Pablo Picasso

Estate of the artist (inv. 3002)
Marina Picasso (the artist's granddaughter; by descent from the above)
Acquired from the above by the late owner

Munich, Haus der Kunst; Cologne, Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle; Frankfurt, Städtische Galerie im Städelschen Kunstinstitut & Zurich, Kunsthaus, Collection Marina Picasso, 1981-82, no. 140, illustrated in the catalogue
Venice, Centro di Cultura di Palazzo Grassi, Picasso, Opere dal 1895 al 1971 dalla Collezione Marina Picasso, 1981, no. 143, illustrated in the catalogue
Verona, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Palazzo Forti, Picasso in Italia, 1990, no. 70, illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Kunstmuseum, Canto d'Amore, Klassizistische Moderne in Musik und bildender Kunst 1914-1935, 1996, no. 132, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Munich, Haus der Kunst; Cologne, Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle; Frankfurt, Städtische Galerie im Städelschen Kunstinstitut & Zurich, Kunsthaus, Collection Marina Picasso, 1981-82, no. 140, illustrated in the catalogue
Venice, Centro di Cultura di Palazzo Grassi, Picasso, Opere dal 1895 al 1971 dalla Collezione Marina Picasso, 1981, no. 143, illustrated in the catalogue
Verona, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Palazzo Forti, Picasso in Italia, 1990, no. 70, illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Kunstmuseum, Canto d'Amore, Klassizistische Moderne in Musik und bildender Kunst 1914-1935, 1996, no. 132, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin & Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Linie, Licht und Schatten. Meisterzeichnungen und Skulpturen der Sammlung Jan und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 1999, no. 132, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Venice, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, The Timeless Eye. Master Drawings from the Jan and Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski Collection, 1999, no. 146, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, La passion du dessin. Collection Jan et Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2002, no. 158, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Vienna, Albertina Museum, Goya bis Picasso. Meisterwerke der Sammlung Jan Krugier und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2005, no. 145, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Frankfurt, Schirn Kunsthalle, Picasso und das Theater, 2006-07, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Munich, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Das Ewige Auge - Von Rembrandt bis Picasso. Meisterwerke der Sammlung Jan Krugier und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2007, no. 181, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Frankfurt, Schirn Kunsthalle, Picasso und das Theater, 2006-07, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Munich, Krugier/Poniatowski Collection, 2007, no. 181

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, œuvres de 1923 à 1925, Paris, 1952, vol. V, no. 367, illustrated p. 158
Douglas Cooper, Picasso Theater, New York, 1987, no. 370, illustrated n.p.
The Picasso Project (ed.), Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture, Towards Surrealism 1925-1929, San Francisco, 1996, no. 25-075, illustrated p. 21
John Richardson, A Life of Picasso, The Triumphant Years 1917-1932, New York, 2007, vol. III, illustrated p. 277

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, attached intermittently along all four edges to the mount and floating in the mount. The upper edge is perforated, the sheet is slightly time-stained and there is some minor staining along the extreme left and right edges. Otherwise, this work is in overall good condition.
"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."

Picasso’s sublime and crystalline portrait, executed on a family visit to Monte Carlo in the Spring of 1925, depicts Enrico Cecchetti, the legendary master of ballet and mime at La Scala in Milan. He was considered one of the great ballet virtuosi of the age, the son of professional dancers, and even born in the changing rooms of the Teatro Apollo in Rome. In 1920, Cecchetti had danced for the debut of Stravinsky’s acclaimed Pulcinella and had a considerable reputation within his field. The present work represents not only a faithful portrayal of its sitter but also captures an episode in Picasso’s life in the period when he was with Olga Khokhlova. Olga, herself a Russian dancer and a member of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, had first met Cecchetti in 1917, when she auditioned in front of a judging panel consisting of Cecchetti, Nijinsky, and Diaghilev. As John Richardson has remarked, that ‘trio [was] described by another dancer as more terrifying than any first-night audience’. Nonetheless, Olga was accepted and Picasso continued to follow her performances with much attention, eventually proposing to her eighteen months later.