A monumental Claude Monet painting from his celebrated Iris series is heading to Sotheby’s in Paris next month, where it could establish a new benchmark for the French auction market.
Painted in 1924–25, during the final years of Monet’s life, the work measures an impressive 160 by 180 centimetres, making it the largest Iris painting from the series ever offered at auction. Sotheby’s estimates it at €22 million to €30 million, a range that could put it on course to become the most expensive painting ever sold at auction in France.
The painting has remained out of public view since it was created. It is part of a 28-lot collection assembled by Jeanne Schlumberger, one of the heirs to the Schlumberger oil company and a discreet but influential collector of Impressionist and Modern art. Consigned by the Schlumberger family following Jeanne’s death in 1983, the collection is expected to generate more than €40 million when it is auctioned on October 22.
A Collector Ahead of Her Time
Schlumberger began building her collection in the 1950s with the help of Parisian dealer Katia Granoff. Together, they pursued artists and periods that were often overlooked by the mainstream market, including Paul Cézanne, Pierre Bonnard, Gustave Moreau, Chaïm Soutine and Georges Rouault.
Their interest in Monet was particularly prescient. At a time when the artist’s late work remained controversial, the pair recognised the expressive and almost abstract qualities of his final paintings.
Sotheby’s senior international specialist Thomas Bompard describes Schlumberger as having a “visionary eye,” noting her preference for Soutine and Monet’s monumental late works, which were distinguished by dramatic brushwork and intense blocks of colour.
Her collecting choices were unconventional for someone from one of France’s prominent industrial families. Rather than filling her Paris mansion on rue Las-Cases with conventional Impressionist masterpieces, Schlumberger pursued artists and works that challenged established tastes.
Supporting Monet’s Late Legacy
Jeanne Schlumberger and Katia GranoffAnonymous photographer. Courtesy of the Schlumberger Family Archives
Schlumberger’s relationship with Granoff extended beyond collecting. In 1958, she used her home as collateral to help finance Granoff’s purchase of the studio holdings of Monet’s son, Michel.
The acquisition gave Granoff access to a significant group of paintings from Monet’s final years at Giverny, at a time when French interest in the works was limited. Granoff subsequently placed important pieces with American museums and private collectors, helping reshape perceptions of Monet’s late career.
Schlumberger became one of the first collectors to acquire works from the group, including the Iris being offered at Sotheby’s and Saule pleureur, which carries an estimate of €9 million to €12 million.
Monet’s late works had initially faced considerable criticism. According to Bompard, their reception following the artist’s death was hostile, with some critics dismissing them as evidence of artistic decline.
For Schlumberger and Granoff, however, those same paintings represented something new. Their judgment now appears reflected in the auction market: five of Monet’s ten highest auction prices have come from works created after 1914.
Cézanne and a Private Collection Revealed
Paul Cézanne, La Ferme© Louis Blancard, Blok Design Group & Art Digital Studio, Sotheby’s
The sale also highlights Schlumberger’s interest in Cézanne, particularly his early and experimental work.
Among the notable lots are three of the eight panels from Paysage romantique aux pêcheurs, a fresco originally painted on the ground-floor walls of the Cézanne family estate and first studio, Jas de Bouffan, in Aix-en-Provence. The panels were later transferred to canvas and carry estimates starting at €400,000.
The works have been classified as trésors nationaux, recognising their significance to France’s cultural heritage. The French state has 30 months to raise the necessary funds to acquire them.
Many other works in the collection have never been publicly exhibited or seen outside the Schlumberger family, reflecting Jeanne’s reluctance to lend pieces to museums. As a result, the auction will offer an unusually rare glimpse into a collection that has remained largely private for decades.
None of the lots will have guarantees. Bompard nevertheless expects strong attendance, with major collectors and dealers expected in Paris around Art Basel in Paris later in October.
He points instead to the works’ provenance and physical condition, describing the paintings as unlined, unvarnished and untouched. For Sotheby’s, the combination of rarity, condition and provenance is expected to make guarantees unnecessary.
