弗朗西斯·畢卡比亞

Sale: Paris, Palais Galliera, 26th March 1977, lot 22

Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Paris, Galerie Théophile Briant, Francis Picabia, 1928, no. 43 (titled Les six yeuxs)

Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, La révolution Surréaliste, 2002

Paris, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Francis Picabia, singulier idéal, 2002-03, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

London, Tate Modern & Barcelona, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia, 2008, no. 39, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Maria Lluïsa Borràs, Picabia, Paris, 1985, no. 449, fig. 634, illustrated p. 328

Executed on a sheet of cream paper laid on a board. There are artist's pinholes in the upper corners. There are a few minor abrasions on the extreme edges, not visible when mounted. There is some stable craquelure in the thick white gouache and a few tiny losses to the black ink in the lamb's eyes and the figure's hair. This work is in very good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although slightly less warm 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."

A striking example of Picabia’s Transparence series, Espagnole et agneau de l'Apocalypse is an elegant portrayal of a Spanish woman wearing a mantilla, overlaid by the multi-ocular ‘Lamb of the Apocalypse’. These images, simultaneously transparent and opaque, are manipulated by Picabia in scale and orientation in such a way as to create a seemingly impenetrable allegory with characteristics of a dream or a mystic vision. In the present work Picabia has created a Transparence from two of his most important figurative themes – the Espagnoles whose graceful features first appeared at the beginning of the 20th century and featured in his art throughout much of his career, and the Monstres whose grotesquely satirised faces characterised by single or multiple heavily outlined eyes would become an iconic motif in his work from 1924.

Along with these two contrasting, expressive themes, Picabia’s Transparences also took their inspiration from Romanesque Frescos, Renaissance painting and Catalan art. The ‘Lamb of the Apocalypse’ was drawn directly from a fresco painted circa 1123 in the church of Sant Climent de Taüll which is now installed in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona (fig. 1). This monstrous image was taken from the account of the Apocalypse given in the Book of Revelations: ‘Lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth’ (Revelations, Ch. 5, v. 6). Jennifer Mundy has suggested that the Lamb's unusual appearance may have an additional significance for Picabia: 'its echo of the effects of blurred photography added a modern element for an artist who in this period wanted to transcend hackneyed distinctions between old and new' (J. Mundy in Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia (exhibition catalogue), op. cit., p. 20).