LONDON Something unique occurred last week at Christie's and Sotheby's, the world's dominant auction houses: Two Picassos of the same period and of the same subject went on sale.

© Sotheby's

Not one but two “Homme à l'épée”.

Christies' and Sotherby's rival auctions were announced in the national press under the catchy title of “The battle of the two musketeers”.

Following up the story brought to light interesting information about the current state of the art market in a bleak global recession.

To begin with, let's have a look at the two masterpieces. Thorough his career Picasso projected the different sides of his own identity in a number of ways. the musketeer was one of the most celebrated subject of his latter years.

When Picasso painted les hommes à l'épée, in 1969, he was in his late 80's. Old and facing an imminent death, he was going to die in 1973, he embrassed the persona of a fighting musketeer and painted these portraits in bright colours. The master's late work has always been regarded as the lesser of his body of work, may be because of the childlike aspects of his work then.

Two major exhibitions on the Spanish painter have just closed: “Picasso Challenging the Past” at London National's Gallery and “Pablo Picasso: Mosqueteros” at the Glasgosian in New York. Such events usually spark a renewed interest in an artist work, therefore these auctions may not have been entirely a coincidence.

© Christie’s Images Limited 2009

At Christies's impressionist and Modern Art Evening sale, lot 29: “Homme à l'épée” estimated to fetch between £5,000,000 and 7,000,000 ($8.2-11.4 million) sold for £5,753,250 ($9.5 million).

Loosing the dual to Sotheby's “Homme à l'épée” which sold for £7 million ($11.6 million), earning the title of the auction house's highest price of the season.

The painting sold at Sotheby's was in darker hues than the other, however it had had more exposure as it was used to advertise the Picasso exhibition at the Palais d'Avignon in 1970.

Sotheby's auction of impressionist and modern art raised £33.5 million ($55.1 million). At a similar sale last year, the auction house tally reach over £100 million ($165.7 million). Does this mean that the art market has collapsed?

Not exactly, though the overall income has indeed fallen sharply, due to the diminished number of works on offer, their owners being reluctant to part with them in this difficult economical climate.

Still last week at Sotheby's eight works sold for prices in excess of £1 million. Christie's “Homme à l'épée” made its owner a tidy profit as it was bought in 2005 for £2.7 million...only.

Christie has announced a series of exceedingly interesting forthcoming auctions with unpublished masterpieces by André-Charle Boulle, Cabinetmaker to King Louis XIV, a J.M.W Turner's watercolour and closer to us, a self portrait by Andy Warhol and works by Damien Hirst among others.

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