Pablo Picasso

Sebastià Junyer Vidal, Barcelona

Mme. M. Motte, Geneva (sold: November 18, 1961, lot 153)

Sale: Versailles, Palais des Congrès, June 6, 1972, lot 105

O'Hana Gallery, London

Mr. & Mrs. Josef Rosensaft (sold: Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, March 17, 1976, lot 43)

Acquired at the above sale

 

New York, Sidney Janis Gallery; London, O’Hana Gallery; Warwickshire, Stoneleigh Abbey & Geneva, Galerie Motte, Picasso: His Blue Period (1900-1905), Collection of Pastels, Water-colours and Drawings, also The Complete Set of Small Bronzes of female figures 1945-1947, 1960, no. 40, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Vevey, Musée Jenisch, De Cézanne à Picasso, 1962, no. 185

Geneva, Musée de l’Athénée, Picasso, 1963, no. 8, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Lausanne, Palais de Beaulieu, Chefs-d’oeuvre des collections suisses, 1964, no. 225, illustrated in the catalogue

Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art & Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Picasso: The Early Years, 1892-1906, 1997-98, no. 99, illustrated in color in the catalogue p. 194 (as dating from 1904)

Alexandre Cirici-Pellicer, Picasso avant Picasso, Geneva, 1950, no. 153, illustrated in the catalogue

Jean Bouret, Picasso, dessins, Paris, 1950, p. 23

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Oeuvres de 1895 à 1906, Paris, 1957, vol. I, no. 191, illustrated pl. 88 (with incorrect medium and illustrating erroneous signature, now removed)

Pierre Daix & Georges Boudaille, Picasso 1900-1906: Catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre peint, Neuchâtel, 1966, no. IX.25, illustrated p. 227

Josep Palau i Fabre, Picasso Vivo (1881-1907), Barcelona, 1980, no. 957, illustrated in color p. 366 (titled La Célestina, mediadora and as dating from 1904)

Pablo Picasso, A Retrospective (exhibition catalogue), The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1980, illustrated p. 47

Didier Imbert Fine Art, Picasso, La Célestine, Paris, 1988, no. 3, illustrated in color p. 35

Picasso and Portraiture: Representation and Transformation (exhibition catalogue), The Museum of Modern Art, New York & Grand Palais, Paris, 1996-97, illustrated p. 242 (titled Study of Carlota Valdivia [Célestina])

The Picasso Project (ed.), Picasso’s Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture. The Blue Period, 1902-1904, Barcelona and Paris, San Francisco, 2011, no. 1903/04-009, illustrated p. 184 (titled Study of Carlota Valdivia for "La Célestina" and as dating from 1903-04)

Good condition. The sheet is in stable condition and shows no sign of paper losses or planar distortions. The paper is hinged to the mount along the top edge. The following have been expertly repaired on the verso and are not visible on the recto: 1" tear to the top-left edge (now patched), a 1 1/2" tear to the lower-right edge, and one 2" crease that appears to have been formed at the top edge when the tear was created. The sheet is mildly oxidized throughout from contact with acidic mount (now removed), and exhibits both a moderate field of foxing stains and a mild mat burn at the four edges. Though slight fading to the red pigments is assumed, the medium appears well preserved and shows no sign of smudging or loss.
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.

Picasso's depictions of the old procuress Celestina are among the most haunting images of his Blue Period.  This finely-detailed drawing was completed in Barcelona in 1903, some months before Picasso began his large oil version of the solitary Celestina that now hangs in the Musée Picasso in Paris (fig. 1).  The subject for these pictures is the central characher in fifteenthth century Spanish novel, Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea and the old prostitute Celestina.   The story's defining themes of  lust, deceit and misfortune correlated with Picasso's own preoccupations following the suicide of his beloved friend Casagemas.