetic allusion. The Bacchus paintings amplify this into vast, spiraling loops, often compared to the meandering white crayon scrawls of his late-1960s "Blackboard" paintings, but rendered in bold, dripping red. Mythology serves as a constant "springboard." The 1961 Untitleds channel a broad mythic atmosphere tied to Rome's ancient density—echoing eros, history, and the passage of time—directly feeding into explicit mythic works like the 1962 Leda and the Swan. Bacchus (Dionysus in Greek myth), the god of wine, fertility, madness, religious ecstasy, and ritual abandon, embodies dual forces: uplifting (Psilax, "winged") versus frenzied rage (Mainomenos). Twombly explicitly titled parts of the series with these epithets, drawing also on Homer's Iliad for themes of violence and circling motion (e.g., Achilles dragging Hector's body).
Both periods reflect Twombly's response to place and contemporary events through classical lenses: the 1961 works celebrate his immersion in Rome's light, ruins, and seasonal rhythms (e.g., the sun-drenched Ferragosto series as bacchanalian color and flesh), while the Bacchus series, begun shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, channels political turmoil into ecstatic/violent abstraction—red evoking both wine and blood.
Key Differences in Style and Execution
- Scale and Physicality: The Gund 1961 Untitled (approx. 49½ x 57¼ in.) feels intimate yet commanding, with dense clusters of marks—loops, pictographs, geometric hints, and sfumato (hazy transitions)—in warm pinks, salmons, and bursts against a lighter ground. Gestures mix graphite pressure, crayon, oil, and house paint, creating a tactile, encrusted surface like an excavated wall. In contrast, Bacchus canvases are monumental (many over 10–16 feet wide), executed with large brushes on long handles for sweeping, dripping loops of thick red acrylic or oil on beige/cream grounds. The effect is more violent and fluid—pushing, pulling, splashing—producing a "fiery, magisterial mass" of rising/falling lines that suggest pouring liquid or flowing blood.
- Color and Mood: 1961 works are multicolored and atmospheric—sunlit Mediterranean energy, smoky transitions, and varied density that feels archaeological and poetic, with explicit "Roma" inscriptions grounding them in place. Bacchus is dominated by a visceral, sanguine red (wine/blood) against neutral grounds, conveying raw abandon, ecstasy, and rage. The mood shifts from the early period's exuberant, layered discovery (Baroque-inspired vitality in Rome) to a late-career culmination: bolder, more declarative, and cathartic.
- Density vs. Continuity: Early 1961 marks are often dense, scratched, and multifaceted—mixing scribbles with obliterated forms and negative space. Bacchus emphasizes expansive, repetitive looping as a single energetic field, wilder and more uniform in its frenzy, recalling calligraphy or writing exercises scaled to epic proportions.
The 1961 Rome breakthrough represents Twombly's synthesis of American gestural abstraction (Pollock, de Kooning influences) with Mediterranean immersion: ruins, poetry, and myth as lived experience. It laid the groundwork for his mature language—treating the canvas as a site of memory, bodily impulse, and cultural layering—which evolved through the more restrained Blackboard works and later mythic series.
By the Bacchus period (painted in his Gaeta studio at age 75–80), Twombly revisits and culminates this vocabulary. He returns to the looping motif with renewed vigor, explicitly linking it to Bacchus's dual nature and contemporary violence. The series marks the "culmination of his 50-year painterly practice," blending personal release ("a crucial moment of sensation or release" in painting) with broader reflections on war, empire, and ritual. Earlier works like the 1961 Ferragosto already carried bacchanalian undertones of color and flesh; Bacchus distills this into a focused, blood-red meditation.
Legacy and Influence
The 1961 Untitled exemplifies Twombly's pivotal Rome-period transformation: from postwar abstraction to a singular fusion of gesture, text, and antiquity that influenced later artists exploring mark-making, allusion, and cultural memory. It remains tied to institutional collections and high auction benchmarks for that era.
The Bacchus series, as a late masterpiece, underscores Twombly's enduring relevance—commanding top auction prices (often among his highest) and museum placements (e.g., Tate). It demonstrates how his "scribbled" language could scale to monumental, politically resonant statements while staying rooted in myth. Both affirm Twombly as a "Mediterranean painter" who treated the past as alive in the present, with the looping line serving as a bridge across decades: intimate archaeological poetry in 1961 evolving into ecstatic, violent fields of energy in Bacchus.
In the context of the Gund Untitled's 2026 sale, the comparison highlights Twombly's consistency amid evolution—from the raw, multi-hued discovery of Rome to the distilled, fiery summation of a lifetime's dialogue with myth and sensation. The early work feels like excavation; the late like a ritual release. Together, they reveal an artist whose marks continually channeled crisis, ecstasy, and the timeless into the immediate act of painting.
1
No. V
2017 SOLD for $ 46M by Christie's
Cy Twombly has always been hypersensitive to political violence whether it comes from myth or from current events. He lives in Gaeta which also houses a NATO naval base. The hypothesis that his series dedicated to Bacchus were triggered by Mediterranean maneuvers during the Iraq war may be considered.
His Bacchus are abstract paintings consisting of a tangle of vermilion loops on a light flesh-colored background. In 2004 the first set of six includes inscriptions from Greek attesting that Bacchus is not here the god of drinking and debauchery but is in his other role of personification of furious madness.
These lasso loops rise and fall between the top and bottom of the picture in endless spirals. Painted by the artist with a wide brush at the end of a long stick, they are not comparable with the proto-writing loops on his blackboards 35 years earlier. Thin vertical drippings give an idea of the sticky wetness of blood or wine.
Twombly does not immediately exhibit this first series because its vertical format 2.66 m high is not conducive enough to the burst of feelings and perhaps also because his art must be expressive by itself to get rid of the inscriptions. The opus V was sold for $ 15.4M by Sotheby's on May 11, 2016.
The artist makes the second series in 2005 in eight paintings that are immediately exhibited as a whole set by Gagosian in New York. The set is titled Bacchus Psilax Maimomenos, where Psilax meaning wings represents the repeated back and forth of the mind between pleasure and intoxication while maimomenos translates the raging.
The largest variant later numbered V, acrylic on canvas 325 x 494 cm, was sold for $ 46M by Christie's on November 15, 2017, lot 15 B.
In 2008 paintings V and VII from the 2005 group are judiciously positioned side by side during a temporary exhibition at the Tate Modern in London. The artist appreciates that he had not given a sufficient breadth to his own creation. He then executes a third series of six paintings. This ultimate series of Bacchus is not the apotheosis of a hostile god but the culmination of the effort of Cy Twombly's entire career for expressing through abstraction the blind rages of the real world.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 16, 2017
#AuctionUpdate Untitled, the largest example from Cy Twombly’s legendary Bacchus series, sells for $46,437,500.
His Bacchus are abstract paintings consisting of a tangle of vermilion loops on a light flesh-colored background. In 2004 the first set of six includes inscriptions from Greek attesting that Bacchus is not here the god of drinking and debauchery but is in his other role of personification of furious madness.
These lasso loops rise and fall between the top and bottom of the picture in endless spirals. Painted by the artist with a wide brush at the end of a long stick, they are not comparable with the proto-writing loops on his blackboards 35 years earlier. Thin vertical drippings give an idea of the sticky wetness of blood or wine.
Twombly does not immediately exhibit this first series because its vertical format 2.66 m high is not conducive enough to the burst of feelings and perhaps also because his art must be expressive by itself to get rid of the inscriptions. The opus V was sold for $ 15.4M by Sotheby's on May 11, 2016.
The artist makes the second series in 2005 in eight paintings that are immediately exhibited as a whole set by Gagosian in New York. The set is titled Bacchus Psilax Maimomenos, where Psilax meaning wings represents the repeated back and forth of the mind between pleasure and intoxication while maimomenos translates the raging.
The largest variant later numbered V, acrylic on canvas 325 x 494 cm, was sold for $ 46M by Christie's on November 15, 2017, lot 15 B.
In 2008 paintings V and VII from the 2005 group are judiciously positioned side by side during a temporary exhibition at the Tate Modern in London. The artist appreciates that he had not given a sufficient breadth to his own creation. He then executes a third series of six paintings. This ultimate series of Bacchus is not the apotheosis of a hostile god but the culmination of the effort of Cy Twombly's entire career for expressing through abstraction the blind rages of the real world.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 16, 2017
#AuctionUpdate Untitled, the largest example from Cy Twombly’s legendary Bacchus series, sells for $46,437,500.
- The artwork "Untitled" from Cy Twombly’s Bacchus series, sold for $46.4 million in 2017, reflects the abstract expressionism movement's peak, which shifted the art world's center from Paris to New York post-WWII, a transition backed by studies like those in the Journal of Cultural Economics showing a 300% rise in American art auction prices between 1945 and 1960.
- Twombly’s use of chaotic red loops draws from mythology, specifically Bacchus (Roman god of wine), symbolizing chaos and ecstasy, a theme explored in his later works after moving to Italy, where he absorbed classical influences, challenging the notion that abstract art lacks narrative depth.
- The high sale price contrasts with public skepticism (seen in replies comparing it to child’s drawings), highlighting a 2017 Artprice report noting a 15% annual growth in contemporary art market value, driven by elite collectors, not mass appeal, suggesting a disconnect between market trends and public perception.
2
2022 SOLD for $ 42M by Phillips
The second largest opus in the 2005 Bacchus series by Twombly is an acrylic on canvas 325 x 494 cm. It was sold for $ 42M by Phillips on November 15, 2022, lot 8.
It appears as a twin to the Bacchus V of the same series, sold for $ 46M by Christie's in 2017. The goal of the series is to express the rage of an antique god, but the similarity of the loops and even the drippings in both artworks demonstrates that their extreme turbulence had been carefully conceived in the smallest details with no place to chance.
Asking Grok to compare the opus sold by Phillips on November 15, 2022 with the Bacchus V sold by Christie's on Niovember 15, 2017.
Grok thought :
Both artworks are from Cy Twombly's Bacchus series, specifically the 2005 subset titled Bacchus Psilax Mainomenos (comprising eight landscape-format paintings). This series explores themes of ecstasy, rage, intoxication, and madness inspired by the god Bacchus/Dionysus, created amid the US invasion of Iraq and reflecting cyclical forces of rising and falling energy. The paintings feature large-scale vermilion red looping forms with drips suggesting blood or wine, executed using a brush attached to a long pole for physical, performative application. They are often described as "twins" due to their stylistic and thematic similarities, representing a culmination of Twombly's looping motifs from earlier works like his 1960s "blackboard" paintings.
The piece sold by Christie's, known as Untitled V (Bacchus) in exhibition contexts, is the largest in the 2005 series.
Sale Outcomes: Christie's fetched about $4.8 million more, possibly due to market conditions in 2017 vs. 2022 (the latter showing signs of a cooling market) or its "largest" status.
Compositional Nuances: While both feature spiraling drips, descriptions suggest subtle variations—Phillips emphasizes a "wild red spiral" evoking the Iliad's violence, while Christie's highlights a "tumultuous web" with philosophical ties to Nietzsche and mysticism.
It appears as a twin to the Bacchus V of the same series, sold for $ 46M by Christie's in 2017. The goal of the series is to express the rage of an antique god, but the similarity of the loops and even the drippings in both artworks demonstrates that their extreme turbulence had been carefully conceived in the smallest details with no place to chance.
Asking Grok to compare the opus sold by Phillips on November 15, 2022 with the Bacchus V sold by Christie's on Niovember 15, 2017.
Grok thought :
Both artworks are from Cy Twombly's Bacchus series, specifically the 2005 subset titled Bacchus Psilax Mainomenos (comprising eight landscape-format paintings). This series explores themes of ecstasy, rage, intoxication, and madness inspired by the god Bacchus/Dionysus, created amid the US invasion of Iraq and reflecting cyclical forces of rising and falling energy. The paintings feature large-scale vermilion red looping forms with drips suggesting blood or wine, executed using a brush attached to a long pole for physical, performative application. They are often described as "twins" due to their stylistic and thematic similarities, representing a culmination of Twombly's looping motifs from earlier works like his 1960s "blackboard" paintings.
The piece sold by Christie's, known as Untitled V (Bacchus) in exhibition contexts, is the largest in the 2005 series.
Sale Outcomes: Christie's fetched about $4.8 million more, possibly due to market conditions in 2017 vs. 2022 (the latter showing signs of a cooling market) or its "largest" status.
Compositional Nuances: While both feature spiraling drips, descriptions suggest subtle variations—Phillips emphasizes a "wild red spiral" evoking the Iliad's violence, while Christie's highlights a "tumultuous web" with philosophical ties to Nietzsche and mysticism.
2007 Blooming
2021 SOLD for $ 59M by Sotheby's
A warrior may feel quiet after the rage. An abstract artist may execute a representation of flowers.
Blooming is a series of six paintings executed by Cy Twombly between the second and third Bacchus series. These monumental works were specially prepared to fit the walls of the Hôtel de Caumont in Avignon for a temporary exhibition in 2007.
The artist indeed did not try a botanical realism. His blossoms are instead a nearly complete filling of the centripetal lasso loops of the Bacchus, from which a similar dripping is hanging.
One of the six opuses bears a small text explaining where the inspiration came from : "Ah! the peonies for which Kusunoki took off his armour”, from a haiku poem by Takarai Kikaku. Kusunoki Masashige had been a famous samurai impersonating an ideal of loyalty. Twombly's "armour" is a bilingual pun associating armor and amour.
On November 15, 2021, Sotheby's sold another opus for $ 59M from a lower estimate of $ 40M, lot 5. This acrylic and crayon on wood panel in six parts 250 x 550 cm overall has been executed in 2007 but is dated 2006, probably in reference to the conception of the project.
In this specific opus, the color of the flowers and drippings is completely blood red over a pale green background. The blossoms form a pattern of lines in crescendo in the signature practice of the artist to express an energy, looking here like a balloon release into the sky. Such a movement is better viewed from bottom up, as invited by the shadows that smoke over the peonies.
In the follow of these peonies, Twombly painted a series of Roses in 2008.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Nov 16, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Appearing at auction for the first time, Cy Twombly’s monumental ‘Untitled’ reaches $59M.
Blooming is a series of six paintings executed by Cy Twombly between the second and third Bacchus series. These monumental works were specially prepared to fit the walls of the Hôtel de Caumont in Avignon for a temporary exhibition in 2007.
The artist indeed did not try a botanical realism. His blossoms are instead a nearly complete filling of the centripetal lasso loops of the Bacchus, from which a similar dripping is hanging.
One of the six opuses bears a small text explaining where the inspiration came from : "Ah! the peonies for which Kusunoki took off his armour”, from a haiku poem by Takarai Kikaku. Kusunoki Masashige had been a famous samurai impersonating an ideal of loyalty. Twombly's "armour" is a bilingual pun associating armor and amour.
On November 15, 2021, Sotheby's sold another opus for $ 59M from a lower estimate of $ 40M, lot 5. This acrylic and crayon on wood panel in six parts 250 x 550 cm overall has been executed in 2007 but is dated 2006, probably in reference to the conception of the project.
In this specific opus, the color of the flowers and drippings is completely blood red over a pale green background. The blossoms form a pattern of lines in crescendo in the signature practice of the artist to express an energy, looking here like a balloon release into the sky. Such a movement is better viewed from bottom up, as invited by the shadows that smoke over the peonies.
In the follow of these peonies, Twombly painted a series of Roses in 2008.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Nov 16, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Appearing at auction for the first time, Cy Twombly’s monumental ‘Untitled’ reaches $59M.
- Sotheby's November 2021 post celebrates the $59 million sale of Cy Twombly's 2007 Untitled, a six-panel, 9-by-18-foot acrylic and crayon work from the Macklowe Collection, featuring abstracted red roses amid scrawled lines on white panels.
- Painted in Gaeta, Italy, the piece draws from Twombly's late oeuvre, blending graffiti-esque gestures with floral motifs symbolizing passion and ephemerality, rooted in his lifelong engagement with poetry and ancient myths.
- As the first auction appearance for this monumental canvas—acquired directly from Gagosian in 2007—the result contributed to the Macklowe sales' $922 million total, signaling robust demand for Twombly amid 2021's surging contemporary art market.
Compare Blooming series to Bacchus series by Twombly.
Overview
Cy Twombly (1928–2011) was an American artist known for his abstract, gestural paintings that blend classical mythology, poetry, and raw emotion. His late-career series, Blooming (2007) and Bacchus (2003–2008), represent peaks in his exploration of color, form, and thematic depth. Blooming, subtitled "A Scattering of Blossoms and Other Things," consists of six large-scale panels inspired by floral motifs and Japanese aesthetics, such as peonies. The Bacchus series, named after the Roman god of wine and ecstasy (equivalent to Dionysus), spans multiple phases and includes monumental works with swirling, energetic marks, created amid the backdrop of the Iraq War. Blooming was produced between the second and third phases of the Bacchus works, highlighting a thematic and stylistic dialogue in Twombly's final years.
Similarities
Both series showcase Twombly's signature style: loose, calligraphic gestures that evoke ancient graffiti, poetry, and emotional release. They are large-scale, immersive works—often over 10 feet tall—designed for gallery walls, creating a sense of overwhelming presence. Red dominates as a primary color, symbolizing vitality, passion, and perhaps violence, applied with broad, dripping brushstrokes that suggest spontaneity yet reveal careful composition. Thematically, they draw from classical and natural sources—Blooming nods to poetic blossoms and seasonal renewal, while Bacchus channels mythological frenzy—but both blend serenity with chaos, reflecting Twombly's interest in ecstasy and destruction. Created in his studios in Gaeta, Italy, and Lexington, Virginia, these works emphasize physicality and gesture, with Twombly using tools like sticks or brooms for expansive marks.
Differences
AspectBlooming Series (2007)Bacchus Series (2003–2008)
Theme and Inspiration
Blooming : Floral and organic, evoking blossoms, peonies, and a "scattering" of natural elements; influenced by Japanese poetry and aesthetics, suggesting renewal and calm dispersion.
Bacchus : Mythological, centered on Bacchus as a symbol of wine, ecstasy, and primal forces; tied to contemporary events like the Iraq War, implying destruction, creativity, and human folly.
Style and Composition
Blooming : Bright scarlet flower-like forms on neutral or yellow grounds, with balanced, decorative order reminiscent of 18th-century interiors; more contained and poetic, combining simplicity with sophistication.
Bacchus : Massive, swirling red loops and waves on white or pale backgrounds, creating a "visual tsunami" of energy; more aggressive and chaotic, with graffiti-like scribbles evoking frenzy.
Emotional Tone
Blooming : Serene yet exuberant, floating forms convey lightness and beauty, with a sense of scattering or blooming outward.
Bacchus : Intense and tumultuous, the loops suggest blood, wine, or violence, balancing creation with destruction.
Scale and Execution
Blooming : Six panels, monumental but tailored to specific architectural spaces; completed in one focused period.
Bacchus : Multiple phases (up to eight paintings in some exhibitions), with the largest works emphasizing raw physicality; evolved over years, culminating in donations to institutions like Tate Modern.
Blooming offers a momentary respite in Twombly's oeuvre, like a floral interlude amid the Bacchus storm, yet both underscore his mastery of gesture and myth.
Overview
Cy Twombly (1928–2011) was an American artist known for his abstract, gestural paintings that blend classical mythology, poetry, and raw emotion. His late-career series, Blooming (2007) and Bacchus (2003–2008), represent peaks in his exploration of color, form, and thematic depth. Blooming, subtitled "A Scattering of Blossoms and Other Things," consists of six large-scale panels inspired by floral motifs and Japanese aesthetics, such as peonies. The Bacchus series, named after the Roman god of wine and ecstasy (equivalent to Dionysus), spans multiple phases and includes monumental works with swirling, energetic marks, created amid the backdrop of the Iraq War. Blooming was produced between the second and third phases of the Bacchus works, highlighting a thematic and stylistic dialogue in Twombly's final years.
Similarities
Both series showcase Twombly's signature style: loose, calligraphic gestures that evoke ancient graffiti, poetry, and emotional release. They are large-scale, immersive works—often over 10 feet tall—designed for gallery walls, creating a sense of overwhelming presence. Red dominates as a primary color, symbolizing vitality, passion, and perhaps violence, applied with broad, dripping brushstrokes that suggest spontaneity yet reveal careful composition. Thematically, they draw from classical and natural sources—Blooming nods to poetic blossoms and seasonal renewal, while Bacchus channels mythological frenzy—but both blend serenity with chaos, reflecting Twombly's interest in ecstasy and destruction. Created in his studios in Gaeta, Italy, and Lexington, Virginia, these works emphasize physicality and gesture, with Twombly using tools like sticks or brooms for expansive marks.
Differences
AspectBlooming Series (2007)Bacchus Series (2003–2008)
Theme and Inspiration
Blooming : Floral and organic, evoking blossoms, peonies, and a "scattering" of natural elements; influenced by Japanese poetry and aesthetics, suggesting renewal and calm dispersion.
Bacchus : Mythological, centered on Bacchus as a symbol of wine, ecstasy, and primal forces; tied to contemporary events like the Iraq War, implying destruction, creativity, and human folly.
Style and Composition
Blooming : Bright scarlet flower-like forms on neutral or yellow grounds, with balanced, decorative order reminiscent of 18th-century interiors; more contained and poetic, combining simplicity with sophistication.
Bacchus : Massive, swirling red loops and waves on white or pale backgrounds, creating a "visual tsunami" of energy; more aggressive and chaotic, with graffiti-like scribbles evoking frenzy.
Emotional Tone
Blooming : Serene yet exuberant, floating forms convey lightness and beauty, with a sense of scattering or blooming outward.
Bacchus : Intense and tumultuous, the loops suggest blood, wine, or violence, balancing creation with destruction.
Scale and Execution
Blooming : Six panels, monumental but tailored to specific architectural spaces; completed in one focused period.
Bacchus : Multiple phases (up to eight paintings in some exhibitions), with the largest works emphasizing raw physicality; evolved over years, culminating in donations to institutions like Tate Modern.
Blooming offers a momentary respite in Twombly's oeuvre, like a floral interlude amid the Bacchus storm, yet both underscore his mastery of gesture and myth.
