Painting by French ‘master of black’ sets new world record


PTI, Nov 28, 2019, 5:25 PM IST

Paris: A canvas by the French artist Pierre Soulages has sold for $10.5 million, a new world record for the “painter of black” who is about to celebrate his 100th birthday.

The work from 1960 of thick black stripes went for 9.6 million euros at an auction in Paris just days before the Louvre opens a huge retrospective celebrating Soulages’ long career.

The prolific veteran, who turns 100 on Christmas Eve, and who is still painting, took the radical decision to paint almost entirely in black in the late 1970s.
Called “the world’s greatest living artist” by former French president Francois Hollande, Soulages told AFP earlier this year that if he was not 100 percent happy with a painting “I burn the canvas outside. If it is mediocre, it goes,” he added.
The painting sold by the Tajan auction house had been estimated to go for up to six million.

But after a bidding battle that also involved Asian and American collectors, the work “will finally be added to a European collection”, said Julie Ralli of Tajan.

Originally bought by James Johnson Sweeney, a former curator at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and later director of the Guggenheim, it had stayed in his family since.

Sweeney’s meeting with Soulages in 1948 was key to the artist’s work being recognized in the US.

The Soulages show opens at the Louvre on December 11 and will run until March.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Karnataka CM directs officials to submit proposal for gold chariot for Goddess Chamundeshwari

IPL Auction 2025 | GT buy Washington Sundar for Rs 3.20 crore; Shaw, Shardul go unsold

Virat Kohli doesn’t need our support, but we need the support of Kohli: Bumrah

INDIA bloc seeking JPC probe into Adani ‘scam’, govt scared of debate: Congress after LS, RS adjourned

Burglars decamp with cash Rs 1 crore, 300 gold sovereigns from house in Kerala

Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls

Perth Test: Bumrah leads India to its biggest Test win on Australian soil

Related Articles More

COP29: India rejects new USD 300 billion climate finance deal

Royal tour of India in offing for King Charles, Queen Camilla: Report

Indian-American leaders applaud PM Modi for inclusive growth in India

COP29: Civil society protests climate finance proposal, calls for ‘no deal’ over ‘bad deal’

Bomb disposal squad tackles ‘security incident’ at UK’s Gatwick Airport

MUST WATCH

Coconut Flower

Prakash Belawadi

Naxal Leader Vikram Gowda

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar


Latest Additions

Need to link co-op movement with circular economy: PM Modi

Karnataka CM directs officials to submit proposal for gold chariot for Goddess Chamundeshwari

RSS mouthpiece Organiser had attacked Constitution: Jairam Ramesh

Cheetah Neerva gives birth to cubs in MP’s Kuno National Park

Sensex reclaims 80k mark; Nifty surges over 1% after BJP-led Mahayuti’s win in Maharashtra

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.