Oil on canvas

116×88.8 cm. 45 5/8×35 in.

Signed in English and dated on upper left and bottom left
PROVENANCE
Artist Studio
The Pace Gallery, New York
Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery, New York
Private Collection, New York
10 Jul 2020, Sotheby's Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 531
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

Note: Two labels of New York Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery and The Pace Gallery are affixed on the reverse

Ode to the Sovereign: The Eternal Radiance of Heroes
Condo's Homage to Napoleon's Legion of Honour

"I believe that painting needs to transform in order for it to become interesting for each and every generation, but I think of it more in terms of being liberated by history. Liberated by what has come before."
— George Condo

In George Condo's oeuvre, his prolific works are remarkably distinctive and idiosyncratic, akin to the art of sampling and mixing in music. Condo's paintings blend elements of popular culture, classical masterpieces, and street comics, weaving together abstract and figurative motifs that span from ancient eras to the contemporary moment. On canvas, intricate symbols and profound metaphors are artfully embedded. This resonance between musicality and visual arts is strikingly illustrated by the 2010 collaboration with American rapper Kanye West, who invited Condo to design his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. This unique partnership significantly elevated Condo's status as an artist, becoming a vibrant topic of conversation within the art community.

In recent years, Condo has been celebrated by the art world as America's New Hero Painter, with his captivating works gracing the collections of prestigious museums worldwide, such as the Tate Modern in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Frankfurt Museum of Art in Frankfurt. As Jay-Z famously raps, "Condos in my condo, I want a row of...,"His creations have become a standard and staple in the hearts of collectors and celebrities alike. La Legion D'honneur, a tribute to the heroes of Neo-Classicism completed in 1993-1994, exemplifies the aesthetic transformation of Condo's monumental vision and the spirit of artistic ambition, reflecting the legend's rise from humble beginnings to his glorious oeuvre.

A Personal Book of the Times; The Supreme Authority of the King

In 1985, Condo relocated from New York to Paris, officially embarking on his transformative ten-year Parisian period. Prior to this move, he held his first solo exhibition in 1983, which was highly praised by Andy Warhol, who acquired numerous works and helped establish Condo as a significant figure in New York's East Village, where he introduced the concept of Artificial Realism. Upon his arrival in Paris, Condo immersed himself in the rich tapestry of classical art history, delving deeper into the nuances of Western traditional art. Inspired by the elegance of classical music, he ultimately unveiled an innovative vocabulary that transcends the boundaries between past and present in La Legion D'honneur.

The entire structure of La Legion D'honneur pays homage to the Neo-Classical artist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres's 1806 portrait Napoleon I on the Throne of the Napoleonic Empire, which portrays Napoleon in a striking red robe, an ornate ruff collar, a jeweled royal sash, and a stout figure holding a scepter—all elements that embody the spirit of an emperor from the Planned Era. This imposing figure, coupled with the majestic scepter, instantly revives the essence of imperial authority on the canvas. The title La Legion D'honneur references the launch of this prestigious order by Napoleon, who abolished the traditional Order of the Knights to introduce a new title. Drawing from history and his own imagination, Condo masterfully reinterprets the medal of honour on the emperor's chest and the scepter in his hand, transforming the original white five-star medal, encircled by oak and laurel leaves, into a delicate entanglement of branches and foliage. The scepter, resembling a tree trunk, connects to the earth, while the leaves at the top form the outlines of five stars, with the "Eyes of Power" at the centre symbolizing the divine authority derived from nature. This "Eye of Power" encapsulates the essence of authority and the glory of kingship, conveying their majesty to the fullest extent.

Reorganised Souls: Variations and Imagination in Art History

While the painting draws us toward a familiar figure through its myriad features, Condo disrupts the "personalized narrative", typical of traditional portraits by presenting a face devoid of distinct facial characteristics. Instead, he offers a generalized depiction of the head and ears, rendered through the minimalist geometries of cubism, with two nails and a candle inserted, evoking the human models found in the works of surrealist Giorgio de Chirico. Chirico masterfully creates a captivating perception of the organic and inorganic aspects of life. American curator Ralph Rugoff has analyzed this interplay, highlighting the intriguing tension between familiar forms and abstract representation. Rugoff once said, "seductive and disarmingly enigmatic, these paintings problematize their own status as portraits. But in Condo's pictures from this period, individuality is evoked only by the conspicuous absence of its crucial signifier – the human face."

Like a skilled craftsman, Condo synthesizes, appropriates, deforms, and reinvents the visual language of various art historical genres in his inventive designs and superimpositions, leading to a profound reorganization of the souls captured in his paintings. The dark background serves as a psychological projection reminiscent of Edvard Munch's haunting shadows, while the candles adorning the figures' heads symbolize both "light and enlightenment" and a fleeting sigh for the human experience. From the misty smoke, he conjures a cross, alluding to the eternity of religion and the ephemeral nature of life. The chest, which would traditionally be adorned with a medal of honour, is instead graced by a vibrant green clover, while the scepter merges seamlessly with natural plants, blending the "everlasting" essence of nature with the "mortal" trajectory of human destiny. This fusion establishes a compelling new discourse within the realm of art history.

Beethoven's Eroica Symphony:
The Curious Interplay of Music and Painting

As mentioned at the beginning, Condo's works enjoy immense popularity among musicians. Beyond Jay-Z, renowned artists like G-Dragon and Jay Chou have collected his pieces, perhaps because they perceive a unique sense of "musicality" within them. For Condo, music has always served as a vital lens through which to understand both the act of painting and the conceptualization of art. During his travels in France in the 1990s, Condo was deeply influenced by European classical music, infusing this sensitivity into his creations. The central theme of La Legion D'honneur resonates with the profound essence of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, often referred to as Eroica, embodying the spirit of heroism and artistic ambition.

Beethoven's Eroica was originally dedicated to Napoleon as a tribute to his heroic efforts in dismantling the old imperial system and heralding the revolution. However, when Napoleon restored the imperial order in 1804 and crowned himself Emperor, Beethoven was so disillusioned that he angrily erased the name Bonaparte from the score, renaming the piece Sinfonia eroica, composta per festeggiare il sovvenire d'un grand'uomo. In doing so, he dedicated it to the ideal heroes of his time and to all heroes throughout history, both celebrated and obscure. Condo, in turn, cleverly intertwines this historical narrative with the texts of music and art history. Through the humourous irony of the blank face, he dismantles the monolithic portrait of classicism, crafting a broader image of heroism that resonates with the Contemporary era: a collective of heroes that transcends the individual, embodying a more grandiose and authentic form of heroism rooted in free will. While he evokes the immeasurable spirit of legendary emperors, Condo also infuses the symphony of heroes and the cacophony of art history with a distinct language that speaks to the individual and the nation, inheritance and creation, the ephemeral and the eternal, ultimately calling forth the heroism that resides in each of our hearts.

Price estimate:
HKD 3,600,000 – 4,600,000
USD 461,500 – 589,700

Auction Result:
HKD: 4,440,000