New Paradigm for the Valuation of Works of Art: The major work of Brancusi “le baiser de 1905” Turns the Art Market on its Head

For a long time limited to a circle of the wealthy, the art market has modernized and has never been so promising. This unparalleled expansion in recent decades is due to the new nature and growth in the number of art collectors, which today number in the tens of millions.

Thierry Rayer, you are a researcher in art and history and president of the Rayer scientific study group. How do you see the art market today?

Indeed, the art market, resisting to the last world crises, has an unbeatable profitability. The market’s stability, maturity and constant growth make it attractive to new billionaires and investment funds, who see it as a safe haven.

The emergence of these new players is accompanied by an increase in the number of museums. And when you inaugurate a new museum, you build a new collection. Such is the case of the impressive Louvre Abu Dhabi. This museum, inaugurated in 2017, responds to the United Arab Emirates’ desire to make its capital a universal cultural center open to the world. Today, the Louvre Abu Dhabi has 600 works of art in its permanent collection, refined and enriched over the months. Thus, the acquisition of masterpieces seems to be a political issue for certain emerging or developing countries wishing to create a center for cultural, educational and tourist outreach.

Not far away, Qatar has become a major player. Its titanic museums with extraordinary architecture require equally majestic collections to adorn its walls. If the Qataris are looking to showcase Arab artists, they do not hesitate to invest in the international art market in order to expand their collections. The prices in the auction rooms are reaching unprecedented levels: $70 million for Rothko’s White Center and $20 million for a Damien Hirst medicine cabinet. A particular taste for contemporary art, which was little coveted twenty years ago, but is now worth a few billion dollars.

In spite of the gain in ground for contemporary art, the art market remains a market of masterpieces with a dozen or so artists at its head, including old masters and impressionist or modern artists. Among the favourites are Giacometti, Modigliani and of course Picasso. The record for the most expensive work in the world is testament to this: the Salvator Mundi by Master Leonardo da Vinci sold for 450 million dollars in 2017, acquired by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed ben Salmane.

In China, the second largest market after the United States, investors do not hesitate to turn to

European art to fuel their collections: in 2015, Liu Yiqian, the new billionaire, bought the Modigliani Reclining Nude for $170 million and exhibited it on the walls of the Long Museum, a cultural institution that he inaugurated with his wife in Shanghai a few years earlier.

 

In your opinion, what other field other than painting attracts collectors?

Painting is not the only attraction for collectors, sculpture is also highly coveted. In this field, it is the works of Constantin Brancusi, the creator of modern sculpture, that reach new heights. In 2017, his bronze, The Sleeping Muse, sold by Christie’s NY, surpassed 57 million dollars when it was estimated between 25 and 35 million!

And we can be sure that the value of Brancusi’s sculptures will increase even more since I discovered the formidable secrets of his work.

First of all, it was my research on Le Baiser de 1905 (The Kiss of 1905), the major work of Brancusi’s work belonging to a private collector, that allowed

me to discover that it referred to the Mochica culture and to ancient Egypt. As, moreover, is the entirety of his universal and exceptional work, which none had detected until then.

These secrets were previewed in a book entitled “From Ignorance to Knowledge” published in 2018, in association with the Lanvin fashion house, in which the results of my scientific studies on various works by Brancusi, including part of my private collection, are shown.

 

More specifically, what are your discoveries about Constantin Brancusi’s work?

As I have said, it was first of all the discovery of the secret, dating back more than a century, concerning Le Baiser de 1905 (the Kiss of 1905), that enabled me to understand that this sculpture is the key to understanding art and the very symbol of the intangible heritage of all humanity.

It is the first modern art sculpture in the world, but above all the cornerstone of the artist’s work. Le Baiser de 1905 (The Kiss of 1905), associated with some of the Master’s sculptures, reveals Egyptian deities and tells the myth of Isis and Osiris.

 

His work, going back to the past of different civilizations, makes us understand the common cultural origin of humanity and provides a key to reading all the works of mankind from ancient times to modern times. This discovery considerably increases the historical, cultural and material value of Brancusi’s works.

 

Why is this discovery important?

 

This discovery led to the development of a universal methodology for interpreting the works of art of all humanity. It is leading to a paradigm shift in the valuation of works of art, a change that will soon revolutionize the art market.

It should be noted that this discovery involves various scientific disciplines such as science, defined as the body of knowledge and studies of universal value, characterized by a method based on verifiable objective observations and rigorous reasoning, biology, geometry (the theorems of Thales and Pythagoras…), mathematics (the Fibonacci sequence, the golden ratio…), Egyptology, religions and Freemasonry, we have identified a common link to the great achievements of all times and cultures and are currently working on an application using artificial intelligence that will allow the market to evolve beneficially.

Each heritage represents symbols common to humanity (fish, egg, foetus, pentagon…) and reveals ancient myths (notably Egyptian, such as that of Isis).

The universal interpretation of creation confirms the existence of a common origin that unites all cultures. This is what Brancusi’s work represents.

From this discovery, the so-called universal interpretation of creation was developed. In other words, thanks to the knowledge of humanity and the universal methodology for deciphering art, we now know the many bridges that are emerging between the different cultures of the planet and bring together the great achievements of humanity. This is a great revelation: the knowledge and know-how of the creative process makes it possible to decipher the art of each country and thus to highlight the fact that there is a common origin for all the cultures of humanity.

 

Where do your discoveries fit in?

These discoveries were presented and praised by great scientists under the high patronage of the President of the French Republic and at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). They have been judged remarkable, for applying a rigorous scientific method, by Professor Beséat Kiflé Selassié, former Director of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture (IFPC) of Unesco and President of PARI (Pan-African Applied Research Initiative). For the professor, it is the continuity of the thought of Dan Haulica, honorary life president of AICA (International Association of Art Critics) and former editor-in-chief of the SECOLUL XX review, twice awarded the best European cultural review and ambassador, permanent delegate of Romania to UNESCO.

This discovery is also a means of evoking and promoting, at the crossroads of the tangible and the intangible, peace in the minds of men, an indispensable step in a world that is today in full confusion. UNESCO’s pioneering role is to promote dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples. The “knowledge and know-how of the process of creation” perfectly fulfils this objective by uniting humanity around common values. For this reason, it is necessary to include “universal knowledge and know-how of creation” as part of UNESCO’s intangible heritage and to work together to disseminate this knowledge and methodology.

How will the interpretation of a work such as Brancusi’s La Jeune Fille

Sophistiquée or Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi affect their financial value? 

These discoveries will enable a new approach to estimating the value of works of art. The common thread that runs through these works across centuries and civilizations creates a human and universal unity. Thanks to the universal interpretation of creation, we can trace the history of humanity contained in a work, prove its relationship to a certain geographical area or an artistic and social practice, such as Egyptology in Brancusi’s work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVUFw122b1U

 

What will be the consequences on the value of the works of art whose secrets will have been revealed by your methodology?

A work, whose secrets will have been revealed with the help of this methodology, will acquire a double meaning and will be enriched by an intercultural history whose cradle is common to humanity. This universal quality adds significant value to the work concerned.

These discoveries will profoundly change the system of valuing works for discerning collectors.

I would even say that it will be a revolution in terms of appraisal on the art market.

Thierry Rayer is holder of the Gold Medal of French Merit and Devotion and the Culture Medal of the Cultural Association France China for his discoveries.

He is also the godfather of several countries, institutions and personalities, thus remaining faithful to his desire to encourage intercultural dialogue through his discoveries. 

Contact: [email protected]

Website: lebaiserde1905.fr