Sotheby’s Tests Private Sales in a Rue de Rivoli Apartment as Limoges Rathaus Burns and Critics Lament Abstract Painting
In a Paris apartment located on Rue de Rivoli, Sotheby’s is displaying artworks worth around $150 million through the event "Chez Sotheby’s," featuring renowned artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Warhol, and Gerhard Richter. This initiative includes a restaurant and bar to enhance the visitor experience. During the preview, six pieces were sold. Project developer Valerio Polimeno highlights the importance of an immersive atmosphere for art. Meanwhile, in Limoges, a 40-year-old left-wing extremist was arrested for arson amid unrest that affected the city hall. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is scheduled to visit Limoges on Friday. Additionally, art schools are participating in protests demanding increased funding due to budget cuts. CNN has reported on former art thief Octave Durham, who raised concerns about a surge in museum break-ins across Europe.
Key facts
- Sotheby’s "Chez Sotheby’s" in a Rue de Rivoli apartment in Paris shows works worth about 150 million dollars, including Picasso, Matisse, Warhol and Gerhard Richter
- Six works were already sold at the preview of the Sotheby’s private sales project
- Valerio Polimeno developed the project with Sotheby’s, which includes a restaurant and bar
- A 40-year-old left-wing extremist known to police was arrested outside Limoges over the arson at the city’s listed city hall
- Limoges has around 130,000 inhabitants; Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is due there on Friday
- Hans-Joachim Müller, writing in Die Welt, says abstract painting has become a global mass product and the art world a "gigantic design industry"
- Art schools in Dunkerque and Tourcoing have joined French student protests; lecturer Jean-Baptiste Carobolante says culture is often the first budget cut
- Octave Durham, who stole two paintings from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in 2002, now works with detective Arthur Brand; expert Ibrahim Balut says break-ins often take under three minutes
Entities
Artists
- Elisa Carollo
- Hans-Joachim Müller
- Octave Durham
- Arthur Brand
- Ibrahim Balut
- Valerio Polimeno
- Jean-Baptiste Carobolante
- Pablo Picasso
- Henri Matisse
- Andy Warhol
- Gerhard Richter
- Vincent van Gogh
- Sébastien Lecornu
Institutions
- Sotheby’s
- Observer
- Die Welt
- CNN
- Van Gogh Museum
- Louvre
- The Art Newspaper
- Le Parisien
- CNews
- RTL
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Rue de Rivoli
- Limoges
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Dunkerque
- Tourcoing
- Europe