Yves Klein's Blue Monochrome Paints New French Auction Record at €18.4 Million

A monumental blue monochrome painting titled "California (IKB 71)" by French artist Yves Klein sold for €18.4 million (approximately $21 million) at Christie's auction in Paris, setting a new record for a Klein painting sold in France. This piece, painted in early 1961 shortly before Klein's only trip to the US, is notable for being the largest of his blue monochromes held in private hands and for its textural detail created by attached small pebbles, evoking the seabed beneath an ocean. Klein patented his signature pigment, International Klein Blue (IKB), a unique mix of ultramarine, synthetic resin, and matte finish, which became synonymous with his exploration of immateriality and spatial depth. The painting had been part of a New York collection since 2005 and was previously on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While Klein's blue sponge sculpture sold for $22 million in New York in 2013, this sale marks a significant national milestone and highlights his lasting impact on contemporary art by transforming color into an independent object of contemplation. The artwork's provenance includes exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles, reflecting Klein's brief but influential career before his death at age 34 in 1962.