Explained: Why a receipt for an invisible artwork could fetch half-a-million dollars at auction

An important figure in post-war European art, Klein was a member of the Nouveau Réaliste movement that began in France in the 1950s. Known for his radical ways and conceptual art, the artist died from a heart attack at the age of 34 in 1962.

The 8.5 x 19.5 cm receipt that will be sold by Sotheby’s is dated December 7, 1959, and was originally issued to antique dealer Jacques Kugel. (Photo: Sotheby's)

A receipt for an invisible artwork by French artist Yves Klein, issued in 1959, is expected to fetch somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 euros when it goes under the hammer at Sotheby’s on April 6.

An important figure in post-war European art, Klein was a member of the Nouveau Réaliste movement that began in France in the 1950s. Known for his radical ways and conceptual art, the artist died from a heart attack at the age of 34 in 1962.

Also In Explained | What makes VS Gaitonde India’s highest-selling modern artist

When and why did Klein issue the receipt?

One of the pioneers of performance art, in 1958, Klein opened an exhibition called “The Void” at Galerie Iris Clert in Paris which saw him place a large cabinet in an empty room. The collectors were given an opportunity to purchase a work from the non-existent conceptual series in return for pure gold. They were also given a choice — either to keep their receipt or burn them in a ritual.

🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️

For those who chose to burn them, Klein also dumped half of the gold he was paid for the work into the Seine River. Klein described the imaginary spaces as “Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility”.

The 8.5 x 19.5 cm receipt that will be sold by Sotheby’s is dated December 7, 1959, and was originally issued to antique dealer Jacques Kugel. It is now in possession of art advisor and former gallery owner Loic Malle, who is putting over 100 items from his private collection up for auction.

Story continues below this ad

In a note on the work, Sotheby’s compares the receipts up for auction to Non-Fungible Tokens. (Photo: Sotheby’s)

Why is the receipt significant?

A reminder of the revolutionary art piece conceptualised by Klein, American visual art magazine ARTnews has stated that according to historian Denys Riout, there are only four surviving receipts from the sales made between 1959 and 1962. The receipt being auctioned has been exhibited widely, including at the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid in 1995, and Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2007.

In a note on the work, Sotheby’s compares the receipts to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) in art, which has gained prominence since last year. The note reads, “Some have equated the transfer of a zone of sensitivity and the invention of receipts as an ancestor of the NFT, which itself allows the exchange of immaterial works. If we add that Klein kept a register of the successive owners of the “zones”, it is easy to find here another revolutionary concept — the blockchain.”

What is Klein famous for?

Coming from a family of artists, Klein had no formal training in art. He was a key member of the Parisian Nouveau Réalisme movement that emphasised on finding “new ways of perceiving the real”.

Story continues below this ad

The 1950s saw him work primarily in monochromes of gold, mono pink and blue. In 1960, he famously patented the International Klein Blue (IKB), a deep blue hue created by him and used in a series of his works, including a performance piece in the late ’50s, where he had models painted with the shade of blue pressing their bodies against blank canvases.

His 1960 photograph “Leap into the Void” showed the artist vaulting down from a building with his hands stretched. Exploring the spiritual realm, the photograph combined two separate images.

Newsletter | Click to get the day’s best explainers in your inbox

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More