Provenance
Galeria Siete Siete, Caracas
Exhibited
Montevideo, Museo de Arte Moderno, Victor Vasarely, 1958; Buenos Aires, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Victor Vasarely, 1958; Caracas, Museo de Bellas Artes, Victor Vasarely, 1959; Paris, Galerie Le Point Cardinal, Victor Vasarely, 1961; Naples Museum of Art, Florida, Victor Vasarely: Founder of Op-Art Retrospective, 2004
·
Literature
Robert C. Morgan, Vasarely , New York, 2004, plate no. 28, n.p. (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay
Victor Vasarely is known, along with Bridget Riley, as a leading practitioner of Op art. He created the current lot Cassiopée II in 1958, during his so-called Black & White period, which defined what was later to be known as Op art. The work is an outstanding example of his work at that time, a period when the artist established his binary concept, the Alphabet Plastique, as a visual language for the arts. The integration of the spectator into the work by interactively creating an illusion of movement on the flat surface, is laying the foundation for his trademark style that we now associate with him. Playing with optical illusions, he relied on the perception of the viewer who was considered the sole creator.
In 1955, the Denise René Gallery put on the pioneering show of kinetic art, Le Movement, at which Vasarely exhibited, along with Calder, Duchamp, Man Ray, Soto and Tinguely. At the same time, he published his ‘Yellow Manifesto' in which he returned to the teachings of his Bauhaus training to outline his concept of plastic kinetics. For the artist, "painting and sculpture become anachronistic terms: it's more exact to speak of bi-, tri- and multidimensional plastic art. We no longer have distinct manifestations of a creative sensibility, but the development of a single plastic sensibility in different spaces."
"Movement does not rely on composition nor a specific subject, but on the apprehension of the act of looking, which by itself is considered as the only creator."
The painting presents our eyes with contradictory data as we read part of the field in terms of diagonals and other parts in terms of horizontals and verticals. The painting practically forces us to move backwards and forwards and as we do so, the field appears to move – expanding, contracting and undulating. The foundations for the Op art movement had been laid. As Vasarely stated: "I am certain to recognise the internal geometry of nature."
What Vasarely in effect created was an art programming language that allowed for endless permutations of forms and colours to create individual and unique works. With the Folklore Planetaire series Vasarely wanted to reach out through his universal language to transmit basic human values to the general public outside of the art establishment.What Vasarely in effect created was an art programming language that allowed for endless permutations of forms and colours to create individual and unique works. With the Folklore Planetaire series Vasarely wanted to reach out through his universal language to transmit basic human values to the general public outside of the art establishment.

24

Victor Vasarely

Cassiopée II NB

1958
Acrylic on canvas.
195 × 130 cm (76 4/5 x 51 1/5 in).

Signed 'Vasarely' lower right; signed, titled and dated 'Vasarely Cassiopée II NB 1958' on reverse. This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Estimate
£100,000 - 150,000 ‡

Sold for £157,250

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

17 Feb 2011
London

1
Wade Guyton
Untitled
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000
Sold for £213,650
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2
Mary Heilmann
Rude Boy
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ‡
Sold for £103,250
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3
Jim Lambie
Night Divides the Day
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ♠
Sold for £91,250
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4
Lucio Fontana
Concetto spaziale, Attesa
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000
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5
Günther Uecker
Mutation
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000 ♠
Sold for £223,250
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6
Robert Morris
Felt
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000
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7
Georg Herold
Untitled
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ♠
Sold for £121,250
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8
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ♠
Sold for £361,250
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9
Peter Fischli and David Weiss
4 Hostessen (4 Stewardesses)
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ♠
Sold for £277,250
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10
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate £350,000 - 550,000 ‡♠
Sold for £337,250
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11
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Overrun
Estimate £1,000,000 - 1,500,000 ‡
Sold for £1,127,650
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12
Raqib Shaw
Absence of God III... And His Tears of Blood Will Drown the Cities of Men II
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡
Sold for £553,250
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13
Anselm Reyle
Harmony
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ♠
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14
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
Estimate £70,000 - 100,000 ♠
Sold for £79,250
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15
Subodh Gupta
No. 1
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000 ‡
Sold for £121,250
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16
Donald Judd
Untitled (89-30)
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ‡
Sold for £169,250
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17
Ilya Kabakov and Emilia Kabakov
The Painting on an Easel
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ♠
Sold for £361,250
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18
Michelangelo Pistoletto
Ritratto sigg. Lerre (Portrait of Mr. Lerre)
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ♠
Sold for £67,250
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19
Martin Kippenberger
Mirror for Hang-Over Bud
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
Sold for £145,250
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20
Robert Rauschenberg
Address Unknown
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡
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21
Martin Kippenberger
Untitled
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
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22
Albert Oehlen
Untitled
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ♠
Sold for £193,250
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23
Karel Appel
Birds Over the Red Sea
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £205,250
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24
Victor Vasarely
Cassiopée II NB
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ‡
Sold for £157,250
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25
Arnaldo Pomodoro
Disco con Sfera
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ♠
Sold for £61,250
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26
Bill Viola
Basin of Tears
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 Ω
Sold for £181,250
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27
Marlene Dumas
Equality
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ♠
Sold for £121,250
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28
Dan Colen
Wouldn't it be Nice
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 †
Sold for £85,250
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29
Martin Creed
Work no. 230 (Don’t Worry)
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ♠
Sold for £51,650
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Contemporary Art Evening Sale

17 Feb 2011 London

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Provenance

Exhibited

Literature

Catalogue Essay

24

Victor Vasarely

Cassiopée II NB

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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17 Feb 2011
London