Yves Klein (1928 - 1962), RE 49. photo Sotheby's

122.5 by 98cm. Estimate 4,500,000—6,500,000 GBP Lot Sold 6,201,250 GBP

"RE 49, Relief Eponge Bleu", which was executed in 1961, has been exhibited in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt and is directly comparable to examples housed in esteemed museum collection such as Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and The Menil Collection in Houston. Struck by the beauty of a natural sponge soaked in his trademark blue pigment, Klein spontaneously pressed it on to the surface on a monochrome painting. The result, as the artist later wrote, was that “in an instant this working instrument became a raw material”. Individually chosen with fanatical precision, Klein varied the types of sponges he used; their nature, and absorption qualities in particular, led the artist to experiment further with the colour field, projecting his infamous International Klein Blue pigment into the third dimension with brilliant sculptural innovation and élan.

With a rich texture, colour saturation and an array of sponges, "RE49, Relief Eponge Bleu" alludes to a notion of a world other than our own. Growing up on the Mediterranean coast, Klein was deeply affected by the void of sea and sky as uninterrupted spatial fields, and was strongly influenced by ideas of physical and spiritual harmony, surpassing other artists of his time in his pursuit of the spiritual within art. This work provides the viewer with a glimpse into Klein’s deeply philosophical investigation into matters of space and form as seen through the realm of pure colour. In both size and stature, the present work is a dramatic synthesis of organic mass with the extravagant luxury of Klein’s signature blue.

Sotheby's. Contemporary Art Evening Auction. 28 Jun 10. London www.sothebys.com