Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (Leonardo and His Five Grotesque Heads) is scheduled for Christie’s New York sale on 19 November. Coming from a private European collection, the orange canvas is due for its first public appearance in more than two decades. The estimate is around 30 million dollars.
Christie’s, the auction house, has scheduled Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (Leonardo and His Five Grotesque Heads) for its 21st Century Evening Sale in New York on 19 November. The estimate is around 30 million dollars. The painting comes from a private European collection and is due for its first public appearance in more than two decades.[1], [2]
The square canvas measures approximately 213 centimetres on each side. Basquiat drew on Leonardo da Vinci’s studies of grotesque heads, especially a drawing from around 1493 formerly known as Five Grotesque Heads. He retained the five heads while concentrating on grinning faces and open mouths rather than full bodies. The orange composition includes Muy Fao, a phonetic variation of Spanish words meaning very ugly.[1]
A pink area at the lower right contains the words ALTER EGO, which Christie’s interprets as a reference to Basquiat himself. Ana Maria Celis, the auction house’s head of post-war and contemporary art, describes the artist’s fascination with Leonardo’s drawings from a young age. Her interpretation places his treatment of the grotesque in the setting of 1980s New York. The announced valuation is a presale estimate; bidding has yet to take place.[1]
