Jean-Michel Basquiat

Galerie Bruno Bischofsberger, Zürich
Cheim & Read, New York
Sale: Christie's, Los Angeles  20th Century Art & 20th Century Prints, 7 June 2000, Lot 99
Private Collection, Connecticut
Galerie Vedovi, Brussels
Private Collection, Europe
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Vienna, Kunsthaus, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1999, illustrated

Richard D. Marshall and Jean-Louis Prat, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris 1996, Vol. II, p. 144, no. 9, illustrated in colour
Richard D. Marshall and Jean-Louis Pratt, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris 2000, Vol. II, p. 250, no. 9, illustrated in colour

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is warmer, with more aubergine undertones to the head in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is intermittent light rubbing, wear and fine tension cracks along all four extreme edges. Upon close inspection, there is a fine diagonal crease to the canvas towards the lower right hand corner. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light. .
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The colossal, disembodied head in Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled (Head), 1986 is a powerful example of a motif that would underpin Basquiat's work for the rest of his career. Dominating the centre of the canvas, the fiercely expressive head - part skull, part self-image - stares fixedly out of the picture plane, one of the boldest symbols in Basquiat's iconographic repertoire. The highly stylized face, with glaring eyes, flaring nostrils and bared teeth, evokes both the primitive scribbles of a child and the elaborate iconographies of ancient cultures. These were seminal influences on the young Basquiat, who, like his hero Picasso before him, interrogated long-forgotten artist traditions to interpret contemporary visual culture from a completely new perspective.

Born to Haitian and Puerto Rican parents and growing up in the cultural crucible of Brooklyn, Basquiat was fascinated by his heritage and its artistic legacy. The head in the present work clearly reveals his knowledge of African reliquary masks with its haptic emphasis on eyes and teeth. Shamanistic, it resonates with an aggression that is part violent, part spiritual. Basquiat's inspiration was additionally rooted in the Cubism of his great hero Picasso. However, whereas Picasso's primitivism provided an exotic escape route from the constrictions of European academicism, Basquiat's adoption of this language corrected the impersonal coolness of late modernism while simultaneously expressing overt contemporary angst.    

In the present work, wildly chaotic splashes of pale golden paint surround the totemic head in a technique which recalls the infamous action paintings of Jackson Pollock and graffiti art.  Paramount to this painting is the voracious originality and dynamism resident in each brushstroke. Untitled (Head) is a painting unrestrained by convention; through its compositional vigour we sense the artist's brilliant spirit at the moment that he launched his groundbreaking art practice onto the New York art world.