Christie’s, Russian Art, Results, 6 June 2011. Ilya Repin (1844-1930), A Parisian Café. Courtesy of Christie’s

London, King Street, England - June 6, 2011

Christie’s established a new world auction record for Ilya Repin (1844-1930) by selling his masterpiece, "A Parisian Café" for £4,521,250 ($7,383,201). Price includes buyer's premium.

Ilya Repin (1844-1930), A Parisian Café. Courtesy of Christie’s

This represents also the highest price for any Russian painting offered in a Russian sale by an international auction house.

The bidding started at £1.8 million, and within seconds the room was buzzing as people were waiting in anticipation for further bids to come.

Ilya Repin (1844-1930), A Parisian Café (part of the picture). Courtesy of Christie’s

The piece finally sold to an anonymous bidder on the telephone who bid repeatedly against someone in the room.

This great result underlines Christie’s position as leaders in selling exceptional masterpieces from all around the world.

Ilya Repin (1844-1930), A Parisian Café (part of the picture). Courtesy of Christie’s

Sarah Mansfield, Head of the Russian Art department:
“Created in the turbulent centre of artistic innovation, that was Paris in the late 19th century, Ilya Repin’s epic painting “A Parisian Café” is a masterpiece of the period, revealing both the influence of Western art on the Russian artist and Repin’s status as a trailblazing pioneer. This attracted interest from around the world and Christie’s showcased with this picture its ability to research, estimate and sell masterpieces of such uniqueness.”

Ilya Repin (1844-1930), A Parisian Café (part of the picture). Courtesy of Christie’s

Painted in Paris in 1875, this monumental canvas, arguably the most important work by the artist attracted a lot of interest in Moscow and Paris, where it was exhibited prior to the auction.

The fact that it has remained in a distinguished private collection since 1916 added to its importance.

Ilya Repin (1844-1930), A Parisian Café (part of the picture). Courtesy of Christie’s

Nearly 80 exquisite preparatory sketches and studies for Repin’s seminal work were also sold alongside the painting and achieved a stunning £253,250, establishing a new world auction record for any drawing by Ilya Repin.

All other individual sketches sold between 100,000 and 11,000.

A Parisian Café

A unique canvas in Repin’s work, A Parisian Café is quite atypical of his celebrated Russian subjects and marks a critical turning point in the then young artist’s burgeoning career.

Ilya Repin (1844-1930), A Parisian Café (part of the picture). Courtesy of Christie’s

Painted during Repin’s stint as an student in Paris 1873-76, and exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1875, this was a time of creative consternation for the young Repin, faced with the artistic wonders of Europe and the cosmopolitan lifestyle of the French capital.

The finished work, exhibited in Paris in April-May 1875 under the title «Un café du boulevard», provoked a heated exchange with his prime mentors, Vladimir Stasov and Ivan Kramskoi, with Repin defending his right to artistic independence

Certainly, looking at both the subject and the richly painterly treatment of A Parisian Café, parallels can be drawn between Repin and the Impressionists and to their pioneer Edouard Manet in particular.

Ilya Repin (1844-1930), A Parisian Café (part of the picture). Courtesy of Christie’s

A Parisian Café in fact prefigures many of the group compositions showing people socialising at bars and cafés that would become such an icon of Impressionism, for instance Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Le Moulin de la Galette of 1876 – executed the year after A Parisian Café had been shown at the Salon - as well as his Déjeuner des canotiers of 1881 or Manet's Un bar aux Folies Bergères from the following year.

Ilya Repin (1844-1930), A Parisian Café. Courtesy of Christie’s

Lot Description

Ilya Repin (1844-1930)
A Parisian Café
signed in Cyrillic, inscribed in Russian and dated 'I. Repin/in Paris/1875' (lower right), further signed 'E. Répine' (lower right)
oil on canvas
47½ x 75½ in. (120.6 x 191.8 cm.)
Painted in 1875

About Christie’s

Christie’s, the world's leading art business had global auction and private sales in 2010 that totaled £3.3 billion/$5.0 billion.

Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and expertise, as well as international glamour.

Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's conducted the greatest auctions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and today remains a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful.

Christie’s offers over 450 sales annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectibles, wine, and more.

Prices range from $200 to over $100 million.

Christie’s has 53 offices in 32 countries and 10 salerooms around the world including in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai and Hong Kong.

More recently, Christie’s has led the market with expanded initiatives in emerging and new markets such as Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, Mumbai and Dubai.

Contacts

Alexandra Kindermann
Senior European PR Manager
akindermann@christies.com  
Tel: +44 (0)20 7389 2289


Source: Christie’s

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