# Alberto Burri artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/alberto-burri/
Profile generated: 2026-05-04T05:04:18.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1915-03-02
- Death date: 1995-02-13
- Nationality: Italian
- Movements: Matterism (Informal Art / Art Informel), Post-war European Assembly
- Common media: Painting (oil, acrylic, vinyl), Sculpture and three-dimensional assemblage, Unconventional materials including burlap (jute), plastic, wood, PVA, Combustion (burned plastic and wood), Cellotex, metal, Prints and graphic works

## About Alberto Burri

Alberto Burri (1915–1995) was an Italian painter, sculptor, and graphic artist recognized as a leading figure of post-war European art. Trained as a physician, he began painting in 1943 while interned as a prisoner of war in Texas. After returning to Italy, he settled in Città di Castello and developed a radical practice centered on unconventional materials — burlap, tar, burned plastic, PVA, and wood — earning him association with Matterism and the broader Art Informel movement. Burri described his approach as polymaterialist. His work shares affinities with Lucio Fontana's Spatialism and influenced the revival of assemblage art in both Europe and the United States. Major series include the Catrami (tars), Sacchi (burlap sacks), Combustioni (burned plastics), Cretti (crack works), and Cellotex paintings. The Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri in Città di Castello preserves his legacy.

## Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers most frequently encounter Burri's burlap (Sacchi) compositions, tar paintings (Catrami), burned plastic and wood reliefs (Combustioni), craquelure-style works (Cretti), and late-period Cellotex pieces. Prints and graphic editions also appear on the secondary market. His work spans painting, sculptural relief, assemblage, and large-scale land art, with the majority of auction lots falling into the painting and relief categories.

## Market and appraisal context

Alberto Burri's secondary market is deep and internationally distributed. Appraisily's auction index tracks 531 lots with 387 priced results spanning June 1999 through February 2026. The dataset shows wide price dispersion: a mixed-media minimum at $40, a lower quartile near $1,900, a median near $7,800, an upper quartile near $120,000, and a maximum indexed result above $9.1 million. The dominant auction-house footprint is led by Christie's (181 lots) and Sotheby's (71 lots), with strong Italian-house representation from Finarte (58 lots), Finarte Roma (23 lots), Pananti Casa D'Aste SRL (18 lots), Aste Bolaffi (10 lots), and Felima Art Casa D'Aste (10 lots). Bonhams, Picenum, Wannenes Art Auctions, Casa d'aste Minghini, Dorotheum, Rago Arts and Auction Center, Santa Fe Art Auction, Wright, Il Ponte Auction House, Eurantico Casa d'Aste, Casa D'aste Guidoriccio, Mallet Auction, and Art-Rite round out the observed houses. Recent 12-month activity shows 16 lots versus 30 in the prior 12-month window, indicating a moderate but active turnover. The price spectrum reflects a bifurcated market: unique material works from the Sacchi, Combustioni, Cretti, and Cellotex series command five- to seven-figure results, while serigraphs, etchings, graphic editions, and catalogue-related lots trade in the low-three to low-four-figure range.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Alberto Burri's secondary market is deep and internationally distributed. Appraisily's auction index tracks 531 lots with 387 priced results spanning June 1999 through February 2026. The dataset shows wide price dispersion: a mixed-media minimum at $40, a lower quartile near $1,900, a median near $7,800, an upper quartile near $120,000, and a maximum indexed result above $9.1 million. The dominant auction-house footprint is led by Christie's (181 lots) and Sotheby's (71 lots), with strong Italian-house representation from Finarte (58 lots), Finarte Roma (23 lots), Pananti Casa D'Aste SRL (18 lots), Aste Bolaffi (10 lots), and Felima Art Casa D'Aste (10 lots). Bonhams, Picenum, Wannenes Art Auctions, Casa d'aste Minghini, Dorotheum, Rago Arts and Auction Center, Santa Fe Art Auction, Wright, Il Ponte Auction House, Eurantico Casa d'Aste, Casa D'aste Guidoriccio, Mallet Auction, and Art-Rite round out the observed houses. Recent 12-month activity shows 16 lots versus 30 in the prior 12-month window, indicating a moderate but active turnover. The price spectrum reflects a bifurcated market: unique material works from the Sacchi, Combustioni, Cretti, and Cellotex series command five- to seven-figure results, while serigraphs, etchings, graphic editions, and catalogue-related lots trade in the low-three to low-four-figure range.

### Appraisal notes

For an Alberto Burri appraisal, Appraisily would first confirm the work's series and material construction (Sacchi, Combustioni, Cretti, Cellotex, Catrami, Bianchi e neri, Lettere, or graphic edition), then cross-reference dimensions, medium, signature, date, and edition details against indexed comparable lots. High-resolution photographs should document surface condition (cracking, flaking, burn marks, burlap fraying, plastic degradation), support integrity, and any conservation history. Provenance documentation and Fondazione Burri references strengthen authentication confidence. Comparable selection must stay within the same series and medium: a 1960s Combustione unique work (e.g., Finarte's EUR82,000 Combustione 1968 or Santa Fe Art Auction's $79,950 No. 9 Combustione) is not comparable to a 1970s serigraph or etching edition (e.g., Felima's EUR1,400 Serigraph 2-B or Il Ponte's EUR13,000 Cretto Nero B etching). Currencies in the dataset are mixed (USD, EUR, JPY), so lot-level currency and date-of-sale exchange rates should be considered when deriving comparable ranges.

### Valuation factors

- Series identification: Sacchi, Combustioni, Cretti, Cellotex, Catrami, and Bianchi e neri unique works occupy the high-value lane; serigraphs, etchings, and graphic editions occupy a separate lower-value lane and must not be compared directly.
- Material condition: burlap fibers, burned plastic surfaces, craquelure (Cretti), PVA, and Cellotex are inherently fragile. Surface stability, conservation history, and any restoration materially affect value.
- Period and date: 1950s and 1960s material works generally carry stronger demand than later works, with early Sacchi and Combustioni pieces forming the top tier.
- Scale: large unique paintings and reliefs command premiums over smaller works on paper or editions.
- Provenance and authentication: Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri documentation, exhibition history, and literature citations (e.g., Corà general catalog references) are important for market confidence.
- Edition details: for prints and graphic works, edition size (e.g., 90 + XV for the Cretto Nero B etching), printer (e.g., 2RC Printing House, Rome), and provenance notes affect value within the graphic-edition lane.
- Auction-house tier: results from Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams carry different market weight than regional Italian houses, though regional houses frequently handle authentic Burri material.

### Collector notes

- The recent dataset shows Combustione unique works trading between EUR1,550 (Minghini, small format) and EUR82,000 (Finarte, 1968 dated), illustrating how series, date, and scale drive value within a single material family.
- Cretto nero works from Casa d'aste Minghini in February 2026 realized EUR5,600–EUR7,600, providing a recent Italian-auction benchmark for this series.
- A U.S.-market Combustione (No. 9 Combustione, Santa Fe Art Auction, November 2025) realized $79,950, demonstrating that major Combustioni retain strong demand outside Italy.
- Prints and graphic editions (serigraphs, etchings, catalogues) trade between EUR100 and EUR13,000, with the Il Ponte Cretto Nero B etching at EUR13,000 representing the upper end of the editioned-graphic segment.
- Unsold lots (e.g., Cretto bianco at Minghini, Texas 1945 at Finarte, Untitled at Rago) suggest that reserve calibration and estimate accuracy vary by house and work quality — unsold results are not indicative of market weakness for the artist overall.
- The artist's market benefits from sustained institutional recognition (MoMA, Tate, Fondazione Burri) and a well-documented catalog raisonné, which supports long-term collector confidence.

### Market caveats

- The Appraisily auction index aggregates multiple currencies (USD, EUR, JPY) and object types; artist-level medians are directional indicators, not direct appraisal values. Lot-level currency, date, and series must be used for comparable selection.
- Experimental materials (burlap, burned plastic, PVA, Cellotex, tar) degrade over time; condition and conservation review should always precede comparable price analysis.
- Prints, serigraphs, etchings, exhibition catalogues, and commemorative items (e.g., Italia '90) should never be compared directly with unique Sacchi, Combustioni, Cretti, or Cellotex works.
- Unsold lots in the recent window indicate that not every Burri consignment finds a buyer at estimate; reserve strategy, house selection, and timing affect outcomes.
- Authentication may require consultation with the Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri; unauthenticated or undocumented works require additional due diligence and may trade at a discount.

### Market evidence sources

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- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-serigraph-2-b-1973-76-78-c-b6c42429fe
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-cretto-bianco-53-c-eb4f37bf74
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-cretto-nero-c-52-c-c6c5fda794
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-cretto-nero-b-51-c-1368296943
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-cretto-nero-a-50-c-ae9dbe1be6
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-combustione-49-c-339cbd56f8
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-citta-di-castello-1915-nizza-1995-combustion-1963-64-90-c-00940a081e
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-citta-di-castello-1915-nizza-1995-combustione-2-1965-89-c-9cb1899233
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-cretto-nero-b-1971-etching-and-aquatint-66-5x95-7-cm-signed-upper-right-edition-of-90-copies-xv-copies-2rc-printing-house-rome-provenance-private-collection-venice-literature-b-corr-alberto-burri-general-catalog-gr-125-c-ea3f95800a
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-bianchi-e-neri-ll-a-13-c-80881125b3
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-bianchi-e-neri-ll-e-12-c-a3d7ec4883
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-untitled-108-c-ac7043547f
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-no-9-combustione-234-c-19b6383534
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-636-c-0fe4c3d91e
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-citta-di-castello-1915-nizza-1995-combustione-1968-115-c-f73473996e
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-citta-di-castello-1915-nizza-1995-texas-1945-92-c-ad24cc8a58
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-596-c-8144d78bb7
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-237-c-47942d2ab2
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-lettere-e-2-c-b2f4854a6a
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-citta-di-castello-1915-nizza-1995-combustione-omaggio-a-ungaretti-dialogo-1968-44-c-31c49799c7
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-cretto-nero-188-c-75f4d039cb
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-burri-1915-1995-italia-90-1990-634-c-ed44079a28

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine independent artist-identity research from museum, library-authority, and foundation sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. This page draws on sources including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Tate, the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), the Library of Congress, VIAF, the Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri, and Wikidata.

## Sources

- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/14324
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/884
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/alberto-burri-838
- Fondazione Burri: http://www.fondazioneburri.org/en/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79099084
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/71412837/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q461740
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Burri