Georg Baselitz’s Fingermalerei – Haubentaucher (1972) led sales at Art Cologne 2025, when it was sold for €2.75 million ($3.1 million) by Thaddaeus Ropac. Art Cologne’s VIP preview opened on November 6th to a flurry of six- and seven-figure sales. The 58th edition of the fair returns to the Koelnmesse, just a few blocks away from the Rhine River, bringing together some 170 galleries from 20 countries.
In Fingermalerei – Haubentaucher, Baselitz depicts an upside-down bird, a great crested grebe, rendered in thick, gestural strokes of earthy color. The German painter began experimenting with upside-down compositions in 1967–68, solidifying the approach in 1969. This work from the early 1970s marks an early example of his finger-painting technique, developed soon after.
“We return to Cologne each year because we deeply value the German market and the region’s exceptional concentration of important private and institutional collections,” Arne Ehmann, executive director of Thaddaeus Ropac’s Salzburg location, told Artsy. “It is still early, but we have already placed significant works on preview day, including a major early work by Georg Baselitz. Following the momentum of the recent fairs in Paris and London, this is a promising sign that the market is regaining its strength.”
Founded in 1967, Art Cologne is considered the world’s oldest art fair for modern and contemporary art and remains a cornerstone of the European art market. Over nearly six decades, it has been instrumental in defining Germany’s postwar art scene, championing movements from Fluxus to today’s most experimental practices. This September, the fair announced its first outpost in Mallorca, which will take place from April 9 to 12, 2026.
Other notable sales reported by galleries at the fair included:
- Thaddaeus Ropac reported the sales of Tony Cragg’s Pair (2019) for €725,000 ($839,000), Not Vital’s Self-portrait (2021) for €220,000 ($254,000), Sigmar Polke’s Untitled (1987) for €175,000 ($202,400), and Martha Jungwirth’s Hier die ersehnten Maße meines Juwels (Here the Desired Dimensions of My Jewel) (2025) for €75,000 ($86,800).
- Sprüth Magers and Galerie Michael Werner reported the sales of a 1974 work by A.R. Penck for €225,000 ($264,500) and Hanne Darboven’s Untitled for €60,000 ($69,400).
- Sprüth Magers reported the sales of Louise Lawler’s Three Flags (swiped again, two) (2022) for $95,000 and 87, 63, 93/2000 (traced) (2025) for $15,000; Robert Elfgen’s Ilex (2021) for €13,000 ($15,000) and Fumus (2025) for €7,500 ($8,600); and a set of six works by Walter Dahn for €1,500 ($1,730) each.
- BASTIAN reported the sale of Cy Twombly’s Still-Life, Gaeta (2004) for €40,000 ($46,300)
- Palo Gallery reported the sales of Tancredi di Carcaci’s Aeolian’s Dream (2025) for €15,597 ($18,060) and three works by Leda Tsoutreli: Come There! Where? (2025) for €7,798 ($9,000), Playing with Cy (2025) for €6,932, and Untitled II (2025) for €6,050 ($7,000).
