Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril au Divan Japonais, 1892. Grease pencil and graphite on cardboard. © Christie’s Images Ltd 2024
No one captured the excitement and innovation of the Paris of the Belle Epoque quite like the great chronicler of Montmartre nightlife Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. A key work by the artist – Jane Avril au Divan Japonais – will highlight the culmination of a series of auctions to coincide with Art Basel, Paris at Christie’s on October 18. The Avant Garde including Thinking Italian sale will include a preparatory study for the most famous and best selling lithograph in the world featuring the cancan dancer Jane Avril commissioned by Edouard Fournier for his cabaret of the same name. In the same private collection for 90 years and not seen in public since the artist’s retrospective in 1931 it is estimated at €2.5 million – €3.5 million.
Even as the global focus that has been on Paris in latter weeks is likely to shift elsewhere after the Olympics draw to a close the art world focus on the French capital is pretty permanent.
Another highlight of Christie’s sale is a rediscovery of a Surrealist work by Francis Picabia, a perfect example of his transparency series entitled Myrte (€1 million – €1.5 million). The innovative series is famous for the theatrical superimposition of images which Picabia had already experimented with in his films. Picabia seeks to stimulate the imagination with a surreal interweaving of images inspired by a real life revelation in a cafe in Marseilles and Myrte immerses the viewer into a sensual, hallucinatory dream.
Francis Picabia – Myrte c1928 Pencil, oil, and gouache on panel © Christie’s Images Ltd 2024
