Balthus

(French, 1908–2001)

Balthus was a French painter known for his dreamlike depictions of eroticized pubescent girls. One of his best-known paintings La Leçon de guitar (The Guitar Lesson) (1934), portrays a woman and young girl in the midst of a music lesson, with the woman’s breast exposed and the young girl’s skirt above her waist. “I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in ordinary things; to suggest, not to impose, to leave always a slight touch of mystery in my paintings,” he once said. Born Balthasar Klossowski on February 29, 1908 in Paris, France to an artistic family, exposed to the Parisian cultural and artistic elite at a young age. He and his brother Pierre Klossowski befriended many prominent figures of the 1920s, including Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, and Georges Bataille. During the period before and after World War II, Balthus moved from France, settling in Rome in 1964, where he befriended Federico Fellini. He later moved to Switzerland with his young Japanese wife the artist Setsuko Ideta in 1977. The artist died in Rossinière, Switzerland on February 18, 2001. Today, Balthus’s work can be found in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, among others.

Balthus News

Artnet News Pro

By the Numbers: A Breakdown of Results From Sotheby's Modern Art Evening Sale, November 2023

by Eileen Kinsella
By the Numbers: A Breakdown of Results From Sotheby's Modern Art Evening Sale, November 2023
Auctions

A Balthus Painting Deaccessioned by the Art Institute of Chicago Heads to Auction at Sotheby’s, Where It Could Fetch $18 Million

by Adam Schrader
A Balthus Painting Deaccessioned by the Art Institute of Chicago Heads to Auction at Sotheby’s, Where It Could Fetch $18 Million
Auctions

A Balthus Painting From the Same Series That Drew Protests at the Met Is Expected to Fetch as Much as $18 Million at Auction

by Taylor Dafoe
A Balthus Painting From the Same Series That Drew Protests at the Met Is Expected to Fetch as Much as $18 Million at Auction

Balthus Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Balthus (1,600 results)
Etude pour

Balthus

Etude pour "Trois personnages dans un..., 1939

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Jeune femme se coiffant - 1937, 1937

Balthus

Jeune femme se coiffant - 1937, 1937

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Etude pour

Balthus

Etude pour "La rue" - 1929-1930, 1929–1930

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Etude pour

Balthus

Etude pour "Première Communiante" - 1925, 1925

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Etude de nu féminin - 1924, 1924

Balthus

Etude de nu féminin - 1924, 1924

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de quatre oeuvres sur papier

Balthus

Ensemble de quatre oeuvres sur papier

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier, 1920–1931

Balthus

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier, 1920–1931

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier, 1920–1931

Balthus

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier, 1920–1931

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de deux oeuvres sur papier, 1924–1925

Balthus

Ensemble de deux oeuvres sur papier, 1924–1925

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier

Balthus

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de deux oeuvres sur papier

Balthus

Ensemble de deux oeuvres sur papier

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier, 1946

Balthus

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier, 1946

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier

Balthus

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier

Balthus

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de deux oeuvres sur papier

Balthus

Ensemble de deux oeuvres sur papier

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de deux oeuvres sur papier, 1920

Balthus

Ensemble de deux oeuvres sur papier, 1920

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de deux oeuvres sur papier

Balthus

Ensemble de deux oeuvres sur papier

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier - circa , 1959

Balthus

Ensemble de trois oeuvres sur papier - circa , 1959

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de quatre oeuvres sur papier -..., 1955

Balthus

Ensemble de quatre oeuvres sur papier -..., 1955

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Etude pour

Balthus

Etude pour "La bergerie" - 1960, 1960

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Deux esquisses de jeunes filles et divers -..., 1948

Balthus

Deux esquisses de jeunes filles et divers -..., 1948

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Ensemble de 7 oeuvres sur papier quadrillé

Attributed to Balthus

Ensemble de 7 oeuvres sur papier quadrillé

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Etude pour

Balthus

Etude pour "La Tireuse de cartes" - 1956, 1956

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Homme debout lisant

Balthus

Homme debout lisant

Sale Date: December 7, 2021

Auction Closed

English (US)

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