For sale, a work by Banksy that looks like Van Gogh from 2005. Christie's has announced that it is auctioning the anonymous artist's oil on canvas, from the collection of fashion designer Paul Smith. Dubbed
Sunflowers From Petrol Station,
it is part of a limited group of paintings on canvas by Banksy, unlike his graffiti, which is more widely distributed. The auction house believes that this is a "
pictorial and conceptual disfigurement of Van Gogh's masterpiece,
The Sunflowers".
Two trips to France inspired Van Gogh to paint the series
Les Tournesols.
The first took place in 1887 in Paris where he lived with his brother Théo, the second the following year in Arles. Banksy uses the image of sunflowers as a warning signal. The bouquet in its vase is withered, a consequence of carbon emissions, mentioned in the title of the painting.
The reference to Van Gogh also recalls the historic auction which took place at Christie's in London in 1987. One of the paintings in the series,
The Sunflowers
of 1888, is sold to Yasuo Goto, a Japanese insurance magnate . The painting flies away for the equivalent of $ 41 million. At the time, this was the highest price ever for a painting. Estimated between 10 and 15 million euros,
Sunflowers From Petrol Station
is on display in Hong Kong until October 12, then in Los Angeles from October 20 to 23, before being auctioned on November 9 in New York.
The theme of environmental protection is recurrent at Banksy.
On December 20, 2018, he denounced air pollution in Port Talbot in Wales, one of the most polluted cities in the United Kingdom.
The graffiti depicts a child happy to see snowflakes falling from the sky, which are actually particles of ash, coming from the burning trash can on the other side of the wall.
The graffiti signed Banksy, discovered on December 20 in Port Talbot in Wales.
Birchall Ben / PA Photos / ABACA
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