Masterworks by Martin Kippenberger and Jeff Koons from the collection of renowned publisher and art collector, Benedikt Taschen come up at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art evening sale in New York on May 13. Leaders of the New York and Cologne art scenes the controversial and ambitious artists first met in Cologne in 1986, where Taschen’s publishing empire was founded a few years earlier. Through Untitled and Louis XIV, Kippenberger and Koons, who possessed strong mutual respect for one another, were both taking the guise of art history to portray themselves, the first one as the greatest of all 20th century painters, Pablo Picasso; the second, as the royal figure of the ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV.
Jeff Koons (born 1955) – Louis XIV ($10-15 million) © Christie’s Images Limited 2015 UPDATE: THIS MADE $10,805,000
Martin Kippenberger (1953-1997) Untitled ($15-20 million) – © Christie’s Images Limited 2015 UPDATE: THIS MADE $16,405,000
