This month, Dorotheum will once again present major works of Modern and Contemporary Art in its historic Vienna galleries for “Contemporary Week,” held from 18 November to 3 December.
The series opens on 18 November at 6 p.m. with the live auction Modern Art, led by the top lot of the week: Egon Schiele’s Crouching Nude from 1917.
This drawing shows Schiele working with full command of his line. He traced the model’s contours with precision and added gouache with a dry brush, a technique he developed himself. The figure, resting in an unusual pose with her head on her left arm, seems to be asleep. Schiele paid particular attention to the right hand. Hands often occupy a central place in his work and are frequently shown in strained or unconventional positions; he himself posed for photographs making such gestures.
The inscription “Szerena Lederer” on the reverse identifies the early owners as August and Serena Lederer, among the leading collectors in Vienna at the turn of the twentieth century. Their collection included Renaissance art and the largest private collection of works by Gustav Klimt, who introduced the Lederers to Schiele. Following the annexation of Austria in 1938, the Jewish family – August having died in 1936 – left the country in stages. The drawing’s path to its current owner is not fully documented; an agreement with the Lederer heirs has made its auction possible.
Giorgio de Chirico, founder of Metaphysical painting, shaped an entire generation of artists with his vision of urban landscapes, classical references, and an atmosphere in which time seems suspended. In Chevaux devant la mer, two monumental horses stand before a quiet coastal landscape marked by classical ruins and broken columns. The white horse in the foreground has the presence of a sculpted figure; the second, placed in partial shadow, adds depth and contrast.
The soft light, muted colours, and measured composition create a dreamlike atmosphere. The work belongs to the artist’s return to themes that would define his later painting, where classical memory and myth converge. England played a key role in establishing de Chirico’s international legacy; this painting was shown in his first London exhibition in 1928 and later passed through several important British collections.
Marc Chagall built a personal vocabulary of recurring motifs that appear throughout his oeuvre. In Couple sur coq rouge (Couple on a Red Rooster), his late painting offered here, floating lovers reference his devotion to his wife Bella (d. 1944). The bouquet of flowers and the red rooster, symbols of affection and renewal, reinforce the intimate nature of the composition.
The live auction Contemporary Art I follows on 19 November at 6 p.m., with the online auction Contemporary Art II on 20 November.
Leading the contemporary art lots is Andy Warhol’s complete silkscreen series Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century. The portfolio includes figures such as Sarah Bernhardt, Franz Kafka, Golda Meir, Albert Einstein, and Sigmund Freud. Through his characteristic screenprinting method, Warhol created a visual record that merges portraiture with cultural history.
Antony Gormley’s sculpture brings the human body into dialogue with the language of minimalism. Rather than treating form as a mere geometric arrangement, he focuses on the viewer’s physical and perceptual response. Small Splice IV is part of his series of Blockworks: figures built from stacked, rectilinear units that suggest a body while remaining architectural.
The iron blocks form a vertical figure that is both solid and subtly unstable. This tension between structure and fragility is central to the series, reflecting Gormley’s interest in the relationship between the physicality of the figure and the viewer's perception of its mental state.
Fernando Botero’s approach to volume has shaped his entire career. His figures and objects, expanded in scale yet calm in presence, reflect his belief that volume is an essential but often overlooked element of painting. In Man eating, offered here, the subject is treated with the characteristic solidity and rounded form that define Botero’s work.
“Contemporary Week” continues with the auctions Important Jewels and Wristwatches and Pocket Watches at 1 p.m. on 20 and 21 December. The latter includes the Patek Philippe Chiming Jump Hour anniversary watch. The programme concludes on 3 December with the online auction Editions.
All works will be on view at Palais Dorotheum, Dorotheergasse 17, Vienna. The preview opens on 8 November (and for “Editions” on 27 November).
