A recently unearthed Michelangelo sketch, considered to be the artist’s first nude, has sold at Christie’s Paris for a record 23 million euros ($24 million). “Michelangelo has decided to make the figure into something that corresponded more to his aesthetic by making him much more robust and monumental, while at the same time keeping the fragility of the figure, who is exposed and shivering” as he awaits baptism,” says Christie’s Old Masters expert Stijn Alsteens.
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Francois-Henri Pinault
Collector’s Birthdate: b. 1936Pinault is the owner of Christie’s auction house, as well as department store chain Printemps, the Chateau-Latour vineyard and the luxury goods firm PPR, which owns Gucci and Yves Saint Lauren.
His father, Francois, is also an avid art collector and owns upwards of 2,000 invaluable works by the likes of Picasso and Miro. The family fortune is estimated to be worth an excess of 7 billion dollars.
The younger Pinault has been pinned as one of the most aggressive collectors in Europe. He lavishly displayed the “hottest” artists of his collection at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Italy in time for the Bienalle. The grand entryway featured a two-story tall Urs Fischer’s sculpture entitled “Jet Set Lady” as well as works by Rudolph Stingel, Anselm Reyle, Richard Prince, David Hammonds, Kristen Baker, Mike Kelley, Laura Owens, and many more.
He has experienced a recent rash of tabloid articles for impregnating and then successfully proposing to movie star actress, Selma Hayek. He was previously married and has two children.
On basic relationship with art and artists:
“I want the artists to be recognized, the works of art to be appreciated, and for the public to further develop a passion for the art of today.”
Lindemann, Adam. Collecting Contemporary: Los Angeles, Taschen GmbH 2006. *( See “Stingel Comes to Whitney” ) *
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