On the same note as our previous post and because Christie’s and Sotheby’s like to have similar auctions at the same time, here is a pick from Christie’s recent “Impressionist Modern Sale” auction event on Nov 4 in New York
“L’amore del mondo” by Giorgio De Chirico – sold for $902,500
From the lot description:
“L’amore del mondo of 1960 is a reworking of an earlier painting entitled Le mauvais génie d’un roi of 1914-1915 and now in the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Depicting almost identical scenes in which the details are executed skillfully and painstakingly, this work differs only from the earlier version in that de Chirico has introduced a mannequin, known as the troubadour, behind the vertical board which divides the composition asymmetrically, thought to be “originally inspired by a play written by de Chirico’s brother in which the main protagonist is a ‘man without voice, without eyes or face’” (On Classic Ground, exh. cat., Tate Gallery, London, 1990, p. 81). The troubadour was an important hallmark and recurring motif in his more carefully gauged and meditated compositions of later years. “Hiding” behind the board, the troubadour; “…is afraid of feeling in his back or his side the piercing arrow of a glance, even a benevolent one” (de Chirico quoted in de Chrico by de Chirico, exh. cat., The New York Cultural Centre, New York, 1972).L’amore del mondo is one of the great paintings in a series of “metaphysical” works where importance is given to the reallocation of reality and where the still life vocabulary is usually fantastic and based on intuition. De Chirico aimed to take commonplace objects and buildings out of their natural environment with the idea of suggesting a counter reality which would communicate with the subconscious mind. “The artist likes what reminds him of certain visions that he has in his mind and in his instincts, and which are his secret world that nobody can take away from him” (de Chirico quoted in op. cit.).
Underlying de Chirico’s philosophy of the metaphysical still-lifes was the writings of Nietzsche. In his complete works he writes: “Art is above all and first of all meant to embellish life, to make us to ourselves endurable… Hence art must conceal or transfigure everything that is ugly… A man who feels with himself a surplus of such powers of embellishment, concealment and transfiguration will finally seek to unburden himself of this surplus in works of art” (F. Nietzsche, Human, “All-Too-Human,” Part Two,” in Dr. O. Levy, ed., The Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche, New York, 1911, pp. 91-92).”
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Augusto Giacometti’s painting titled “Azaleen, 1912″ was sold today in Zurich for CHF984,000 ($944,154)
From the auction catalog’s note:
“Augusto Giacometti’s still lifes were greatly sought-after even during his lifetime. This delicate motif of the azalea from 1912 is a very typical example of Giacometti’s work from the period 1910-12 and is characterised by its outstanding artistic virtuosity. The fine floral motif of the azalea fills almost the entire picture surface and is composed of dynamic flecks of colour side by side. Very typical of the works from this period, the raw canvas gleams through, intensifying the luminous presence of the blooms. These are like a mosaic of impasto colours, packed together to form the picture. Giacometti’s focus is on the colour. The painting is constructed out of colour. Various gradations of pink correspond with the green of the leaves, the warm brownish red and yellow elements, as well as the olive green background applied in square dabs of colour, conveying a mellow atmosphere. Giacometti concerned himself throughout his life with the subject of colour, including on a theoretical level, and formed his own colour theory.” – See more at Christie’s
