The Cavaliere of Marino Marini

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Expressionist sculptor, Marino Marini studied the ambiguous relationship between horse and rider. He devoted most of his work on this subject which he dealt with a remarkable variety.

Here is in 1950 a small rider (Piccolo Cavaliere) 43 cm high. It is a bronze chiselled and painted by the artist in shades of red, yellow and green. The angles are cubist. The beast, right on its four legs, is unseating the man by a proud jerk. Sotheby's estimates this work, fine but small, at 600 K£. The auction takes place in London on October 16.

In the press release, the auction house reminds us that they sold a sculpture of the same artist for $ 7 million charge included in May 2007.

This exceptional bid (alone at such height in the ranking of Marini) was obtained on a unique piece of great size: a polychrome wood 2.16 m high. Here, the man mastered the beast, but the horse, his neck stretched upwards, uttered a scream worth of a character of Guernica.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The result is within the range of estimates: 758 K£ including premium. Considering the small size of the sculpture, this good result rewards the dynamism of the composition.