Rare Jenny Saville Charcoal Portrait Sells for £2.1 Million | Sotheby's London Sales

Jenny Saville’s Mirror (2011–12) is a monumental charcoal drawing that redefines one of the most iconic motifs in art history: the reclining nude. Stretching more than eight feet wide, the work fuses multiple intertwined figures in a densely layered composition that nods to both Old Master painting and modernist innovation. Rendered in charcoal, Saville’s technique reveals successive lines and shifting forms, creating a surface alive with motion, memory, and transformation. Figures blur and overlap, evoking the echoes of Titian’s Venus of Urbino, Manet’s Olympia, and Picasso’s reclining nudes—absorbed, reconfigured, and reimagined through her distinctive visual language. Through line, tone, and sheer scale, Saville delivers a compelling reinterpretation of a timeless theme. This colossal and complex work was offered as part of the Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction taking place at Sotheby’s London on 24 June, presented in partnership with The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. Still haven’t subscribed to Sotheby’s on YouTube? ►►    / @sothebys   Want more information on the sale? ►► https://www.sothebys.com/en/auction-c... #JennySaville #ContemporaryArt #ArtAnalysis #FigureDrawing #CharcoalArt #RecliningNude #ModernArt #ArtHistory #Masterpiece #Picasso #Manet #Titian #FineArt #WomenInArt #DrawingTechniques #ArtExplained