The first of these, a 4ft 3in (1.3m) square oil on canvas titled Explosion Lyrique No 1, was the highlight of a sale held by Mathias & Oger-Blanchet (24% buyer’s premium) at Drouot on March 19.
The painting was signed and dated 1918 lower right, countersigned Alb Magnelli Firenze 1918 and titled on the reverse and came in a wooden frame made by the artist.
The painting was acquired directly from the artist by Simone Frigerio, a French art critic and collector active in Paris in the 1960s-70s, from the Venice Biennale exhibition of 1950 where a room was dedicated to a display of Magnelli’s work. It had passed down by descent to the vendors.
Offered with an estimate of €250,000-300,000, it ended up selling for €810,000 (£698,275).