Pablo Picasso

Galerie Rosengart, Lucerne
Private Collection, Switzerland (acquired from the above in the mid-1970s; sale: Christie's, London, 26th June 2003, lot 422)
Purchased at the above sale by the late owner

Paris, Galerie Louise Leiris, Picasso. Dessins en noir et en couleur. 15 décembre 1969 - 12 janvier 1971, 1971, no. 120, illustrated in the catalogue
Lucerne, Galerie Rosengart, Picasso - Ausstellung, 1971, illustrated in the catalogue
Oslo, Galleri Haaken, Picasso: Peintures - Sculptures - Dessins, 2004, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Œuvres de 1970, Paris, 1977, vol. XXXII, no. 205, illustrated pl. 67
Hans L. C. Jaffé, Picasso, New York, 1996, no. 85, illustrated p. 64
The Picasso Project, Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture. The Final Years, 1970-1973, San Francisco, 2004, no. 70-236, illustrated p. 69

Executed on white wove paper, not laid down, attached to the mount at the top two corners. The left edge is perforated. Apart from a little light studio dirt this work is in good original condition. Colours: the paper tone is even brighter in the original.
"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."

A fascination in the tense rapport between artist and model became a central concern towards the end of Picasso's life. The variations on this theme are often composed of a direct juxtaposition of the artist and model, separated symbolically by the easel. The painter himself is often rendered with an element of caricature, and the seriousness of the artistic enterprise satirised by a sense of the incongruity of the situation. The artist's alter ego is portrayed in manifold guises, young, old, earnest and facetious. In this particular work, the artist gazes intently at the canvas, whilst the model reclines serenely beyond, the classical odalisque that recalls great masters such as Velásquez and Ingres. The canvas itself forms a barrier, separating the artist from his subject, and the drawing symbolises the absurdity of representing the natural world, personified by the model, through the medium of art.

Picasso revelled in the paradoxes afforded by the representation of nature in art, and the numerous variations of his artist and model series illustrates his own dictum, 'If there were only one truth, you couldn't paint a hundred canvases on the same theme'. On the one hand the subject matter of the drawings represents a satire on the absurdity of the artistic enterprise. Yet the drawings also highlight the importance of drawing techniques and training to Picasso, and illustrate the fact that throughout his career, academic draughtsmanship remained the foundation upon which all his subsequent excursions into abstraction were based.