His 1905 work, “Garcon a la pipe”, sold for $104.2 million, a record price to date for one of his works, a significant appreciation of the record price paid in 1987 for “Nu rose”, for $7.6 million. It is also the highest paid work in the history of art, created by Picasso when he arrived at Mont Martre at the age of 24, in what was called his Rose period.
Is this one of Pablo Picasso’s masterpieces, and did it deserve to be the piece auctioned for the most millions of dollars? Does this price reflect the value this work deserves? There are many critics and experts who think that this boy with a pipe in his left hand reached this impressive figure because of the name of the author and the crazy way the market behaves when it comes to art. Or should we refer to the irrationality of the buyer and the extreme to which passion can lead him? Could it be a reflection of how emotional our way of making decisions is, and how little rational it always turns out to be in the end? Picasso is a lovemark in art and his brand continues to grow in fame, admiration and passion. No wonder it drives extraordinarily wealthy and intelligent people to pay figures for it? beyond reason.
“Picasso was the greatest painter of the last century and his market is supported by a prolific body of work produced in many styles, stages and dimensions. There is something of Picasso for every taste, from the classical to the most daring and avant garde,” says Andrea Caratsch, an art expert in Geneva. Lately, however, the market is paying better for Picasso’s final works, the expressionist paintings of the 1960s and 1970s. Best of all, there are still many works from this period available and to be auctioned in the world’s markets. Robert Rosemblum refers to Picasso’s oeuvre as an archaeological site under constant excavation, where new layers of meaning continue to be added to his astonishing array of extraordinary works.
It is no wonder then that Picasso continues to make headlines in hundreds of publications around the world each year, and that this raging bull of art continues to be rediscovered. To explore his life and work, his genius and his passion, A Life of Picasso, by John Richardson, is an excellent gateway to his talent and legacy.