It is also the highest amount for a work by an artist from the surrealist movement.
Published on 11/20/2024 10:33
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“The Empire of Enlightenment” by painter René Magritte displayed before its sale at Christie’s in New York (United States), on November 8, 2024. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP)
Empire of lightslogo painting by René Magritte, sold on Tuesday November 19, 2024 at Christie’s in New York for 121 million dollars (114.5 million euros). This is an auction record for the artist.
After about ten minutes of battle at the Rockefeller Center, the work was sold for just $121,160,000 (commissions and taxes included), a record amount for a work from the Surrealist movement, whose centenary has been celebrated this year, which is actually also one of the most expensive paintings in history at auction.
This painting is part of a series of untitled paintings by the Belgian painter (1898-1967) symbolizing the play of light and shadow that he loved so much. It represents the paradoxical image of a house at night, lit only by a street lamp, under a blue sky during the day. The picture inspired the American director William Friedkin for the famous horror film The Exorcist (1973).
It was part of the private collection of Mica Ertegun, an interior designer who fled communist Romania to settle in the United States, where she became an influential figure in the art world. She died at the age of 97 at the end of 2023, she was the wife of Ahmet Ertegun, the music mogul who founded the record company Atlantic Records, who was famous for having “signed” the group Led Zeppelin.
The previous record stood for a work by René Magritte sold at auction for $79 million in 2022, again for a painting from the series Empire of lights.
The sale of this work was expected to be the main event of this week of fall sales in New York, while the art market has slowed down since 2023, after a higher festival than 2022 when which the coronavirus pandemic was released.
Christie’s, an auction company controlled by Artémis, a holding company of the Pinault family, announced sales of $2.1 billion in the first half of 2024, down for the second year in a row after a peak of $4.1 billion a arriving in 2022.
On the same auction evening Tuesday, November 19, photo by Ed Ruscha, General Station, Ten-Cent Western being torn in halfsold for $68,260,000 million, setting a new auction record for this living figure of American pop art (86 years old).
2024-11-20 09:33:00
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What are the common themes found in René Magritte’s works that can be seen in ”The Empire of Lights”?
Interview Questions:
1. What are the key elements of the painting “The Empire of Lights” by René Magritte?
2. How does this painting represent the play of light and shadow that Magritte loved so much?
3. What is the historical significance of this painting in relation to the film “The Exorcist” and the art world?
4. Who were the previous owners of the painting and how did they impact the art world?
5. What role did the coronavirus pandemic play in the art market and how has it affected the sales of Magritte’s works?
6. How does the sale of this painting compare to other Magritte works that have been sold at auction in recent years?
7. Who is Ed Ruscha and what is the significance of his photo that sold for a record-breaking amount?
8. How do you think the auction house, Christie’s, justifies their decision to sell the Magritte painting for such a high price given the current state of the art market?
9. Do you think the price paid for this painting is justified? Why or why not?
10. What is your opinion on the influence of private collectors on the art market and its prices?
