A 1954 version of René Magritte's The Empire of Light sold for $121 million at Christie's in New York, much more than expected. One of 27 renderings of the scene by the French surrealist, the eerie canvas is the largest of the bunch and described by the auction house as the "crown jewel" of former owner Mica Ertegun.
The artwork depicts a house with a single streetlamp in front. The flame from the lamp lights up the entire canvas, including the dark trees –– almost black in color –– in the foreground, while the image is serenely reflected over a pool of water. Above the streetscape, a light blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds stretches to the top of the canvas.
I can't find anywhere online with all of the different versions in one place! This version has a looming menace to it that most others don't quite nail, but this one, also from 1954, is my favorite. One that overdid it went for $43m last year. The series inspired a famous scene in The Exorcist, though before the age of CGI it could not be shot as intended in daylight.
Previously:
• Painting by 'AI' robot sells for more than $1 million
• Frazetta's 'A Princess of Mars' painting sells for $1.2 million at auction
• Banksy's 'Show Me the Monet' painting sells for nearly $10 million
• Small painting that French woman kept in kitchen sells for $26.8 Million
• Massive 19th century cat painting sold for $826,000
