The majestic two-panel painting entitled 24.12.2002 – Diptyque II, by renowned Chinese artist Zao Wou-Ki, was expected to fetch an estimated HK$25 million at the time of print. The work went on the block at Christie’s recent autumn auctions in Shanghai. Diptyque II’s sale comes only months after 29.09.64 – another of the artist’s acclaimed oil paintings – sold in Hong Kong for a record-breaking HK$154.2 million.

Notable for his affiliation with abstract expressionists of the École de Paris, Zao was celebrated for his inimitable style of gestural painting which combined calligraphic brushwork with large-scale abstract compositions.

Although Zao’s works have always referenced the convergence of Chinese and European aesthetics, his creative output in the 2000s was characterised by a “bolder and freer” technique, peaking with the completion of Diptyque II in 2002. Grace Zhuang, a senior specialist of Asian art at Christie’s, says, “This diptych, sourced from a European collection, is certainly a masterpiece of his late period.”

The auction of Diptyque II echoes a sustained increase in demand for contemporary Chinese art. Christie’s spring sales in Hong Kong totalled $HK2.47 billion, so it would be no surprise if one of China’s most celebrated 20th-century painters exceeded market expectations.

Note: Diptique II set the record for most expensive artwork ever sold at Christie’s in Shanghai. The final hammer price was 33.6 million yuan.