(Paris) A 1955 work by René Magritte offered for the first time on the market, The hesitation waltzwas sold for 11,177,000 euros ($16.2 million) with fees on Thursday in Paris, announced the Sotheby’s auction house.
Dating from the most popular period among collectors, this painting by the master of surrealism did not, however, reach its high estimate of 15 million euros.
The painting depicts two of Magritte’s famous apples wearing wolf masks and blending into nighttime shadows, against the stark contrast of a bright blue sky dotted with the iconic clouds.
The hesitation waltz is part of a group of eight oils. It is only the second painting from the series to be put up for auction. The previous copy, The married priest, was proposed in 2007 and represented the opposite paradox, with dark skies and lit apples. This work sold for 5.3 million pounds sterling ($8.8 million).
During the same sale on Thursday, Sotheby’s sold around ten other modernist works, notably by Kupka, Lucio Fontana, Klein and Hélion, for a total amount of 37,488,600 euros.