ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Christie’s Paris auction features top Italian art from Manzoni to Fontana

market-auction · 2026-04-26

During Art Basel Paris, Christie’s will hold an auction featuring Italian art from the 20th and 21st centuries in its Avant-Garde(s) Including Thinking Italian session. A preview will take place on October 1 in Milan at Ersel, with the auction scheduled for October 18, 2024. The highlight of the auction is Piero Manzoni’s Achrome (1958–1959), with an estimated value of €2.5–3.5 million. Additional notable pieces include Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale, attese (1968), estimate upon request; a blue Concetto spaziale, attese (1961), valued at €600,000–900,000; Domenico Gnoli’s La robe rouge (1964), estimated at €1–1.5 million; and Mario Schifano’s Insegna 7E-8E (1961), estimated at €600,000–800,000. Works by Giorgio de Chirico and Alighiero Boetti will also be featured.

Key facts

  • Christie’s Avant-Garde(s) Including Thinking Italian auction takes place October 18, 2024 in Paris during Art Basel Paris.
  • Preview in Milan at Ersel in Porta Magenta on October 2 (preview October 1).
  • Top lot: Piero Manzoni’s Achrome (1958–1959), estimated at €2.5–3.5 million.
  • Manzoni’s Achrome is one of only three such works, the others at Centre Pompidou and Walker Art Centre.
  • Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale, attese (1968) has estimate on request; a 1961 version estimated at €600,000–900,000 has never been publicly exhibited.
  • Domenico Gnoli’s La robe rouge (1964), estimated at €1–1.5 million, previously owned by writer Frédéric Dard.
  • Mario Schifano’s Insegna 7E-8E (1961) estimated at €600,000–800,000; Enrico Castellani’s Dittico Nero-argento (1964) at €450,000–750,000.
  • Giorgio de Chirico’s Piazza d’Italia con fontana (1938) at €300,000–500,000 and Il Trovatore (1948) at €350,000–550,000.
  • Arte Povera works by nine artists included, coinciding with exhibition at Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection opening October 9.
  • Alighiero Boetti’s Dama (1967) estimated at €100,000–150,000; four more Boetti works also offered.

Entities

Artists

  • Piero Manzoni
  • Lucio Fontana
  • Domenico Gnoli
  • Mario Schifano
  • Enrico Castellani
  • Giorgio de Chirico
  • Giovanni Anselmo
  • Luciano Fabro
  • Mario Merz
  • Giuseppe Penone
  • Vettor Pisani
  • Emilio Prini
  • Gilberto Zorio
  • Giulio Paolini
  • Alighiero Boetti
  • Germano Celant
  • Frédéric Dard
  • Salvatore Scarpitta
  • Arnaldo Pomodoro
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Cy Twombly

Institutions

  • Christie's
  • Art Basel Paris
  • Mart
  • Centre Pompidou
  • Walker Art Centre
  • Ersel
  • Fondazione Prada
  • Fondazione Marconi
  • Scuderie della Pilotta
  • Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection
  • Collezione Malabarba
  • Galleria d'Arte Moderna (Rome)
  • Galerie Arditti (Paris)
  • Chiesa di San Samuele (Venice)
  • Hotel de Russie (Rome)
  • Ersel (Turin)
  • Palazzo Clerici (Milan)
  • Artribune

Locations

  • Paris
  • France
  • Milan
  • Italy
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Minneapolis
  • United States
  • Porta Magenta
  • Torino
  • Roma
  • Rome
  • Turin
  • Venice

Sources