Yves Klein’s “California (IKB 71)” on display at Christie’s Paris before its record-breaking sale
Credit : christiesparis
A stunning monochrome painting by French artist Yves Klein has sold for €18.4 million (around $21 million) at Christie’s in Paris, setting a new record for the artist in France.
The work, titled ‘California (IKB 71)’, is one of Klein’s most striking creations – a huge expanse of deep, velvety blue that seems to pull you right in. Measuring four metres across and nearly two metres high, it’s also the largest of his blue monochromes still in private hands, according to the auction house.
The story behind the blue that changed modern art
Klein, who died young at just 34 in 1962, dedicated his short career to exploring what he called “the immaterial.” His signature colour — the now famous International Klein Blue (IKB) – became his language, a way to express space, infinity and emotion.
He didn’t just use any blue. Klein actually patented his own pigment, a mix of ultramarine, synthetic resin and matte finish that gave his paintings that hypnotic, almost otherworldly quality. Each one, he said, carried a ‘different essence and atmosphere,’ even though they all looked similar at first glance.
“California (IKB 71)” was painted in early 1961, just before Klein took his first and only trip to the United States to exhibit in New York and Los Angeles. Christie’s described it as being “evocative of a seabed beneath the blue abyss of an ocean,” thanks to the tiny pebbles the artist attached to the surface – a simple touch that added depth and texture to his minimalist world of blue.
A French record for a French legend
The €18.4 million sale marks the highest price ever paid for a Klein painting in France, a milestone that reaffirms the late artist’s global legacy. While one of his blue sponge sculptures sold for slightly more – $22 million at Sotheby’s New York in 2013 – this is a moment of national pride for the French art scene.
Klein’s influence goes far beyond his own generation. He was one of the first to blur the line between painting and performance, creating art that was as much about feeling as it was about seeing. His monochromes weren’t just canvases — they were experiences, meditations on the power of colour itself.
Even today, more than 60 years after his death, his vibrant blue continues to mesmerise collectors and art lovers around the world.
Why International Klein Blue still captivates
There’s something timeless about the blue Klein created. It’s bold yet peaceful, infinite yet intimate. That paradox is part of why his art endures – and why people are still willing to pay millions for it.
“California (IKB 71)” captures that magic perfectly. It’s simple, but it’s not empty. It’s a surface that feels alive, one that seems to breathe and shift with light and time. For Klein, that blue was more than a colour — it was the closest thing to pure freedom.
