From 4 to 7 April, Christie’s presents the 20^th Century Art week in Paris

From 4 to 7 April, Christie’s presents the 20^th Century Art week in Paris, with a new sale format including

A selection of previously unseen artworks featured in a new evening sale.

The Week’s Sales:
 

• Art Impressionniste et Moderne, Œuvres Choisies incluantWAVE OF DREAMS. A PRIVATE SURREALIST COLLECTION, Evening Sale, 4 April
• Art Impressionniste et Moderne, Day Sale, 5 April
• Chagall et la musique, Online Sale from 27 March to 6 April
• Roland Petit & Zizi Jeanmaire – Part. II, Online Sale from 28 March to 7 April

Paris – With 20/21 art sales up sharply, Christie’s Paris has been a key player at the heart of the Paris market’s intake. Last October, our sale Avant-garde incl.Thinking Italian matched with the first edition of Paris+ par Art Basel, achieving record sales of €66.7m. In April, in the leadup to Art Paris Fair’s 25^th anniversary, Christie’s is organising its first spring evening sale Art Impressionniste et Moderne: Å’uvres choisies, the highlight of an entire week dedicated to 20^th Century art. This highly selective sale includes a Tête d’homme (III) by Pablo Picasso (€1,000,000-€1,500,000) unseen on the market for over 35 years; Digue et lumières d’Ostende, a key artwork by Léon Spilliaert from 1909 that has remained in the same family; a striking portrait of a woman by Kees Van Dongen from the 1920s; and Shacountala, a recently rediscovered drawing by Camille Claudel. This selection will follow the WAVE OF DREAMS. A PRIVATE SURREALIST COLLECTION section, with nine spectacular surrealist artworks from a prestigious European collection. The week will continue with a Day Sale. Its catalogue broadly echoes the Evening Sale but with more accessibly priced sculptures, paintings, and works on paper. There will also be online sales dedicated to Marc Chagall’s connection to music, Chagall et la musique with works formerly from the artist’s estate, and the second part of the sale celebrating the world of Roland Petit & Zizi Jeanmaire.

 Christie’s newest auction will feature a highly exclusive selection of a few dozen works. Their quality, rarity and newness to the market will attract the most discerning European and international collectors.

LÉON SPILLIAERT (1881 – 1946) Digue et lumières d’Ostende – Indian ink, Indian ink wash and coloured pencil on paper, 67.4 x 48.4 cm, 1909 – Estimate: €300,000-500,000
Pablo PICASSO (1881 – 1973) Tête d’homme (III) – Oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm, 1964 – Estimate: €1,000,000-1,500,000
René MAGRITTE (1898 – 1967) Les grains de beauté – Oil on canvas, 55,5 x 45,5 cm, circa 1965 – Estimate:  €3,000,000-5,000,000
Man RAY (1890 – 1976) Les gens en colère d’un après-midi – Oil on canvas, 162 X 114 cm, 1928 – Estimate: €2,200,000-3,200,000

While last autumn’s Avant-garde(s) sale successfully highlighted Italian creativity, the Œuvres choisies sale on 4 April features a selection that strengthens Christie’s key position in the Belgian modern art market. As the Fondation de l’Hermitage is dedicating an exhibition entitled Avec la mer du nord, the iconic subject and pictorial uniqueness of Digue et lumières Ostende is a perfect representation of Léon Spilliaert’s work. Remaining in the same family after being purchased directly from the artist, it has never been seen on the market before. With its historical subject and origin, this 1909 artwork – estimated at €300,000 to €500,000 – is reminiscent of Digue et plage, Chalet Royal et galerie d’Ostende which achieved spectacular results at Christie’s in March 2022. The artwork will be presented in Brussels on 22 March, during a lecture by Anne Adriaens-Pannier, author of Spilliaert’s catalogue raisonné.

Christie’s, the foremost auction house for the works of Pablo Picasso, will join the art world in a global commemoration of the artist and his legacy on the 50^th anniversary of his death. On 4 April, two Picasso artworks will be auctioned. Têted’homme (III) (€1,000,000-€1,500,000) and Oiseau (€150,000-€250,000), acquired in the 1980s by a prestigious French collector, have not been offered for sale since. Both works are in pristine condition.
On 4 April some very rare lots will also be auctioned. They include a preparatory drawing by Camille Claudel for L’abandon, a sculpture sold in London on 3 March. Drawings by Camille Claudel are extremely rare. The example for sale is believed to have been offered to Victor Déséglise by the artist (circa 1886 – €50,000-€70,000). The equally rare Balayeur, a 1912 gouache by Marc Chagall authenticated by the Chagall Committee, is appearing on the market for the first time (€200,000-€350,000). Finally, Jeune dame aux cheveux rouges by Kees van Dongen is reminiscent of the artist’s Fauvist years, though it dates from around 1925 (€150,000-€200,000).

Gino SEVERINI (1883 – 1966) Le Compotier – Collage, cardboard, gouache, charcoal and graphite on paper, 50.7 x 61.5 cm, circa 1918 – Estimate: €100,000-150,000
Auguste HERBIN (1882 – 1960) Portrait d’homme – Oil on canvas, 41 x 33 cm, 1912 – Estimate: €50,000-70,000
 André DERAIN (1880 – 1954) Trois Baigneuses – Aquarelle, gouache and graphite on paper, 50.2 x 65.2 cm,  circa 1906 – Estimate: €80,000-120,000

The Art Impressionniste et Moderne sale on 5 April brings together nearly 130 artworks emblematic of this thriving artistic period. Several works on paper lots, such as the vibrant gouaches by Albert Gleizes, André Lhote and Georges Valmier, are wonderful opportunities for first-time buyers. The sale will also bring together iconic paintings and sculptures, including a bronze by Alberto Giacometti and a unique marble by Hans Arp, both embodying the quintessential simplicity of 20^th century avant-garde. The sale will also feature a very fine India ink drawing by Henri Matisse and a collage by Gino Severini typical of his Cubist period. The Impressionist and Symbolist movements will be represented by an extremely rare composition by Camille Pissarro, as well as a painting by Henri Le Sidaner filled with subtle, enchanting light. Finally, Jeune Fille à la natte, an emblematic artwork from Maurice Denis’ Nabi period, will be auctioned for the first time since its acquisition in 1897 by Adrien Mithouard, a writer and friend of the artist.

 

From 27 March to 6 April 2023, Christie’s will be hosting Chagall et la Musique. With this online sale, enthusiasts and collectors will discover around a hundred artworks formerly from the artist’s estate. Dedicated press release.

Martial RAYSSE (born 1936) Mock-up for “L’Éloge de la Folie-L’Interrogatoire” – Collage of tissue paper and coloured cardboard and gouache on paper, 25.6 x 20 cm, 1966 – 
Estimate: €1,500-2,000
Yves SAINT LAURENT (1936-2008) Letter to Zizi Jeanmaire – Felt-tip pen on paper, 26.5 x 20 cm – Estimate: €1,000-1,500
Mon truc en plumes. Feathered fans dance with Zizi. She is wearing the famous sequinned jumper designed for her by Yves Saint Laurent. Zizi Jeanmaire, Editions Assouline, 2002, p.120. © Zizi Jeanmaire Archives.

Following the success of its first sale, Un patrimoine pour la danse in the spring of 2022, the Roland Petit & Zizi Jeanmaire collection is making a final comeback. Looking back on more than 200 shows, the sale is an anthology of moving memorabilia documenting both the breath-taking career of two legendary performers and choreographer and the amazing network of artistic collaborations and friendships forged with the greatest artists of their time. The 120 or so lots include drawings, set designs, previously unseen mock-ups and even some costumes by artists such as Martial Raysse, Keith Haring, Leonor Fini, Jean Cocteau and Bernard Buffet. 

PRACTICAL INFO
Evening Sale on 4 April at 4pm
Day Sale on 5 April at 2pm
Chagall et la musique Online Sale from 27 March to 6 April
Roland Petit & Zizi Jeanmaire :Un patrimoine pour la danse (Partie II) Online Sale from 28 March to 7 April

VIEWING
From 30 March to 7 April 2023
Open every day from 10am to 6pm, except Sunday from 2pm to 6pm
Christie’s Paris – 9, Avenue Matignon – 75008 Paris