In 2023, two artworks have become the most expensive ones sold in France in this sector.
Presented as a highlight of the French art market in 2023, the sale of Joan Miró’s painting, “Peintures (Femmes, lune, étoiles)” from 1949, lived up to its promises. The canvas was sold for 20.7 million euros with fees on Friday in Paris, setting a record for a work by this master of Spanish painting in France, announced the auction house Christie’s.
Since its acquisition in the Maeght gallery in 1950, the iconic painting by Joan Miró (1893-1983) has remained at the Colombe d’Or, a legendary inn near Saint-Paul-de-Vence, near Cannes. “Paul Roux’s passion for painting is at the origin of what is now one of the most desirable 20th century art collections,” notes Christie’s. “His heirs have continued to enrich it, thus preserving the spirit of a place shaped by art and friendships woven through the stays of its guests. The incredible list of artists and celebrities who are featured in the guestbook has helped make the Colombe d’Or a masterpiece and an institution in itself.” And to conclude: “The sale on October 20 will ensure its sustainability and preservation.”
Another record was broken with a work by French sculptor François-Xavier Lalanne. “Le Rhinocrétaire I” (1964) was sold for 18.3 million euros with fees, a world record for him, during another evening sale dedicated to this artist only. The sculpture was estimated between 4 and 6 million euros!
“The Rhinocrétaire I,” a manifesto work by François-Xavier Lalanne, comes from the collection of gallery owner Jeanine Restany, the very first to present the work of the couple Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne at the Zoophites exhibition in 1964. Preserved away from prying eyes since its creation, the animal was exhibited in 2010 at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, during a retrospective dedicated to the two sculptors with their unusual universe. The work offered for sale precedes “Le Rhinocrétaire II,” dated 1966, preserved in the museum’s collections.
According to Christie’s, these paintings and sculptures are the most expensive works sold in France in 2023 in this art sector. The total sales of the evening sale on European avant-gardes, with the Miró as the flagship lot, reached 62.1 million euros. Christie’s Paris presented three evening sales, with 17 lots sold for over one million euros, including two sold for over 15 million euros.
