A monumental painting titled Iris by french impressionist artist Claude Monet sold for 50 million euros ($56 million), including buyer fees, at an auction in Paris on Thursday, setting a record for the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction in France.Measuring 1.60 metres in height and 1.80 metres in width, the painting had remained inside the Paris mansion of the billionaire Schlumberger family and was known publicly only through a black-and-white photograph, according to yahoo.com.According to Thomas Bompard, co-head of Sotheby’s France’s modern and contemporary art department, the artwork was acquired by Jeanne Schlumberger (1889–1983).Before the auction, Sotheby’s had estimated its value at between 22 million and 30 million euros. The auction house described this as the highest estimate ever assigned to a painting being offered at auction in France.Monet created Iris during the later years of his life, adding to the significance of the work.
Other Monet paintings featured in the auction
Three additional paintings by Monet were included in the Sotheby’s sale. Among them was saule pleureur (weeping willow), which carried an estimated price of between 9 million and 12 million euros.The auction coincides with the centenary year of monet’s death on December 5, 1926. His legacy is being commemorated in Paris through two exhibitions, Monet, painting time and stories of landscapes, from monet to hockney.Meanwhile, three paintings by Paul cezanne, designated as national treasures, were withdrawn from the Sotheby’s auction just hours before it began. The decision was taken to facilitate their potential return to the artist’s hometown of aix-en-provence, the auction house said.The withdrawal followed an agreement between the paintings’ current owners and the city of aix-en-provence. With support from France’s culture ministry, the city is exploring the possibility of acquiring the artworks.
Christie’s paris auction generates 41.6 million euros
A separate auction organised by Christie’s in Paris on Thursday featured 26 artworks, including two paintings by Monet.Bord des falaises à pourville sold for 12.7 million euros, while Trois pots de tulipes fetched 3.1 million euros.Other notable sales included pierre-auguste Renoir’s jeunes filles au bord de la mer, which went for 5.8 million euros, and pablo picasso’s nature morte au gruyère, which sold for 3 million euros.Christie’s reported total proceeds of 41.6 million euros, inclusive of buyer fees, from the auction.
