A painting by Francis Picabia sold on Wednesday for €10 million ($11 million), Sotheby's said, in a record for a work by the late French surrealist painter.

Pavonia, painted in 1929, was among several works by surrealists that the auction house sold for a total of €33 million ($36 million) in the French capital, it said in a statement.

"We're particularly proud of having set a new world record for Picabia," said auction director Thomas Bompard.

Another work by the artist had previously sold for €8 million ($8.8 million).

Pavonia depicts overlapping images inspired by motifs in the ancient city of Pompeii.

It was first commissioned by art dealer Leonce Rosenberg to decorate his wife's bedroom in their Parisian apartment.

Rene Magritte's Le paysage fantome went for €2.1 million. Photo: Sotheby's.com

Among the other paintings on sale, Belgian artist Rene Magritte's Le paysage fantome went for €2.1 million ($2.3 million) and his Le Palais de la Courtisane for €2 million ($2.2 million).

They fetched far less than his L'Empire des lumieres, which was sold for £59.4 million ($79.4 million, €71.4 million) at the start of the month, shattering the record for one of his works.