Rencontre multicolore avec le peintre pour le concert by Marc Chagall
On Tuesday, April 11th, Christie’s Paris held an online sale entitled Chagall et la Musique, or Chagall and Music. The works came directly from Marc Chagall’s estate, all of which feature musical instruments or were inspired by pieces of music. Music and musical instruments were common themes and subjects in Chagall’s work, among the best-known are The Green Violinist and The Bride. With only 50 lots available, Tuesday’s sale lasted barely an hour, yet it was incredibly impressive because of the results. It seems Christie’s specialists need to get caught up on the market for Chagall works because a majority of the lots sold for more than double their assigned high estimates (w/p = with buyer’s premium).
Only a single lot sold within estimate, Rencontre multicolore avec le peintre pour le concert, a work of gouache, tempura, and ink on paper created in 1974. The piece is everything you expect from a work by Marc Chagall, with bright pastel blues, greens, and reds, somewhat floating human figures, and a little bit of Jewish symbolism with a four-winged angel holding a menorah. Christie’s specialists estimated Rencontre to sell between €200K and €300K, with the hammer coming down at €280K / $305.57K (or €352.8K / $385K w/p). The lot that came right after it achieved the same hammer price: Violoncelliste rouge et bouc jaune dans un ciel sombre. It is a work of gouache, pastel, and ink on paper created in 1981, and by reaching a €280K hammer price, it exceeded its €180K high estimate by about 56%.
Violoncelliste rouge et bouc jaune dans un ciel sombre by Marc Chagall
Neither of these works became the top lot of the sale. That designation goes to Orphée, Maquette définitive pour la Mosaïque de la maison John Neff. This is another work on paper, but has an incredibly varied selection of media, including gouache, tempera, ink, pastel, pencil, and a collage of fabrics. Orphée was one of the larger works available on Tuesday, measuring about 29.5 by 54 inches and had an initial high estimate of €250K, which it easily surpassed, selling for €300K / $327.4K (or €378K / $412.5K w/p).
Orphée, Maquette définitive pour la Mosaïque de la maison John Neff by Marc Chagall
While the top lots were impressive, the most remarkable thing about this sale was that forty-nine of the fifty available lots, or about 98%, sold for over their pre-sale estimates. Thirty-four lots (68%) sold for more than double their high estimates, with seven lots (14%) selling for over five times. The sale’s very first lot was the biggest bang: an ink and pencil drawing entitled Ange violoniste pour les programme de concert, created in 1938 and measuring just barely 18 by 11.5 inches. The winged violinist holding a small bouquet was only estimated to sell for between €2K and €3K, but blew all expectations away when online bitters kept the war going and going until it finally sold for €45K / $49.1K (or €56.7K / $61.88K w/p), or about fifteen times the high estimate. The original high pre-sale estimate of €2.29M got blown away, reaching €4.26M / $4.25M, or around 86% higher than what Christie’s specialists had predicted.
Christie’s Paris Chagall Et La Musique
Rencontre multicolore avec le peintre pour le concert by Marc Chagall
On Tuesday, April 11th, Christie’s Paris held an online sale entitled Chagall et la Musique, or Chagall and Music. The works came directly from Marc Chagall’s estate, all of which feature musical instruments or were inspired by pieces of music. Music and musical instruments were common themes and subjects in Chagall’s work, among the best-known are The Green Violinist and The Bride. With only 50 lots available, Tuesday’s sale lasted barely an hour, yet it was incredibly impressive because of the results. It seems Christie’s specialists need to get caught up on the market for Chagall works because a majority of the lots sold for more than double their assigned high estimates (w/p = with buyer’s premium).
Only a single lot sold within estimate, Rencontre multicolore avec le peintre pour le concert, a work of gouache, tempura, and ink on paper created in 1974. The piece is everything you expect from a work by Marc Chagall, with bright pastel blues, greens, and reds, somewhat floating human figures, and a little bit of Jewish symbolism with a four-winged angel holding a menorah. Christie’s specialists estimated Rencontre to sell between €200K and €300K, with the hammer coming down at €280K / $305.57K (or €352.8K / $385K w/p). The lot that came right after it achieved the same hammer price: Violoncelliste rouge et bouc jaune dans un ciel sombre. It is a work of gouache, pastel, and ink on paper created in 1981, and by reaching a €280K hammer price, it exceeded its €180K high estimate by about 56%.
Violoncelliste rouge et bouc jaune dans un ciel sombre by Marc Chagall
Neither of these works became the top lot of the sale. That designation goes to Orphée, Maquette définitive pour la Mosaïque de la maison John Neff. This is another work on paper, but has an incredibly varied selection of media, including gouache, tempera, ink, pastel, pencil, and a collage of fabrics. Orphée was one of the larger works available on Tuesday, measuring about 29.5 by 54 inches and had an initial high estimate of €250K, which it easily surpassed, selling for €300K / $327.4K (or €378K / $412.5K w/p).
Orphée, Maquette définitive pour la Mosaïque de la maison John Neff by Marc Chagall
While the top lots were impressive, the most remarkable thing about this sale was that forty-nine of the fifty available lots, or about 98%, sold for over their pre-sale estimates. Thirty-four lots (68%) sold for more than double their high estimates, with seven lots (14%) selling for over five times. The sale’s very first lot was the biggest bang: an ink and pencil drawing entitled Ange violoniste pour les programme de concert, created in 1938 and measuring just barely 18 by 11.5 inches. The winged violinist holding a small bouquet was only estimated to sell for between €2K and €3K, but blew all expectations away when online bitters kept the war going and going until it finally sold for €45K / $49.1K (or €56.7K / $61.88K w/p), or about fifteen times the high estimate. The original high pre-sale estimate of €2.29M got blown away, reaching €4.26M / $4.25M, or around 86% higher than what Christie’s specialists had predicted.