Gazette Drouot - C apencheres

AUCTION RESULTS THE MAGAZINE
Fontana, Manzoni, highly-rated Italian artists
This sale of 33 lots was fascinating as a yardstick
of how well Italian artists are doing. It is clear
that creators from Italy are standing up well to
the recession, and are maintaining a more
than honourable position among their peers
from other countries. In fact, the sale provided several
confirmations, with Piero Manzoni and Lucio Fontana
once more emerging as the winners in the confrontation.
Manzoni's "Achrome", a 1959 relief on canvas, practically
doubled its low estimate when it went for £4.01M, and of
the six Fontanas on offer, only one found no takers. Others
sold for £265,250 (a 1960 painting pierced with holes 50 x
60.2 cm) and £1.88M (a 1964 painting with one slash on a
brown-striped pink background, 100 x 73 cm). Another
painting of 1961, with a single slash on a gold background
highlighted with pieces of glass, sold for £1.55M, just
above its low estimate. The Chiricos achieved success in
proportion to their age as a gouache dating from 1926
trebled expectations by achieving £289,250, while a 1960
painting, "Piazza d’Italia", did not exceed £169,250 (within
the predicted range). A fine "Still Life" by Giorgio Morandi
USEFUL INFO
£1,889,250 Lucio Fontana (1899 - 1968), "Concetto spaziale,
Attesa", 1964, waterpaint and oil on canvas, 100 x 73 cm.
Where ? London
went for £881,250, while a somewhat weakly sketched
"Landscape" bearing his signature remained unsold. Sculp-
When ? 12 October
tures also received a warm welcome, including an elegant
Who ? Sotheby's
construction by Fausto Melotti in nickel-plated iron
(£55,250), "Il dinosauro che emerge", a wooden sculpture
How much ? £15,569,650
covered in painted canvas by Pino Pascali (£634,850),
"Nesso", a mixed media by Giulio Paolini (£253,250) and a
sphere by Arnaldo Pomodoro (£421,250 went to this 1995
bronze, one of an edition of nine). Xavier Narbaïts
N° 19 I GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL
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