This surreal masterpiece by René Magritte has sold for more than $120 million

A 1954 painting by René Magritte, The realm of lightsjust sold for $121.2 million. The painting surpassed his Estimate of $95 million this week at Christie’s New York, making it the first work by Magritte ever to sell for nine figures.

Magritte is known for his surrealist style, often placing everyday objects or figures in strange scenes and scenarios.

The realm of lights depicts a house near a pond, shrouded in the darkness of night, with only a street lamp and interior windows illuminating it. The treetops above the house, untouched by the light, are completely black. However, the sky above the house is bright blue and filled with fluffy white clouds, as if it were the middle of the day.

In 1966, Magritte explained the concept, per Christie’s: “After I painted The realm of lightsI got the idea that day and night exist together, that they are one. This is reasonable, or at least consistent with our knowledge: in the world night always exists at the same time as day. (Just as there is always sadness in some people and happiness in others.) But such ideas are not poetic. What is poetic is the visible image of the photo.”

The artist became somewhat fixated on this idea. He created 27 different versions of it The realm of lights, and each depicts the same scene: a dark house (or houses) with a bright blue sky above.

The high price of this sale comes at a time when many are concerned about a sluggish global art market. ArtnetKatya Kazakina reports that two telephone bidders are competing against each other through Christie executives Alex Rotter And Xin Li Cohen.

“You could have heard a pin drop,” Kazakina reports. “Nearly ten minutes into the proceedings, Rotter was at the top with a bid of $105 million, and Li-Cohen indicated her client was withdrawing. The room erupted in applause. The buyer’s premium brought the total to $121.2 million.”

Brett Gorvya founder of the art gallery Lévy Gorvy Dayantells the New York Times‘ Scott Reyburn that the large number could be influenced by the current political climate.

“The election definitely had an immediate impact on the market,” Gorvy says. “The stock market has made people richer. The day after the election, we saw in our gallery that deals were being made by customers who had previously hesitated.”

But, Gorvy notes, “it could be a honeymoon period.”

Two other works by Magritte were offered for sale at the auction. Those paintings, La cour d’amour (1960) and La Mémoire (1945), sold for $10.53 million and $3.68 million respectively. The impressive number for The realm of lights stole the show and further cemented Magritte’s legacy as a painter.

“The motif is one of the few truly iconic images in 20th century art,” said Max Carter, Christie’s vice chairman of 20th to 21st Century Art. CNNby Karina Tsui.

Carter adds, “When icons enter the marketplace, they create their own market dynamics.”