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Art Impressionniste et Moderne

On 29 March, Sotheby’s will present a curated group of Impressionist and Modern artworks, including a superb, unique terracotta sculpture by Pablo Picasso from 1950 featuring a full-length portrait of his companion Françoise, her arms crossed in a serene, hieratic pose recalling that of the ancient Greek Korai. Modern Belgian artists will be particularly well represented. The same sense of time standing still can be found in Le partage du pain, Anto Carte’s superb painting of a monumental, sculptural couple in a silent composition imbued with religiosity. Silence and symbolism appear in a highly refined still life by Odilon Redon as well. The auction will also include a selection of high-quality Surrealist art, starting with Giorgio De Chirico’s fascinating Il vaticinatore from his fortune-teller series. A metaphor for the figure of the artist, the fortune-teller, depicted here in the classic pose of a painter in front of his easel, has the same ability to transcend tangible reality and enter other worlds, one of the Surrealism’s favourite themes.