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Sotheby’s London

EROTIC: PASSION & DESIRE

Sotheby’s London

A Roman Marble Group of Two Lovers, circa 1st/2nd Century A.D. (est. £180,000-220,000) Marble sculptures depicting human couples engaged in lovemaking appear rarely in Roman art, and this work is one of only four known examples. A Roman Marble Torso of Pan, circa 2nd Century A.D. (est. £40,000-60,000) The ithyphallic sculpture of goat-legged shepherd deity Pan with his hands bound alludes to a mythological episode in which the Nymphs unite to punish him for his unwanted advances. Of two other known Roman marble replicas of this type, one is on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

CONTEMPORARY
Marc Quinn, Maquette for Siren, 2008 (est. £70,000-90,000) “It’s called Siren, because in a sense it represents everything that lures people to wreck themselves on the rocks: money, perfection, unattainable images – all these things." Marc Quinn’s depiction of supermodel Kate Moss is of the definitive contemporary Venus - the epitome of luxury and desirability elevated to the status of a goddess from antiquity. The series is one of the most recognisable examples of contemporary British sculpture, and is emblematic of the status of celebrities and supermodels.

Antony Gormley, Pole II, 2012 (est. £280,000-450,000) Gormley is one of the best known and most critically acclaimed artists working in Britain today. His sculptures focus on the dynamic relationship between the human body and the space it inhabits, probing wider concerns about our place within nature and the universe. In the complex interrelation between the blocks that comprise Pole II, the artist also turns the gaze inwards, exploring and exposing the body as a ‘place’ within its own right: the site for the self. Throughout his wide-ranging career, Gormley has worked from casts of his own body – literalising the concept of a body as a habitat, a ‘case’ for a human being.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, First, 2003 (est. £60,000-80,000) Lynette Yiadom-Boakye was born in London in 1977 and in recent years has been gained increasing recognition in the art world – shortlisted for the Turner prize in 2013 and celebrated with an exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in 2015. Using sources that are distinctly non-contemporary, her works are entrenched in the history of painting and devices of traditional portraiture - influenced by the likes of Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Walter Sickert. Yet where racial Otherness in the history of western art is largely silent or typecast, Yiadom-Boakye creates a pantheon of entirely fictional and imagined black characters. There is no backstory to her characters, the people in her paintings are all composites made up from different sources such as scrapbooks and drawings – leaving the narratives open-ended. This semi-nude smoulders with vivid red tones, and as with the remainder of her oeuvre the protagonist is unambiguously empowered.

Lucian Freud, Man Posing 11,27, 1985 (est. £15,000-20,000) Lucian Freud, Blond Girl, 1985 (est. £40,000-60,000) Lucian Freud’s highly expressive works were noted for their fullness of form and exacting honesty – exemplifying his contribution to the grand tradition of the nude.

PHOTOGRAPHS
The origins of erotic photography stem from 1839 when the first practical process of photography was presented to the Académie des sciences. Adopted as a new way to depict the nude form, these photographs initially followed the styles and traditions of the art form as at the time the prevailing moral climate meant that the only officially sanctioned photography of the body was for the production of artist's studies. The plethora of photographs in the auction present the progression and range of erotic photography since then, from Araki’s explorations of the power dynamic between photographer and subject and Newton’s towering goddesses.

Helmut Newton, ‘Domestic Nude III: In the Laundry Room at the Château Marmont Hollywood’, 1992 (est. £40,000-60,000) Arguably one of the world’s most influential photographers, Helmut Newton revolutionised fashion photography through his inimitable erotic and provocative poses. Newton’s compositions are classically and subtly constructed in black and white, with a playful and voyeuristic style. He surrounded himself with gorgeous, stylish women, and his arresting images of them demonstrate their strength and potency. While they are often depicted nude or physically restrained, they have an unparalleled dominance. These women are confident, stimulating and in control of their sexuality. Newton may have been behind the camera but these women are in charge. Robert Mapplethorpe, ‘Bow and Arrow’ (Lisa Lyon), 1981 (est. £6,000-8,000) Bow and Arrow by Robert Mapplethorpe, one of the great masters of art photography, is a highly stylised black and white nude that condenses Mapplethorpe’s search for aesthetic perfection.






  • 16.02.2017
    Auktion »
    Sotheby’s Auktionshaus »

    Dates for your diary

    PRE-SALE EXHIBITION
    Saturday 11 February – Wednesday 15 February 2017

    SUNDAY AT SOTHEBY’S
    12 February 2017, 12-5pm

    AUCTION
    16 February 2017
     

Mel Ramos, Tomato Catsup; Tobacco Red; Lola Cola; and A.C. Annie, 1971-72 (est. £5,000-7,000)
Ettore Sottsass, 'Shiva' Vase, designed 1973 (est. £200-300)


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  • Egon Schiele, Akt (Nude), 1917 (est. £180,000-250,000)
    Egon Schiele, Akt (Nude), 1917 (est. £180,000-250,000)
    Sotheby’s Auktionshaus
  • Pablo Picasso, Nu couché, 1972, pencil on paper, 13.6 by 20.3 cm (est. £60,000-80,000)
    Pablo Picasso, Nu couché, 1972, pencil on paper, 13.6 by 20.3 cm (est. £60,000-80,000)
    Sotheby’s Auktionshaus
  • Camille Bombois, Baigneuses surprises (Suprised bathers), 1930 (est. £30,000-40,000)
    Camille Bombois, Baigneuses surprises (Suprised bathers), 1930 (est. £30,000-40,000)
    Sotheby’s Auktionshaus
  • A couple making acrobatic love on a lake, Mewar, North India, circa 18th-century (est. £2,000-3,000)
    A couple making acrobatic love on a lake, Mewar, North India, circa 18th-century (est. £2,000-3,000)
    Sotheby’s Auktionshaus
  • Lucian Freud, Blond Girl, 1985 (est. £40,000-60,000)
    Lucian Freud, Blond Girl, 1985 (est. £40,000-60,000)
    Sotheby’s Auktionshaus
  • Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem and studio, Jupiter disguised as Diana seducing the nymph Callisto (est. £30,000-40,000)
    Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem and studio, Jupiter disguised as Diana seducing the nymph Callisto (est. £30,000-40,000)
    Sotheby’s Auktionshaus
  • Attributed to Reverend Matthew William Peters, Portrait of Miss Mortimer as Hebe (£6,000-8,000)
    Attributed to Reverend Matthew William Peters, Portrait of Miss Mortimer as Hebe (£6,000-8,000)
    Sotheby’s Auktionshaus