AARTSELAAR.- Auctim, one of Europe’s leading online auction houses, announces an exceptional international auction featuring two rare sculptural works by Belgian artist Jan Fabre, including a landmark edition of his iconic sculpture The Man Who Measures the Clouds.
The fully online auction will take place from 7 to 17 February 2026, offering collectors, curators and institutions a unique opportunity to acquire museum-grade works by one of Europe’s most influential contemporary artists.
Two iconic works, one extraordinary opportunity
Headlining the auction is The Man Who Measures the Clouds (American version, 18 years older) (2016), a monumental silicon-bronze sculpture measuring 283 × 150 × 80 cm. Offered as Artist Proof I/IV, this edition represents the most exclusive version of one of Fabre’s most celebrated works. Other editions are held in major museum collections in Ghent, Kanazawa and San Francisco.
The sculpture depicts a man standing on a ladder, arms outstretched toward the clouds — not to measure them literally, but to honor the unreachable. Conceived as a tribute to Fabre’s late brother Emile, the work blends the artist’s own physical casts with Emile’s likeness reconstructed from a childhood photograph, resulting in a sculpture that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Also featured is Le garçon qui porte la lune et l’étoile sur sa tête, a poetic and enigmatic sculpture balancing childlike wonder with cosmic symbolism. With a moon and star resting on his head, the figure evokes spiritual journey, initiation and the timeless human impulse to carry the incomprehensible. Rarely available on the market, the work is prized for its imaginative power and sculptural intensity.
A rare moment in Fabre’s sculptural universe “Seeing multiple works of this scale by Jan Fabre offered together is extremely rare. These sculptures do not merely represent ideas; they enact them. They remind us that the body can still be a site of wonder, discipline, and myth.
This auction reflects Auctim’s commitment to bringing museum-quality works to a global audience. Jan Fabre’s legacy is both contemporary and timeless, and these sculptures rank among his most powerful and sought-after creations,” said Christophe Moyersoen, CEO of Auctim.
Auctim has previously auctioned editions of The Man Who Measures the Clouds, underscoring the strong international collector interest in Fabre’s sculptural work.
Born in Antwerp in 1958, Jan Fabre is one of the most influential Belgian artists of recent decades. His multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, drawing, performance, theatre, and literature. Fabre describes himself as a consilience artist, weaving together art, science, biology, religion and philosophy.
His works are held in leading museum collections worldwide, including the Louvre (Paris), S.M.A.K. (Ghent), the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (Kanazawa) and the Madre Museum (Naples). Among his best-known installations is Heaven of Delight, a ceiling covered with more than one and a half million jewel beetle wings in the Royal Palace of Brussels.
Auction information
