Pablo Picasso

Estate of the Artist

Marina Picasso, Paris

Acquavella Galleries, New York

Acquired from the above in 1989

Dallas, Dallas Museum of Art; New York, The Brooklyn Museum; Detroit, The Detroit Institute of Arts & Denver, The Denver Art Museum, Picasso the Printmaker: Graphics from the Marina Picasso Collection, 1983, no. 20, illustrated in color in the catalogue

New York, Jan Krugier Gallery, Pablo Picasso "Petit Formats", 1989, no. 17

Bernhard Geiser, Picasso Peintre-Graveur: Catalogue Illustré de l'Oeuvre gravé et lithographié 1899-1931, Bern, 1955, no. 200

Brigitte Baer, Picasso, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre gravé et lithographié et des monotypes 1899-1931, vol. 1, Bern, 1990, mentioned p. 333

 

Work is in excellent condition. Oil and gouache over etching. T-hinged with Japanese paper at the top corners. The work retains a rich and textured surface, particularly in the white pigment around the figure. In some areas of the sheet, the oil in the medium has bled slightly into the sheet, this is consistent with the medium. The extreme edges of the sheet are slightly time darkened. Colors are fresh and lively.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Baigneuse au pouf rouge and the lot which follows, Deux femmes, form an extraordinary pair of works which Picasso executed in 1930, using his own etchings as his source image. Picasso created the etching in 1930, probably between September and October, in Boisgeloup. He then painted over two of these etchings with gouache, creating elegant female portraits. In the current work, he depicted a single bathing nude, strongly reminiscent of the work of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a dominant inspiration for the artist through the 1920s.

Brigitte Baer writes of this work, "Our Baigneuse is a reinterpretation of the Baigneuse de Valpinçon painted by Ingres in 1808 (Musée du Louvre [fig. 1]), which itself was reused by the artist in his Petite baigneuse, Intérieur de harem of 1828 (Musée du Louvre), a painting that clearly stresses the theme of 'women together.' Furthermore, Picasso seems also to refer to an Ingresque technique or process. We know that Ingres had no compunction about reusing the pose of one of his models by 'flipping it over'... In a similar fashion, Picasso takes the Baigneuse de Valpinçon and 'flips her over' in order to show her frontality. The 1828 Baigneuse then enters the process, lending the red of its drapery to the cushion in the Picasso and the yellow stripes of the turban to Picasso's yellow scarf" (B. Baer, Picasso the Printmaker: Graphics from the Marina Picasso Collection, op. cit., p. 57).