Pablo Picasso

Private Collection, Germany

Galerie Française, Munich (acquired from the above in 2001)

Acquired from the above in 2002

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso,vol. 25, no. 81, illustrated

The Picasso Project, ed., Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawing and Sculpture.  The Sixties II, 1964-1967, San Francisco, 2002, no. 65-077, illustrated p. 172

Excellent condition. Original canvas. Under UV light, no evidence of retouching.
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The early to mid-1960s marked a period of synthesis for Picasso, which was reflected in the theme of the artist and his model. It proved to be one of his most passionate and energetic projects, inspired by the final love of Picasso's life, Jacqueline Roque, whom he married in 1961. The artist explored this subject intensively in the spring of 1965, dividing the pictorial space equally between the painter and his model.  As Picasso continued to return to this subject, the painter depicted in his compositions gradually occupied less of the canvas and ultimately was rendered through inferences or symbols.   In the present work, the artist's presence can be interpreted as the blank canvas on the left, which awaits the touch of his brush.

The synergy between the artist and model was one of profound complexity, "the more Picasso painted this theme, the more he pushed the artist-model relationship towards its ultimate conclusion: the artist embraces his model, cancelling out the barrier of the canvas and transforming the artist-model relationship into a man-woman relationship. Painting is an act of love, according to Gert Schiff, and John Richardson speaks of 'sex as metaphor for art, and art as a metaphor for sex" (M.-L. Bernadac, 'Picasso 1953-1972: Painting as Model', in Late Picasso (ex. cat.), Tate Gallery, London, 1988, p. 77).