Online Magazine No.314

Koons in aid of Ukraine, The Hellier Stradivarius, Lucas Cranach, Basquiat’s self-portraits, Marlene Dumas, Rembrandt’s Three Crosses, and more | [View in browser]( [Christie's]( [BUY]( [SELL]( [STORIES]( [Christie's] [‘Art’s true value is in its service to humanity’: Koons on the sale of a Balloon Monkey to aid Ukraine]( [‘It’s a huge privilege to play an instrument that is so special’: the Hellier Stradivarius, from 1679]( ‘ [‘Ultimately, it’s the fearlessness’: curator Dieter Buchhart on the power of Basquiat’s self-portraits]( [‘There are so many different layers of meaning’ — decoding Cranach’s Nymph of the Spring]( [Why Rembrandt’s The Three Crosses represents ‘a key point in the history of the graphic arts’]( [‘I use every trick to get your attention’: how Marlene Dumas makes us ponder sex and death]( [More stories]( Editor’s picks [Picasso’s biographer, John Richardson, called the period from 1933 to 1943 ‘The Minotaur Years’. The mythical man/bull became a potent alter ego for the artist, and Blind Minotaur’s Head, a drawing from 1934, expresses the anguish of its dual nature, torn between instinct and reason]( [Estimate: £500,000-800,000 28 June, London]( [The Swiss artist Félix Vallotton was on honeymoon when he painted Bathing at Etretat, in 1899. The resort was a magnet for painters, featuring in the work of Courbet and Monet. Here, the broad sweep of human emotion, from placidity to panic, is presented in a cast of 20 figures]( [Estimate: £250,000-350,000 29 June, London]( [This silver decanter stand, dating from 1883, overflows with Victorian exuberance. It rests on three feet in the form of seated wild boar, with putti and lambs frolicking on the circular base, vines holding the decanters in place and, to top it all, the figure of Silenus astride a wine barrel]( [Estimate: €12,000-18,000 30 June, Paris]( [An air of suspense permeates Caroline Walker’s 2014 work, Clearing. Painted on a grand scale, it depicts an area of open ground in a dark forest, with a statue half hidden to the right. There is an uneasy sense that something is about to happen — or that we are being watched]( [Estimate: £20,000-30,000 until 5 July, Online](   © [Christie’s 2022]( [Web version]( | [Privacy policy]( | [Unsubscribe from Online Magazine]( Jeff Koons (b. 1955), Balloon Monkey (Magenta), 2006-13. Mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent colour coating. This work is the artist’s proof and one of five unique versions (Red, Magenta, Blue, Yellow, Orange). 150 x 126 x 235 in (381 x 320 x 596.9 cm). Estimate: £6,000,000-10,000,000. Offered in the 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale on 28 June 2022 at Christie’s in London // Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), Untitled (Self Portrait), 1982. Oilstick and ink on paper. 29⅞ x 22 in (75.9 x 55.9 cm). Estimate: £4,000,000-6,000,000. Offered in the 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale on 28 June 2022 at Christie’s in London. Artwork: © The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2022 / Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982. Unique colour Polaroid print. 3¾ x 2⅞ in (9.5 x 7.3 cm). © 2022 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/Licensed by DACS London // Marlene Dumas (b. 1953), Magdalena (Venus/She sells Shells at the Seashore), 1995 (detail). Oil on canvas. 79 x 39½ in (200 x 100 cm). On view in The Art of Literature: Loan and Selling Exhibition, until 15 July 2022 at Christie’s in London. On loan from a private collection. Artwork: © 2022 Marlene Dumas