Mondrian on the Art Market

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Now, that's it. Christie's and Sotheby's announce their difficulties, and begin to reduce their workforce. The art market is in a phase of loss of confidence. For this reason, the important works are kept hidden by the sellers, and buyers are less motivated.

All eyes will be turned to the sale of the Yves Saint-Laurent collection. The sale announced last year does not suffer the effects described above concerning the scarcity of major works. It is organized in Paris from February 23 to 25 by Christie's in cooperation with Pierre Bergé et Associés.

Mondrian is one of the benchmarks in the market. His abstract technique, rigorous and thorough, is repetitive, even though the position of horizontal and vertical lines and of colored boxes is always different.

The oil on canvas from the collection Saint-Laurent, 80 x 50 cm, painted in 1922, is simple, as the market likes them. The space is divided into four parts: the top has three boxes including a blue one and a very thin red stripe, a narrow stripe on the right goes down in two boxes in turn yellow and black, two cases in the lower left repeat the pattern of the top, and a wide empty box holds the dominant center of the canvas to the left edge.

The influence of this work on the wall bookcases of Perriand is obvious.

The estimate of this painting is € 8 million, making it one of the most expensive works by Mondrian at auction. This expectation is due to the extreme clarity of its composition. It is not comparable with the 1941 painting sold for $ 21 million including expenses by Sotheby's in 2004, a more original design where lines were the only highlights of the composition, with a large empty middle creating the haunting look of the picture.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

I regarded this Mondrian as a benchmark of the health of the art market. If I was right, we can conclude now that the art market is going fantastically well: € 21.5 million including premium.

The sale of the Saint-Laurent collection was announced just before the art market was beginning to doubt of itself. This sale of modern art, and particularly this Mondrian painting, masterfully demonstrate that the vendors, and not the buyers, have a loss of confidence in the market.