Christie's Paris has announced a historic auction featuring one of the most significant works by modern artist Yves Klein (1928-1962), set to go under the hammer for the first time. The monumental piece, titled "California (IKB 71)," will be the centerpiece of the October 23 sale called "Avant-Garde(s) including Thinking Italian," with an estimated value exceeding 16 million euros (approximately $17 million).

The timing coincides with October's Paris Art Week and the international Art Basel fair, making this auction a major highlight of the art season. "California (IKB 71)" represents the largest monochrome work by Yves Klein from a private collection ever to appear on the market. The painting will be presented alongside masterpieces by renowned artists including Berthe Morisot, Pierre Soulages, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Through his signature ultramarine blue, Klein sought to capture the complete luminosity and intensity of the pigment in its purest form, creating an impression of levitation on his canvases. The artist viewed this approach as his way of paying homage to the immensity of the blue sky, which he considered "the first and most beautiful of his works." With "California (IKB 71)," Klein revealed the pinnacle of his research into this unique pigmentation technique.

"Through color, I experience total identification with space; I am truly free," the French painter once declared, defending the primacy of color over line. Klein's relationship with color was intrinsically linked to his artistic philosophy, making it the very heart of his art. The artist distinguished himself in the 1960s by patenting the technique used to create International Klein Blue, a mixture of pigment and Rhodopas M, a synthetic resin provided by Édouard Adam, a prominent Parisian color merchant. This innovation ensured that the blue color would not fade over time.

Measuring over four meters in length (approximately 13 feet), "California (IKB 71)" stands as one of the few monochrome testaments by the artist with such colossal dimensions. The only paintings that surpass it in size are those created by Klein for the Musiktheater im Revier (Musical Theater of Ruhr) in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, which measure between five to seven meters in length.

The work invites contemplation and serves not only as a painting but as an infinite space in its own right—a world that reveals Klein's artistic ideal. Its intense monochrome surface reflects his primary intentions: to obliterate boundaries and propel viewers into an immaterial realm. The marked textures visible in the work already anticipated Klein's later "Planetary Reliefs" series.

The painting has a distinguished exhibition history, having been first displayed at the Dwan Gallery in Los Angeles during Klein's only trip to the United States. It was subsequently loaned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 2005 to 2008, where it was last shown to the public before remaining hidden from view in a private collection. Now, the work returns to Paris, where it was created in 1961, for its inaugural auction appearance.

"California (IKB 71) by Yves Klein is a monochrome of colossal importance," commented Katharine Arnold, Christie's Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art for Europe. The piece represents one of the jewels of the evening sales session. Christie's currently holds the three auction records for Klein's works, including "Anthropometry of the Blue Period (ANT 124)," which sold in London in June 2022 for 27.2 million euros. With this new offering, the auction house aims to continue its success with Klein's works, potentially achieving a final result of over 16 million euros.