2024 ranking

Crépuscule sur la Neva, sold for €74.3 million, is a large 19th-century landscape that remained sixty years in a private collection. Its complete provenance, its conservation report and its certificate of authenticity were published with the catalogue.

Jardin de pierres noires, sold for €61.8 million, is a contemporary installation acquired by a foundation in Asia-Pacific. Falaises d'Étretat, at €52.1 million, is an impressionist canvas that was the subject of a twenty-minute bidding battle.

From fourth to tenth place, the works are more varied: a royal mask from Central Africa, a 17th-century still life, a court portrait, a Régence bureau, a bronze dancer, a contemporary oriental landscape and a Kota reliquary.

This diversity shows that the high end is no longer the preserve of painting. Tribal art, in particular, reaches unprecedented levels once provenance is solidly established.

A record has a knock-on effect: it draws the attention of the press, collectors and potential sellers. It also changes the perception of the artist, whose prices for all works may be reassessed.

This effect is however temporary. In the years following a record, an artist's prices tend to normalise, unless critical and museum recognition confirms their value.