Pablo Picasso

Private Collection, France
Thence by descent to the present owners

The canvas is not lined. There is some scattered hairline craquelure mostly in thebrown background. Apart from three pinhead-sized specks of retouching in the lower left quadrant, all visible under ultra-violet light, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall deeper and more subtle in the original, the purple tone is richer and less overpowering 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."

This curvaceous nude was painted in 1924 as a study for the curtain of the ballet Mercure, Picasso's last major collaboration with a ballet. Conceived as a series of episodic scenes or 'plastic poses' (according to the description in the programme), during which the god Mercury appears in poses more reminiscent of mime than dance, Mercure aimed to be a thoroughly modern ballet, at once spiritual and entertaining. The music was by Erik Satie, who, aware that Picasso's contribution dominated the show, commented in Paris-Journal: 'though it has a subject, this ballet does not have a plot, it is purely decorative and you can clearly see Picasso's wonderful input' (Erik Satie, Paris-Journal, 30th May 1924, p. 2).

The first performance of Mercure was on 18th June 1924 in Paris at the Cigale theatre, as part of the event Soirées de Paris, organised with the support of Comte Etienne de Beaumont, during which music-hall numbers were interspersed with ballets, plays and poetry readings. In the response to the initially hostile reaction from the public, Breton, Aragon, Ernst, Péret, Soupault and their friends, who had been impressed by the audacious fantasy of the piece, wrote on the 20th June: 'We would like to attest to our profound and total admiration for Picasso who, against the odds, has never stopped creating modern anxiety and providing it with the highest expression. Here with Mercure he once again provokes general incomprehension, by using the full measure of his audacity and talent.  In light of this exceptional event, Picasso, more than any of those who surround him, appears today to be the eternal personification of youth and the undeniable master of the situation' (Paris-Journal, 20th June 1924).

In this nude, like the stage curtain for which it is a study, Picasso employs a technique which separates the drawing from the colour, so that the contours of the figure are freely drawn with a continuous black line which detaches itself from the background of subdued colours in such a way that the two are independent from each other. This is by no means an unusual technique in the artist's œuvre and is a part of Picasso's quest to free himself from the two dimensional surface of the canvas and make the figures and objects depicted more tangible.