VIRTUAL TOUR: IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART EVENING SALE AND THE ART OF THE SURREAL

Enjoy the pre-sale exhibition of works by Monet, Degas, Picasso, Magritte and more, which are offered on 27 February as Christie’s London presents two exceptional auctions for 20th Century Week

The Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale  features works by the giants of period, including exquisite Monet and Kandinsky landscapes, Picasso portraiture and a collection of landmark abstractions by Braque, Picabia, Schwitters. Highlights from The Art of the Surreal  auction include paintings by Magritte, Miró, de Chirico and Delvaux.

Leading the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale  is Picasso’s masterpiece Mousquetaire et nu assis (1967), a key painting from the artist’s late phase. Painted with gestural, lavish brushstrokes, it is among the first of the triumphant musketeers that appeared in Picasso’s art in 1967. This iconic figure is accompanied by a sensuous, seated nude — unmistakably Jacqueline, the artist’s final, great love, muse and wife, whose presence permeated every female figure in this final chapter of his life.

Elsewhere in the sale, Degas’s Dans les coulisses (In the wings) (1882–85) exemplifies the artist’s unique abilities as an astute observer of modern life. This arresting pastel plunges the viewer into the very heart of the Paris Opéra, beyond the gaze of the audience to the shadowy wings of the stage, where a young singer stands moments away from her grand entrance, joined by a male companion.

These and other works from both sales are on view at King Street until 26 February. 

https://www.christies.com/features/Virtual-Tour-Impressionist-and-Modern-Art-sales-February-2018-8900-1.aspx?sc_lang=en&cid=EM_EMLcontent04144A23recommended_2_0&cid=DM163989&bid=123560871