It would be difficult not to pause and contemplate the face of Man Resting, the image used on the catalogue for a forthcoming 20th century prints auction.
The Christie's auction, which includes prints by European and US masters, including Picasso, Chagall and Warhol, takes place in London next Thursday, with estimates ranging from £300 to £5,000 sterling (#484 to #8,065). The arresting front cover illustration shows a detail of Man Resting (1988) by Lucien Freud (born 1922). It's an etching printed with tone - where the white areas aren't completely white. It is estimated at £3,000 to £4,000.
The face invites contemplation. What sorrows, what joys, what horrors might this man have known? Is he a boxer, a drunk, an honest man tired after a day's labouring? Is he a brute, hardened by disadvantage or a gentle soul, with the untold journey of a life written on his face? Mr Murray Macaulay, 20th century prints specialist at Christie's, says that Man Resting shows Freud - who brought figurative work back into fashion - as "a superb craftsman". "The medium itself really lends itself to the image." Another print to catch the eye is Virna Burger by Mel Ramos (born 1935). A blonde woman, naked but for a necklace, sits cross-legged on a chair-sized hamburger. Offset lithograph in colour, this 1965 piece on wove paper signed, dated and numbered 358/500 is in very good condition and is estimated at £400 to £600.
Highlights of the auction include a 1976 screenprint in pink, purple and black on wallpaper by Andy Warhol entitled Cow. Signed in felt-tip pen, from the edition of about 100, it is estimated at £1,000 to £1,200. There are five other Warhol pieces, including Mao, a screenprint in purple and black (1974) estimated at £800 to £1,200; Jackie (Kennedy), screenprint in silver ink (1966) on wove paper, estimated at £1,600 to £1,800; and Turtle (1985), signed and inscribed in pencil in excellent condition, estimated at £1,200 to £1,500.
A 1968 signed drypoint (the etching plate has been scraped with a sharp needle) print by Pablo Picasso, Enlevement, is estimated at £1,000 to £1,500. Meanwhile, an Henri Matisse lithograph, Tritan Tzara: Le Signe de Vie (1946) could go for £1,000 to £1,500. An etching with hand colouring by Marc Chagall, The Bible, has an estimated value of between £1,200 and £1,600.
Georges Rouault explored spiritual themes and was a devout Roman Catholic. An appealing aquatint and drypoint Madonna and Child by Rouault, entitled Miserere: En ces temps noirs de jactance et d'incroyance (1927), is estimated at £700 to £900. Miserere: Jesus Sera En Agonie Jusqu'a La Fin Du Monde (1926), also by Rouault, is a striking image of the crucified Jesus. From an edition of 450, it is in good condition, despite light staining, and estimated at £500 to £700.
Other lots include a lithograph in colour by Georges Braque, Nature morte aux citrons, which is expected to make up to £1,600. Two colour lithographs by Sonia Delauney entitled Thunderbird (1974) and Lozenges (1973) are estimated at £500 to £700 each.
jmarms@irish-times.ie
