The Price of Aesthetic Sensibility
Christie’s is one of the world’s two largest auction houses.
The author, Katsura Yamaguchi, is president of the Japanese subsidiary, having also served as International Director of the Asian Art Department, and as a specialist in Japanese art he has encountered a great many artworks and served as a bridge between them and their new owners.
This book, “The Price of Aesthetic Sensibility,” is a true account introducing the colourful figures surrounding the auction world, the tactical exchanges on the sales floor, extraordinary encounters with artworks, methods for distinguishing genuine from fake, the pride of top collectors entrusted with “a piece of history,” and anecdotes about the relationship between auction houses and their clientele in Europe and America.
Through his passion for Japanese art, he proposes a life lived alongside art, and this fine volume offers a perspective on how to hone one’s aesthetic sensibility and put it to work in business and in life.
The author Katsura Yamaguchi’s father was Keizaburo Yamaguchi, a scholar of ukiyo-e and former chairman of the International Ukiyo-e Society. Although his father’s name never appears in the book, episodes about being taught Japanese art in a Spartan fashion are woven throughout.
Author Biography
Katsura Yamaguchi
Born in Tokyo in 1963. President and Representative Director of Christie’s Japan. Visiting Professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design. Graduate of the College of Arts, Rikkyo University.
In 1992, he joined Christie’s and has been active as a specialist in Japanese and Asian art.
He worked overseas — in New York and elsewhere — for 19 years, and has a distinguished record of achievements including the 2008 sale of a Buddhist statue attributed to Unkei, the 2017 Fujita Museum Collection sale, and the 2019 private sale of 190 works from the Price Collection famed for its holdings of Ito Jakuchu.
Table of Contents
Please see below for the table of contents of “The Price of Aesthetic Sensibility.”
Key Points of the Book
The book is organised into six chapters. Here we pull out the principal sections.
Chapter 1: The World Known as the Art Auction
- Your chance of acquiring works from famous collectors is “the 3 Ds”
- How is the price of an artwork actually determined?
- The awareness of top collectors: to be entrusted with “a piece of history”
Chapter 2: My Half-Century with Art
- My half-century with art
- My connection with Christie’s
Chapter 3: The Strangest Tales of the Art World
- Dramas over authenticity
- A jar enthroned in a business-class seat
Chapter 4: Japanese Art, and the Manner of Appreciating It
- Why museums sell works from their collections
- Why does the world value Japanese art?
- Contemporary Japanese art in the world’s spotlight
- My “Must-See Japanese Art” Top 30
Chapter 5: How to Hone the Aesthetic Eye
- My recommended methods of appreciation
- How to train the eye that recognises “the real thing”
- What Banksy is asking us
Chapter 6: Bringing Aesthetic Sensibility Into Everyday Life
- How should you display the artworks you love?
- What it means to buy a work of art
- An encounter with a work of art is an encounter with a person
Having Read It
The book is packed with episodes that reveal the behind-the-scenes of dealings at the auction house Christie’s, and just these alone make for thoroughly enjoyable reading.
From methods of distinguishing genuine from fake, to the author’s relationships with the people involved in transactions, his recommended ways of appreciating art, his opinions on the market, and his considerations of contemporary Japanese art — the range of stories unfolded from the author’s unique perspective made for a very absorbing read.
What left the strongest impression on this writer was the author’s warm gaze upon art.
The section titled “My ‘Must-See Japanese Art’ Top 30” introduces not only famous artworks the author has been involved in transactions with, but also works of contemporary art.
One phrase struck me in particular.
Every first-rate work of art is, forever, “contemporary art.”
Yes — every work of art was “contemporary art” at the moment it was made. It sounds obvious, but it is a fact all too easily forgotten.
The end of each chapter describes the joy and richness of collecting art.
This is an art book to recommend to collectors. We warmly invite you to pick it up and read it.
Overview
The Price of Aesthetic Sensibility
Author: Katsura Yamaguchi
Publisher: Shueisha
Format: Shinsho paperback, 208 pages
Release Date: 17 January 2020
Price: 840 yen + tax
