This year, the fourth edition of Avant-Garde(s) Including Thinking Italian pays tribute to leading figures of 20th- and 21st-century art, including Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Nicolas de Staël and Pierre Soulages.
The highlight both the sale and the season is Yves Klein’s largest monochrome, California (IKB 71), painted in 1961 and appearing at auction for the first time. This monumental canvas, measuring over four meters in length epitomizes the artist’s radical creativity and holds a preeminent place among Klein’s works ever to come to market. Another major highlight is a recently rediscovered lifetime cast of a Femme debout by Alberto Giacometti. At the heart of the auction, the Thinking Italian section showcases outstanding works from the Italian artistic landscape of the 20th and 21st centuries, ranging from Alighiero Boetti’s conceptual embroideries to Mario Schifano’s Pop influences, and culminating in a rare and iconic work by Jannis Kounellis.
- California, (IKB 71) by Yves Klein (Estimate on demand) (Find out more)
The most monumental monochrome by Yves Klein still in private hands, this exceptionally important work has never been offered at auction until now. Its sale is a major event on the European market, both in terms of its rarity and its historical impact.
- Peinture 165 x 130 cm, 7 avril 1960 by Pierre Soulages (€2-3M)
One of the most important pieces of the prestigious Max and Cécile Draime collection, this painting by Pierre Soulages was exhibited at the Butler Institute of American Art. A key institution in the history of art in the United States, the Butler Institute of American Art has been particularly committed to preserving a monumental ceramic-tile mural by the great French master. Céramique 14 Mai 1968, was saved at the behest of Max and Cécile Draime.
- Other highlights of the sale include: Fiesole by Nicolas de Staël (€1-1.5M) from the former collection of Paul Rosenberg; Deep Blue by Sam Francis (€0.7-1M) purchased directly from the artist by Amélie Matisse; Untitled by Joan Mitchell (€0.7-1M) from an American private collection. Lastly an Étude by Simon Hantaï (€0.6-0.8M) and Vierge aux fleurs by Odilon Redon (€0.7-1M), both from the same French collection.
The particularly rich Impressionist and Modern Art section includes such iconic works as:
- Femme debout by Alberto Giacometti, an exceptional rediscovery. This work comes from a private Parisian collection, where it has been carefully preserved for more than 50 years. This rare work is known only through another edition held by the Fondation Alberto Giacometti, highlighting its historical and artistic importance (€5-7M).
- Other highlights of the sale include: a beautiful marble sculpture by Jean Hans Arp Urpuppe (or Pre-Adamite Doll) from the MoMA in New York, which will be sold to benefit the museum's acquisition fund; a 1943 composition by André Masson, La Belle Italienne paying tribute to the creativity of the Surrealist artist (€0.6-0.8M); a very touching and spontaneous portrait of Marguerite Matisse painted by her father Henri Matisse at the very beginning of the 20th century, recently exhibited at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris during the 2025 exhibition Matisse et Marguerite, Le regard d'un père (€0.5–0.8M); Julie Manet à la perruche by Berthe Morisot (€0.8-1.2M) and Jeune fille au chapeau de paille by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (€1-1.5M).
Another highlight, the Thinking Italian section of the sale will present a new selection of major works by Alighiero Boetti, Lucio Fontana, Mario Schifano, Maurizio Cattelan, Giovanni Anselmo, and Jannis Kounellis – including Sans titre, an exceptional work from 1959. Part of his most iconic and sought-after series, this rare work was exhibited at the PAC retrospective in Milan in 1992. Equivalent pieces are held in the permanent collections of the MoMA, Tate, Centre Pompidou, and GNAM in Rome. Kept in the same collection for more than 40 years, it embodies the dialogue between Italian art and major international institutions (€1-1.5M).
At the center of the Thinking Italian section, collector will find five works from the renowned Alessandro Grassi collection, ten of which will be sold this fall in London, Paris, and New York after being exhibited in Turin, Rome and Milan. The sale will also include a unique set of 30 multicolored Arazzi by Alighiero Boetti, a selection of Tagli by Lucio Fontana, tributes to Arnaldo Pomodoro and Fausto Melotti, historical pieces by Giovanni Anselmo and a rare futuristic drawing by Giacomo Balla (1912). Untitled (Zorro) by Maurizio Cattelan, exhibited at the Guggenheim in 2011, will conclude the section with a contemporary nod.
BERTHE MORISOT (1841-1895)
Julie Manet à la perruche
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841-1919)
Jeune Fille au chapeau de paille
JEAN DUBUFFET (1901-1985)
Site domestique (au fusil espadon) avec tête d'inca et petit fauteuil à droite
CHARLOTTE PERRIAND (1903-1999)
Bibliothèque 'Mexique', crée pour les
NICOLAS DE STAËL (1914-1955)
Fiesole
SAM FRANCIS (1923-1994)
Deep Blue
PIERRE SOULAGES (1919-2022)
Peinture 165 x 130 cm, 7 avril 1960
ALBERTO GIACOMETTI (1901-1966)
Femme debout
JOAN MITCHELL (1925-1992)
Sans titre
ALIGHIERO BOETTI (1940-1994) ET MIMMO PALADINO (NÉ EN 1948)
Sans titre
MARIO SCHIFANO (1934-1998)
Grande quadro equestre italiano
