Yves Klein (1928-1962), Untitled Blue monochrome (IKB 92)

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At Sotheby’s Contemporary art evening auction on February, 10th 2015, Yves Klein, Untitled Blue monochrome (IKB 92) was sold to Neal Meltzer at £6,1M, estimated between £3,6M - £4,6.

It’s a monochrome of an ultramarine pigment of whom Klein’s paintbrush technic is unique. As Klein said, « The painting is not the line, it’s the color », he started to create the conception of monochrome which collapses the dilemme between abstraction and creation. The color’s invasion gives us an intellectual and physical experience through the International Klein Blue which has no limits, a magnetic and immediate power of abstraction. It’s the largest monochrome, 92 by 73cm, made in 1959 and has this particular signature « À Jacques Duchemin avec mon admiration et mon amitié » on the reverse in addition to Klein’s signature. This painting, recorded in the Yves Klein archives under IBK 92, was bought £960,000 during its first evening auction (Lot #30) at Sotheby’s in 2006. Sotheby’s new estimations can be well received by the fact that Blue monochrome by Yves Klein continue to attract demand and the Post-war department is continuously growing.

The good overall market of the artist in 2014 and his 54th raking on Artprice in 2014 give him more liquidity and might have a direct impact on the price of this art work. it marks him as one of the Twentieth Century’s greatest artists. The painting was in a very good position in the catalogue - page 4 with on the top a mention « Property of an important european private collector » - after Francis bacon, Two studies for ‘self-portrait’ on the front page. Internal factors , that is to say descriptive details and condition related to the painting, has to be more review than the external factors: if we consider the lot #28, another blue monochrome painted in 1960, recorded as IKB 241, more smaller was sold at £2,1M and was well estimated by Sotheby’s. As this two paintings went from a prestigious european collector and were in good condition , the special signature on the reverse of the IKB92 and its bigger size are the two main internal factors which were under-estimated by the specialist as it emphases its rarity on the market.

The most expensive artwork of Klein, well estimated by Christie’s during its Post-war and contemporary art evening sale on the May 8th 2012 at New York City, had an hammer price of £22,6M. The subjective description details differ from our analyzed painting as this piece of art, made in 1962, the year of Klein’s heart attack , is much more imposant by both its measurements (114 by 299,5cm) and its importance in exhibitions and literatures. Furthermore, the artwork come from a prestigious person in french art business sector, Pierre Restany. Even if the monochrome is one of the most popular artwork of Klein, it shows that internal factors can really affect the price of Klein’s art pieces.

481words.

Camille Raffenne.

Yves Klein (1928-1962), Untitled Blue monochrome (IKB 241)

Yves Klein (1928-1962), FC1 (Fire Color 1)

Bibliography and sources.

Born in 1928 in south of France, he didn’t first head for an artistic career but started it in 1954 with a book « Yves Peinture », edited in Madrid, it was a catalogue of a unreal retrospective of monochromes as no painting presented was real. Follow this, He painted his first monochrome, Orange Monochrome in 1955, sized 50 by 150cm. It was the only one which has been signed in front of the painting. The artist was looking for the full immaculate color instead of abstrait art. Later on, he introduced other colors as gold or pink but only for a spiritual usage. He also engaged experimental technics as Fire color or Female body paint. He died after a heart attack in 1962.

Untitled Blue monochrome (IKB 92) http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/contemporary-art-evening-auction-l15020/lot.5.html

Untitled Blue monochrome (IKB 241) http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/contemporary-art-evening-auction-l15020/lot.28.html

FC 1 http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5559210

http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/yves-klein-23-c-76b250ae76 http://www.artprice.com/artist/15467/yves-klein/index?idcurrency=48#rank h t t p : / / m e d i a t i o n . c e n t r e p o m p i d o u . f r / P o m p i d o u / P e d a g o g i e . n s f / D o c s /ID4EEC395A4C49A162C12578AB0029B49B/$file/cpmobile_lacouleur_cambrai.pdf http://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2015/02/11/sothebys-shows-market-strength-without-superstars-or-props/