Auction: The Sunflowers of Van Gogh diverted by Banksy at Christie’s
On November 9, Christie’s auctioned off the Banksy parody of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Estimated at between 10 and 15 million euros, the table entitled Sunflowers from Petrol Station denounces both the pollution of nature and culture.
Denunciation of the pollution of nature and the canons of art history
Sunflowers from Petrol Station was shown for the first time at the exhibition “Crude Oils: A Gallery of Re-mixed Masterpieces, Vadalism and Vermin”, in Banksy’s second London exhibition. The series of paintings presented diverted 22 masterpieces from the history of art such as the Marilyn of Andy Warhol, where Norma Jeane is replaced by Kate Moss, the Basin with water lilies, harmony green of Claude Monet, where a traffic cone and shopping cart float under the Japanese bridge of Monet’s famous garden in Giverny, or the Glaneuses of Jean-François Millet where one of the figures takes a cigarette break.
In his work, Banksy uses an icon to capture not only his mastery of painting but also his tongue-in-cheek humour to treat universal subjects, explains Katharine Arnold, head of the Post-War and Contemporary Art department at Christie’s. Here, the comic of faded flowers purchased at a gas station becomes a way to highlight our relationship to art and the environment, both of which, he recalls, are fleeting.” Thus, with accuracy and humour, as usual, Banksy subverts institutional veneration around the canon of art history while alerting about the environmental situation: two concerns often at the heart of the artist’s works.
A reference to the historic sale of sunflowers
“What initially attracted me to Banksy was his confidence and his ability to communicate things as they are,” says Paul Smith. “ His political statements are very relevant, profound, courageous and always delivered in a modern way.” In addition to the parody of Van Gogh’s masterpiece and the underlying committed message, the work also refers to the historic sale of Sunflowers (1888) by the Dutch painter to Christie’s in London, acquired by Yasuo Goto for nearly $41 million, at the time the highest price ever for a painting. After the Game Changer (2020) sales record last March, the artist’s tribute to caregivers fighting the Covid-19 pandemic estimated at between 2.5 and 3.5 million pounds and awarded 16.8 million pounds (six times his low estimate). Will Sunflowers from Petrol Station break the latest record? Verdict on 9 November.