A painting by the by the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte has been sold for almost 40 million euro. L’ami intime (The intimate friend) that was painted in early 1958 went under the hammer for 33.6 million pounds (39.37 million euro at Christie's auction house in London on Thursday.
The painting depicts a man wearing a bowler hat. This is a recurring figure in René Magritte's work. The man in the painting is shown gazing out over a landscape while a baguette and a wine glass float in the air behind him.
The surrealist artist René Magritte is well-know for his depictions of familiar objects in unexpected settings. His work questions the nature of reality and representation. Prior to being auctioned the painting was part of the Gilbert and Lena Kaplan Collection. It was last exhibited more than a quarter of a century ago in Brussels.
The auction at Christie's was the first time the painting had been auctioned since 1980. Prior to auction L’ami intime had been valued at between 35 and 58 million euro.
Other works by Magritte also were also sold at Thursday’s auction. These include Le principe d'Archimede, which sold for just under 1.745 million euros.