Paris, October 21 (askanews) – A collection of top-notch Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, with an estimated total value of $450 million, is coming to Paris ahead of its November auction at Sotheby's in New York. We're talking about the Blaquier-Arrieta collection, which includes paintings of enormous value, both financially and culturally. "This is a truly unique collection, the likes of which are rarely seen," said Grégoire Billault, director of Sotheby's Contemporary Art division.
Usually, it's quite common to come across a single important painting or a large group of works; here, however, we find something exceptional: a masterpiece by each artist, from each period and created at the height of their creative maturity. Admiring a great Van Gogh is already a rare event, but seeing it alongside a great Cézanne is even more so.
If we then add a great Renoir, the rarity increases further; and with the inclusion of a great Pissarro, the whole thing becomes absolutely unprecedented." If Van Gogh's "Chestnut Blossom" was a painting that had not been seen for decades, what makes the event unique is precisely the collectible dimension of the works, their being brought together, which gives the whole a different and profound aura.
"It is, in a certain sense, a time capsule," Billault added, "a fragment stolen from art history that, in my opinion, perfectly embodies the importance of this movement and explains why it elicits such profoundly moving reactions around the world." Of course, ultimately it's about the market, buyers, and money. But in this case, it's impossible to deny that there's something more.
Askanews