Art royalty…
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s obsession with the human form, and more specifically the human skull, was a wealth of inspiration and ideas for the revolutionary artist. And that dichotomy was never shown better than in is iconic piece In This Case (1983), one of three huge skulls Basquiat ever painted in his dynamic career.
Now, In This Case is being showcased at Christies in New York, set as the crown jewel as it headlines the esteemed sale. The size of the skull would actually surprise you as well, rivalling “the height of a fully grown man himself” as according to Chairman of 20th and 21st Century Art Alex Rotter.
By the time In This Case was painted in 1983, Basquiat was only 22 years old. But despite being especially young compared to his peers, he was already using his platform to celebrate fellow African American stars in the art, sports and music world, along with highlighting the racial injustices that plagued and continue to plague society today.
Speaking on Basquiat’s obsession with the human head, curator and publisher Fred Hoffman explained that it was his “fascination with the face as a passageway from exterior physical presence into the hidden realities of man’s psychological and mental realms.”
Untitled 2 (1982), the second skull in the historic Basquiat trilogy, went for over $110 million USD ($141 million AUD) in an auction in 2017, while Untitled 1 (1981) resides at The Broad in Los Angeles. Thus, being the main star of the trilogy, In This Case is expected to attract the biggest attention out of the three when it goes on auction on May 11th. Check out the piece below.
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