Pablo Picasso

Marina Picasso, Paris (granddaughter of the artist; by descent)
Galerie Thomas, Munich
Acquired from the above by the present owner in the 1980s

Munich, Haus der Kunst; Cologne, Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle; Frankfurt, Städtische Galerie im Städelschen Kunstinstitut & Zurich, Kunsthaus, Pablo Picasso. Eine Ausstellung zum hundertsten Geburtstag. Werke aus der Sammlung Marina Picasso, 1981-82, no. 157, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Tokyo, The National Museum of Modern Art & Kyoto, Municipal Museum, Picasso: Masterpieces from the Marina Picasso Collection and from Museums in U.S.A. and U.S.S.R., 1983, no. 132, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

The Picasso Project, Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture. Surrealism, 1930-1936, San Francisco, 1997, no. 33-063, illustrated p. 174

The canvas is unlined and there is no evidence of retouching under ultra-violet light. This work is in very good original condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurated in the printed catalogue illustration, although slightly stronger and 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."

Femme endormie is a portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso's muse who inspired some of the most romantic and sensual works of his œuvre. The artist met Marie-Thérèse no later than January 1927, when she was seventeen. With the words 'I am Picasso. You and I are going to do great things together', the forty-six year old artist introduced himself to the young woman who would soon become his mistress and muse for more than a decade. Many years later Marie-Thérèse recalled the circumstances of their sudden first encounter: 'I knew nothing – neither about life nor about Picasso. Nothing. I had been shopping at Galeries Lafayette and Picasso saw me coming out of the Metro' (quoted in L. Levy, Picasso, London, 1991, p. 88).

 

Captivated by her youthful, unpredictable spirit as well as by her voluptuous physique, Picasso's renderings of Marie-Thérèse are erotically charged, often showing her in the state of sleep and carefree abandon, as in the present work. William Rubin observed: 'None of Picasso's earlier relationships had provoked such sustained, lyrical power, such a sense of psychological awareness and erotic completeness... Picasso proceeds from his intense feeling for [Marie-Thérèse]... he paints the body contemplated, loved and self-contemplating' (W. Rubin, Picasso in the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1971, p. 138). This contemplative quality is beautifully presented in Femme endormie, showing Marie-Thérèse in her sleep, open to the viewer's gaze. The simple lines suggesting the bed resemble a pedestal, elevating the nude to a work of art in her own right. 

 

 

Fig. 1, Pablo Picasso, Nu couché, 1932, oil on canvas, Musée Picasso, Paris