PABLO PICASSO | Dessin pour la couverture de l'ouvrage de Francisco de A. Soler - rectoFemme sur un lit - verso

Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 12th May 1993, lot 149
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Œuvres de 1920 à 1922, Paris, 1951, vol. VI, no. 1458, illustration of the recto p. 174 

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, taped to the window mount at all four corners of the verso. The sheet is time-stained and there are some scattered spots of foxing throughout. There is a prominent horizontal crease running across the full width of the sheet, parts of which have some associated historic repaired tears. There are several other repaired tears to the sheet, including one to the centre of the upper edge, a horizontal one towards the upper left corner, and one to the right part of the lower edge. There is a repaired artist's pinhole to each of the four corners, and various other creases to the sheet, including another horizontal one running across the left side of the lower register and a diagonal one across the lower left quadrant of the work. There are some small nicks to the extreme edges. This work is in overall fairly 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."

In 1901, having celebrated the New Year’s Eve in Barcelona, Pablo Picasso moved to Madrid and devoted himself to working on a short-lived literary project, Arte Joven. Published for a brief period of time, Arte Joven was a collaborative project between Picasso and his anarchist friend Francisco de Asís Soler. According to María Teresa Ocaña, ‘Arte Joven constitutes a milestone in the career of the young artist who was struggling to establish himself on the Spanish art scene […] Arte Joven formed part of a group of new art magazines that aimed to transform conventional artistic activity’ ('From the Irony of Azul y Blanco to the Sarcasm of Arte Joven', in Picasso: From Caricature to Metamorphosis of Style (exhibition catalogue), Museu Picasso, Barcelona, 2003, pp. 25-26).  It was this desire to transform the social and cultural insularity of late-nineteenth century Spain that stimulated Picasso and Soler, the Catalan journalist whose name adorns the present work, to conceive a second publication, Notas d’arte. The final issue of Arte Joven, published in June 1901, printed an announcement illustrated by Picasso of a further joint publication Notas d’arte. This magazine project, however, to which the present work relates, never came to fruition.

The present work, a preliminary sketch for the publication, depicts a seated lady in elaborate attire, with a drink in front of her; her manner is stoic and her expression inscrutable. The works closely relates to Picasso's exploration of the theme of absinthe-drinkers in 1901. The lurid-green alcohol, which caused hallucinations, was popular in Paris at the turn of the century; it would be prohibited in 1915. Picasso sought to evoke the intense effects of the substance, which provoked responses ranging from fanatical to paralytic. His La Buveuse d’absinthe (1901), held at The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, shows a woman in locked isolation, similar to the state of the woman in the present work. In direct contrast to the bold illustration on the recto of the work, the verso of the sheet, a sketchy and more spontaneous composition, presents a female nude, reclining on a bed and gesturing toward her stockings. This juxtaposition of narratives, overlain with journalistic text – a geographic marker MADRID and the titular NOTAS D’ARTE - underscores the creative Anarchism, Nihilism, and even Symbolism that fuelled Picasso and Soler’s journalistic collaboration in Madrid in 1901.



Claude Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of this work.