"Man with a pipe"

Picasso work auctioned for 16 million euros

The Picasso painting "Homme a la pipe" was auctioned for around 16 million euros.(Bild: AP)

The painting "Homme à la pipe" ("Man with a pipe") by the artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) went under the hammer in London on Wednesday evening. The painting was worth the equivalent of 16 million euros to one bidder.

The painting had been in a private collection for almost 50 years, according to the London auction house Sotheby's. The anonymous buyer outbid a collector from Asia.

The painting achieved the highest price. "Homme à la pipe" was auctioned on Wednesday evening for around 13.7 million pounds (around 16 million euros).

The anonymous buyer outbid a collector from Asia. It is unclear whether this was a pipe enthusiast.(Bild: AFP)

Great enthusiasm for newcomers
The auction generated a total of around 99.7 million pounds (116.7 million euros). While the top prices were achieved with artists whose value at auction has long been established, the enthusiasm was particularly great for relative newcomers.

Painting by Picasso's lover fetched 840,000euros
 The auction house mentioned, for example, a painting by the French artist Françoise Gilot (1921-2023), who was in a relationship with Picasso for several years and also wrote about it in her book "Life with Picasso". Her work "Portrait de Geneviève avec un collier de colombes" fetched around 720,000 pounds (around 840,000 euros).