# Jonathan Meese artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/jonathan-meese/
Profile generated: 2026-05-04T20:34:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1970-01-23
- Nationality: German
- Common media: painting, sculpture, collage, drawing, performance art, installation, theater set design, new media

## About Jonathan Meese

Jonathan Meese (born 1970, Tokyo; lives and works in Ahrensburg and Berlin) is a German painter, sculptor, performance artist, and installation artist whose work draws on figures from world history, primordial myths, and heroic narratives. Active since the late 1990s, Meese works across painting, collage, drawing, sculpture, and theatrical production, and is known for his concept of the "Dictatorship of Art" (Diktatur der Kunst), a recurring framework in his writings and exhibitions. He has designed sets for major theater productions, including at Berlin's Volksbühne, and maintains an extensive publication record documented across several national libraries. His work is represented in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, among other institutions. Meese's performances and installations often blur the boundaries between visual art and staged spectacle, reinforcing his commitment to art as a totalizing, world-building practice.

## Common works and media

Collectors encountering Jonathan Meese's work at auction or in appraisal contexts will most commonly find gestural paintings on canvas featuring bold, expressive figuration and textual elements; painted and mixed-media sculptures; collage works combining imagery with hand-drawn motifs and text; drawings in ink, pencil, or mixed media; and limited-edition prints and artist books. His subjects frequently draw on mythological, historical, and heroic figures, often with recurring personal iconography. Theatrical set designs and performance-related documentation also appear in institutional and gallery contexts.

## Market and appraisal context

Jonathan Meese has a well-established secondary-market footprint with 382 recorded auction lots dating from May 2006 through April 2026, of which 243 carry realized prices. His work trades across a wide price spectrum—from €15 for small multiples and works on paper at regional houses to €240,000 for major unique canvases—reflecting his prolific and materially diverse output. The median realized price sits at €6,875, with the interquartile range spanning roughly €500 to €18,750, indicating that most lots fall in the mid-range contemporary art segment while a long tail of significant paintings commands five- and six-figure results. He is sold regularly at blue-chip houses (Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips) as well as leading German and European auctioneers (Kunsthaus Lempertz, Grisebach, Artcurial, Dorotheum, Koller) and regional German houses (AaG, Henry's, Kastern, HanseArt). Liquidity is healthy and stable: 43 lots sold in the most recent 12-month period versus 38 in the prior 12 months, suggesting sustained collector demand. The breadth of auction houses signals broad market acceptance rather than concentration in a single venue.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Jonathan Meese has a well-established secondary-market footprint with 382 recorded auction lots dating from May 2006 through April 2026, of which 243 carry realized prices. His work trades across a wide price spectrum—from €15 for small multiples and works on paper at regional houses to €240,000 for major unique canvases—reflecting his prolific and materially diverse output. The median realized price sits at €6,875, with the interquartile range spanning roughly €500 to €18,750, indicating that most lots fall in the mid-range contemporary art segment while a long tail of significant paintings commands five- and six-figure results. He is sold regularly at blue-chip houses (Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips) as well as leading German and European auctioneers (Kunsthaus Lempertz, Grisebach, Artcurial, Dorotheum, Koller) and regional German houses (AaG, Henry's, Kastern, HanseArt). Liquidity is healthy and stable: 43 lots sold in the most recent 12-month period versus 38 in the prior 12 months, suggesting sustained collector demand. The breadth of auction houses signals broad market acceptance rather than concentration in a single venue.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these auction records as a comparable-sales baseline alongside the applicant's photos, dimensions, medium, signature, condition report, provenance documentation, edition details (for multiples and prints), and exhibition history. Given the wide price dispersion—from €100 regional-house results to €53,680 and above for significant canvases—identifying the correct comparable tier is essential. Oil paintings on canvas with strong iconography and larger dimensions anchor the upper end; bronze sculptures, collages, and mixed-media works occupy the middle; and works on paper, prints, and artist books trade at the lower end. Currency differences across the record set (EUR, GBP, USD, CHF) require normalization. The 2026 Christie's London lots (Miss Diggie Wiggie in the Woody at £12,065; SELBSTOLE at £11,430; Kampfkopf Baby bronze at £6,985) provide recent blue-chip comparables for mid-tier paintings and sculpture. The 2025 Koller result of CHF 23,000 and the 2023 Dorotheum sale at €24,000 anchor the upper-middle range. Attribution should note that some auction titles contain birth-year errors (one lot lists b. 1980) and that Meese's recurring motifs and prolific output require careful cataloguing.

### Valuation factors

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### Collector notes

- Meese's auction market is liquid and geographically diverse, with regular appearances at major international houses and German regional auctioneers. Collectors seeking significant paintings should monitor Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and top German houses (Lempertz, Grisebach, Ketterer/Karl & Faber) where benchmark pricing is established. Entry-level collectors can access Meese's work through smaller German houses where works on paper and multiples occasionally trade below €500. The 13% year-over-year increase in lot volume (38 to 43) suggests healthy ongoing supply. Currency considerations matter: EUR-denominated sales dominate, but GBP and USD results at Christie's and Rago provide cross-market context. Collectors should verify birth-year and attribution details carefully, as auction catalogues have contained errors (one 2026 lot lists b. 1980 instead of 1970). Collaboration works, such as the Meese & Albert Oehlen Portrait XVIII, represent a distinct collecting niche and may carry different valuation dynamics than solo works.

### Market caveats

- Price dispersion is extreme (€15 to €240,000) because the lot pool mixes unique paintings, sculptures, collages, works on paper, prints, and artist books; median and percentile figures should not be applied to any individual work without medium, scale, and context adjustment.
- Auction records span multiple currencies (EUR, GBP, USD, CHF); prices cited here are in their original currencies and are not normalized to a single base.
- Some auction catalogue entries contain factual errors, including an incorrect birth year (b. 1980 in one lot); attribution details in this addendum should be cross-checked against authoritative sources.
- The Appraisily auction-record index reflects publicly available auction feeds and may not capture every private sale, gallery transaction, or online-only auction result.
- Meese's prolific output across many media and his use of recurring personal iconography can complicate identification; professional authentication or catalogue raisonné consultation may be warranted for high-value works.
- The absence of structured category data in the auction feed means categories were inferred from lot titles and medium descriptions; some works may bridge multiple categories.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/jonathan-meese/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-johnny-taler-2013-196-c-2fb32bf068
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-1970-375-c-643ba59909
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-b-1970-miss-diggie-wiggie-in-the-woody-oil-resin-phot-1137-c-4b828acf0b
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-b-1980-starr-mich-nit-on-oil-plaster-and-razor-bla-1135-c-7fa2612330
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-b-1970-kampfkopf-baby-warmilk-bronzeoverall-19-1-4-x-1-1134-c-b08ab00a0e
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-born-1970-tokyo-537-c-aabd50319e
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-partei-johnny-de-nonnie-spielballi-227-c-4b86d89dc0
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-1970-tokio-zoo-8-seekuh-fliegt-in-s-all-de-fall-zoo-8-seekuh-flying-in-s-all-de-fall-458-c-57f5baf7ad
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-1970-453-c-11455737e1
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-1970-47-c-ce6fb3c4e0
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-1970-46-c-db414c5f8c
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jonathan-meese-3472-c-bd94669aa3

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine structured artist identity research from museum records, library authority files, and biographical sources with available auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots. For Jonathan Meese, identity data is grounded in the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, MoMA collection records, VIAF, and Wikidata. Market insights reflect the breadth of available auction data and published provenance records.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/247819
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/28719
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q459431
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/15028947/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Meese
- Jonathan Meese: http://www.jonathanmeese.com
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500349353
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2001031501