Picasso’s “Luncheon on the Grass” & “Fruits from Provence” fetched 64 million yuan at a Haikou international art exhibition and auction with the theme of Haikou meets Picasso held Dec 24th – 26th, 2018.
The works by the Spanish painter, titled “Luncheon on the Grass” and “Fruits from Provence,” were auctioned for 34 million yuan ($4.9 million) and 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) respectively.
For more than two years, from August, 1959, to September, 1961, Picasso worked on this series of paintings, “Luncheon on the Grass” which consists of twenty-seven paintings and numerous drawings.
“Soft, romantic pastel hues decorate the glistening white earthenware clay” Pablo Picasso ceramic, “Fruits from Provence”, 1948.
Picasso experimented with a large variety of ceramic forms during his career – from plates and bowls, to pitchers, and tripods, he also experimented with making service sets. Generally there is a unifying decorative theme that ties together the service set – in this case it is fruits from Provence.
Jonathan Nash a famed expert on Picasso’s artworks was on hand to deliver a keynote speech at the art salon. Over 200 masterpieces from Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Zao Wou-Ki, a Chinese-French painter, were on display and auctioned.
More than 30 masterpieces by Western artists were shown for the first time in China, with 20 of them placed for auction.