While Milan was buzzing with its Art Week, Christie’s in Paris focused on Italian art. Between April 15th and 16th, the ‘Thinking Italian’ section at the Avenue Matignon auction house saw all 11 lots offered achieve a 100% sell-through rate. The sale, celebrating its 25th anniversary, experienced intense bidding activity with active participation from collectors in the room, on the phone, and online.
“The ‘Thinking Italian’ section, with its 100% sold rate, confirms the effectiveness of our format, which for 25 years has presented the best of 20th-century Italian art on the international stage,” stated Renato Pennisi, International Specialist 20th/21st Century Art. “We are particularly pleased with the strong participation of international collectors in the Italian lots and the new world record established for Ettore Spalletti.”
Spalletti’s 1974 painting, Mobile, sold for €203,200, officially marking a new world auction record for the Italian artist. The sale also performed well for significant works by Mario Schifano, whose View beyond the Hudson River (To Anita Pallenberg) Gigli d’acqua sold online for €571,500, more than double its pre-auction estimate. Emilio Vedova’s ..in continuum, compenetrazioni changed hands for €279,400. The highlight of the ‘Thinking Italian’ event, from a private German collection, was Jannis Kounellis’s Untitled, which fetched €762,000. Additionally, an iconic Piazza d’Italia by Giorgio de Chirico found a buyer for €698,500, significantly exceeding its estimated €150,000-€200,000 forecast.
The ‘Thinking Italian’ sale was part of Christie’s Paris’s 20th/21st Century Art – Evening Sale, itself a key component of the auction house’s week dedicated to modern and contemporary art. This week comprised six auctions, including three from private collections and one online, generating a total of €80,892,328. Notable among these was Claude Lalanne’s La Pomme de New York, which sold for €6,038,000, setting a new world record for the artist.
“These exceptional results demonstrate the success of Christie’s strategy of establishing a highly significant week dedicated to modern and contemporary art, mirroring the events held in New York, London, and Hong Kong,” declared Cécile Verdier, President of Christie’s France.
