MARÍA BLANCHARD | Le Monogramme

Private Collection
Galería Manel Mayoral, Barcelona
Private Collection, Spain (sale: Sotheby's, London, 20th June 2013, lot 140)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Barcelona, Galería Manel Mayoral, El talante y la esencia de Paris, 2002, n.n.
Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Blanchard, 2012-13, n.n., illustrated in colour in the catalogue

María José Salazar, Maria Blanchard 1889-1932, Catalogue raisonné, Madrid, 2004, no. 31, illustrated in colour p. 97

Executed using sandpaper, wallpaper, newspaper and various pieces of collage, all adhered to the artist's mount and stable. There are artist pinholes in the upper two and lower left corners. There are spots of foxing to the cream wove paper in the collage at the lower centre and right. There is some staining to the lower right, and some minor losses to the extreme lower right corner. This work is in overall good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Le Monogramme dates from a pivotal period in María Blanchard’s career. Embracing the tenets of Cubism whilst living in Paris and creating some of her most significant works. Blanchard was inspired by the example of Juan Gris, whom she had first met in Montparnasse in 1915. However, it was Léonce Rosenberg who, in 1916, recognised Blanchard's talent and secured her financial future. In the artist's own words, 'he was one of the famous art dealers, such as Durand-Ruel, Vollard, Kahnweiler, etc.  He either gave me monthly arrears, or bought my paintings in advance, i.e. virtually the totality of my production. Don't forget that I worked slowly. The American buyers, such as Gertrude Stein and her brother, or Germans like Wilhelm Uhde, Russians like Tchoukine, and the often omitted Zborowski, Modigliani and Soutine's dealer, or again the Swiss Herman Ruff, did not visit my studio, which my painter friends were cautious not to tell him, i.e. Gris, Rivera, Picasso and even Lhote' (Maria Blanchard quoted in, Liliane Caffin Madaule, Catalogue raisonné des œuvres de María Blanchard, France, 2007, p. 49). The present work displays several of the primary concerns of Cubism to striking effect. The choice of subject-matter, collage still life, was of abiding interest to artists such as Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso who pioneered the movement, since still life objects served as useful vehicles for the effective fragmentation of form. The striking distortion of perspective within Le Monogramme acts as an intriguing visual challenge for the viewer, whilst the inclusion of scraps of words within the composition adds another element of complexity to the scene. The result reveals Blanchard’s total mastery of the Cubist form.