Claude Monet
Le Palais Contarini, 1908
Estimate: £15-20 million
In 2008, Monet‘s “Le bassin aux nympheas” sold for £41 million / $80.5 million – a record price for the artist at auction
Monet to lead Sotheby’s London auction, June 2013 Sotheby’s London Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on Wednesday 19th June 2013 will be led by an important view of Venice by Claude Monet, “Le Palais Contarini” of 1908, estimated a £15-20 million.
June 6th 2013, source: Sotheby’s
Important works from the renowned collections of the late StanleyJ. Seeger and the late Dr Gustav Rau will be featured at the sale, alongside Impressionist,Modern, Surrealist and sculpture highlights, including a pristine example of a quintessential work by PietMondrian. The Evening Sale is estimated to fetch in excess of £75 million.
Leading the sale is “Le Palais Contarini” (est. £15-20m), a work painted by Claude Monet during a three-month trip to Venice in 1908 – the year of one of the first Venice Biennales. Such works depicting Venice are highly sought after by collectors as they represent the peak of the artist’s career. By excluding the sky and the horizon line, Monet focused on water and reflections of the sky and the architecture, resulting in an astonishingly modern composition and effect approaching abstraction.
Piet Mondrian’s “Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue”from 1927 is a pristine example of the artist’s unique style (est.£4.5-£6.5 million). The painting is a quintessential work by the artist, comprising his most favoured combination of red, yellow and blue coupledwith ‘non-colours’ – grey and black. It is extremely rare for a work ofthis quality to come to the market.
Pablo Picasso’s “Le Peintre”, 1967 (est. £5-7m) is full of the artist’scharacteristic energy, vitality and inventiveness. The image of themusketeer – a common theme in his later works whichare now particularly sought after by collectors – allowed Picasso to explorethe spirit of a past age, reflecting the influenceof Rembrandt, Velázquez and El Greco on his art. Placed in front ofan easel, the figure can be seen as a disguised portrait of Picasso himself.
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