Dorotheum's Classic Week successfully concluded just a month ago. Now, the next highly anticipated event is approaching: Contemporary Week at Vienna's renowned auction house—a highlight of the spring season.
The auction series will begin on May 20 at 6 p.m. with a collection of modern art, featuring approximately 150 lots from celebrated artists such as Gustav Klimt, Carl Moll, Alfons Walde, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Giorgio de Chirico.
Egon Schiele is represented with three works, among which Female Nude Leaning on Her Arm, a rare watercolor from 1912, is particularly noteworthy. The model—likely Schiele's muse, Wally Neuzil—strikes an unconventional pose. Presumably seated sideways on the floor, her legs are bent, her head leans forward, and her supporting arm is only partially visible, while her other hand rests subtly on her feet. Schiele captured the composition from an elevated perspective, lending the piece its distinctive viewpoint.
Picasso once remarked that an angel must have lived in Marc Chagall's head for him to create such dreamlike imagery. Indeed, Chagall's poetic work is filled with recurring symbols, beautifully exemplified in Le retour au village devant le bouquet. The piece likely alludes to Chagall's enduring longing for his hometown of Vitebsk, now part of Belarus. The scene features a man and woman set against a village backdrop, surrounded by flowers, a bird, and a goat—symbols of love, freedom, and idyllic life in Chagall's universe.
The following evening at 6 p.m., the event continues with “Contemporary Art I,” a live auction that will be complemented by the online auction “Contemporary Art II” on May 22.
The first standout among the contemporary works takes us back to early-1980s Miami, where Christo and Jeanne-Claude spent three years realizing a project unveiled on May 7, 1983: Surrounded Islands in Biscayne Bay, situated between Miami and Miami Beach. The visionary duo encircled eleven islands with pink fabric, creating one of their most spectacular and poetic installations. Christo and Jeanne-Claude worked closely with civil engineers and zoologists to account for environmental considerations, making this project a true testament to their commitment and artistry.
“These are basically my most beautiful paintings,” Maria Lassnig once said of her line paintings from the 1960s, which express her deep sense of body awareness with just a few strokes. At Dorotheum, an early work from this formative period, titled both Self-Portrait with Angel and Little Harlequin, will be up for auction.
Movement is a central theme in kinetic and optical art. It can be the natural or guided movement of the object itself or the shifting perspective of the viewer that alters the visual experience. One of the most prominent figures of these interlinked movements was Venezuelan artist Jesús Rafael Soto, who lived and worked in Paris from 1950 onward. His work, Circulo Plata (“Silver Circle”), is a masterful composition of fine lines that create a surprising illusion of depth.
The Italian avant-garde is also well represented, with notable works by Carla Accardi, Emilio Vedova, and Piero Dorazio. Dorazio's 1962 Untitled piece is particularly striking, playing with perception to evoke a sense of three-dimensionality. His blend of austerity and poetic abstraction solidified his reputation as one of Italy's foremost artists of the late 20th century.
Additional highlights of the contemporary art auctions include works by François Morellet, Fernando Botero, Arnulf Rainer, and Serge Poliakoff.
The week of auctions will be rounded out with “Important Jewels” (May 22, 1 p.m.), “Wristwatches and Pocket Watches” (May 23, 1 p.m.), and the online auction “Editions,” concluding Contemporary Week on June 5 with works by Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Paul Klee, and others.
The Contemporary Week auctions will take place at Palais Dorotheum, Dorotheergasse 17, Vienna. Previews are available starting May 10 (“Editions” from May 31).
