Works by René Magritte will headline forthcoming sales dedicated to Surrealism at Sotheby’s and Christie’s, each scheduled to take place in Paris this week and in early April, respectively.
A work by the Belgian surrealist titled La Leçon de Musique (The Music Lesson), painted as an homage to the Dutch painter Vermeer, will headline Sotheby’s “Surrealism and its Legacy” auction that is scheduled to take place at the house’s Paris outpost on March 15, where it is expected to sell for €2.3 million to €3.5 million ($2.5 million-$3.8 million).
The pink-hued canvas, which shows a human ear affixed to a metal bell suspended over a landscape, has been in the same private Belgian collection since it was last sold at Sotheby’s in London two decades ago.
A Sotheby’s statement described the “juxtaposition of human flesh with everyday objects,” as the painting’s main draw.
Another work by Magritte titled Les grains de beauté, painted in 1965, will be among the highlights offered from a single owner sale of Surrealist work that Christie’s is staging in Paris next month. The work, which depicts a rock-like form breaking apart into pieces, is estimated to sell for €3 million–€5 million ($3.2 million-$5.4 million).
The painting will be offered alongside a group of eight works as part of an auction that Christie’s has titled “Wave of Dreams.” The Paris sale is expected to generate a total of €12 million- €19 million ($12.9 million to $20 million).
Sotheby’s and Christie’s are banking on keeping up the momentum gained from Surrealist-focused sales in London earlier this month, which generated a collective €72 million ($77 million). Other works by Max Ernst, Man Ray, Joan Miró, Francis Picabia, and Yves Tanguey will be offered in the Paris sales.