Muse Bouche

Pablo Picasso’s Buste de Femme (1944), an emotionally charged work depicting his muse and fellow Surrealist Dora Maar, set a new auction record for the artist in Asia when it fetched a hefty HK$196.75 million (US$25.4 million) at Christie’s Hong Kong in September. Painted near the end of the four-year Nazi occupation of Paris during the Second World War, the portrait stands as a striking testament to the artist’s emotional intensity and wartime resilience.

Maar’s likeness is captured in a fragmented style. Her face is divided into bold, angular planes – one eye alert and expressive, the other obscured – and her mouth appears in profile, all suggestive of inner turmoil and psychological depth. Vivid hues of red, green and blue swirl across the canvas, enhancing the drama of her stylised features. Her ornate headwear adds a theatrical touch, reinforcing the surreal tension of the composition.

Buste de Femme reflects Picasso’s defiance and introspection during a time of global upheaval. Its handsome sale price underscores the enduring power and relevance of his wartime creations, and the continued fascination with Maar’s enigmatic presence in his oeuvre.

Indelible Ink

Depicting an idyllic utopia framed by mountains, Zhang Daqian’s In Search of Paradise (1981) showcases the globetrotting Chinese artist’s signature splashed-ink technique at its expressive peak. Painted after he settled in Taiwan, this late-career masterpiece reflects Zhang’s deep engagement with traditional Chinese landscape painting, reimagined through a modern, abstract lens. The composition is dreamlike – the mountains dissolve into mist, and washes of ink and colour blend seamlessly to evoke a sense of spiritual transcendence.

Venice Flood

Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day by Canaletto spurred a fiercely competitive bidding war at Christie’s London this summer, soaring to £31.9 million (HK$336.6 million). This astounding result – the second-highest price for an Old Master in the auction house’s history – surprised some experts who consider it a rather conventional work. Others suggest the high price was driven by its status as a perfect trophy piece for art connoisseurs.

The artist is revered for his views of Venice, and painted in the 1730s, this picture depicts the important Ascension Day festival in which a procession of ships, led by the Doge’s magnificent Bucintoro, marks the symbolic marriage of the city with the sea. Veteran dealer Robert Simon describes it as an ideal Canaletto, citing its grand scale, energetic composition, and broad appeal to collectors beyond the Old Master field.

Contributing to the work’s allure is an illustrious provenance, including British Prime Minister Robert Walpole, who displayed it at his residence, 10 Downing Street in London. Its extreme scarcity is also a major factor; no comparable work has appeared since it last sold in 1993.