3 million euros in 2008 at Sotheby's in London

A surging drawings. The 17 and 18 October, at Drouot, house sales Aponem disperse 1,050 drawings of the hand of a Post-Impressionist and fauve artist then in all books of art history: Albert Marquet. They have a time belonged to the widow of the artist before be preserved by the right holders. The most surprising is the value of the estimates. Almost a unique and derisory price for each lot: 200 euros. We know well that the auctioneers are familiar to a technique which indicate low prices to attract bidders. But in this case, the large number of lots is a chance to get some of the works for a small sum. Albert Marquet (1875-1947), who was the friend of Matisse in his years of learning at the school of fine arts, painted in 1897 when colourful landscapes of fauvism. Even in painting its dynamic rest design and his fauve period lasts barely two years: from 1905 to 1907.

Subsequently he devoted himself almost exclusively to the theme of the aquatic landscape. He lives on the banks of the Seine, is fascinated by the effects of the sky shimmering on the water and tries to render the melancholic atmosphere of the ports in clear colours. The price of her paintings were however nothing to do with those of the big names in the beginning of the 20th century.

Intermediate class

The record for Marquet is a 1906 painting, "The beach of Sainte - address", awarded to 1.3 million euros in 2008 at Sotheby's in London. Albert Marquet is a name of the great history of art. It is an intermediate category which, precisely, is less sought in times of crisis while the market is looking for exceptional. In the sale, two landscapes in colour only are proposed. Most advanced is a watercolour view of Hondarribia, in the basque country, painted in 1926. The greenish beige sky, beach in the same shades, huge and in the distance a small village in Brown shades. Estimate: 1000 euros. The average price of watercolours is usually about the 10,000 to 15,000 euros.

Nude "on display".

The highest estimate of these auctions is an erotic nu, an oil on Panel of 1912 in the shades of blue estimated 40,000 euros. It is the "showcase" of a theme that clearly obsédait Marquet in his youth but which is remained unknown: his fascination with the female body and erotic scenes. The sale contains a very large amount of drawings of this kind. "These are modest works but things never seen before in Paris," noted Michèle Paret, technical collaborator for this sale and author of the first catalogue raisonné on the artist. "The erotic scenes were performed before her marriage in 1924." In the area of the drawing, the talent of Marquet is the strength of his performance on the go. Each scene is done using a few pencil just blows. "Matisse said of him that he was the the century Hokusai and admired his way to quickly capture a scene", said even Michèle Paret.

We note, however, that the vast majority of the drawings of nudes in the past months to auction, France, found no payee. They were estimated, on average, around 1,000 euros.

More generally, the catalogue of the sale to follow Marquet in his wanderings in Spain, North Africa and the France. These small formats are the opportunity to gain evidence of early modernity expected to barely reach the price of contemporary lithographs.