Becoming the most expensive artwork in European auction history, worth 786 million yuan! Austrian painter's Chinese style masterpiece "The Woman Holding a Fan" auctioned off by Gustav Klimt | Price | The Woman Holding a Fan
According to reports from the Associated Press and Forbes, the late works of Austrian national treasure artist Gustav Klimt were sold for £ 85.3 million in London on the 27th local time, becoming the most expensive art piece ever auctioned off in Europe.
Auction display
This painting, titled "Dame mit F ä cher" ("The Woman with a Fan"), was auctioned off at Sotheby's in London after 10 minutes of bidding. The final figure includes the selling price and buyer's commission. In terms of selling price alone, it also far exceeds the pre-sale estimate of £ 65 million.
According to Reuters, "The Woman with a Fan" has set a new record for the highest art auction prices in Europe. This record was previously created by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti's sculpture "The Walking Man" in 2010, when the sculpture was sold for £ 65 million.
Auction site
Klimt is known for his bold and daring Art Nouveau style of painting, and is a key figure in modernist art in the early 20th century. "The Woman with a Fan" was Gustav Klimt's last portrait created before his death in 1918, and at the time of his death, it was even on his easel.
Gustav Klimt
This painting depicts an unidentified woman with a magnificent Chinese style dragon and lotus in the background. The flattering treatment of the woman's attire and background in the painting seems to have evolved from Japanese ukiyo-e beauty paintings. Luxurious and elegant kimonos or Chinese robes are common attire in his works.
Sotheby's stated that the buyer is Patti Wong, an art consultant representing a Hong Kong collector.
The world auction record for artworks is that Leonardo da Vinci's "The Savior" was sold for $450.3 million in 2017.