Pablo Picasso

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris
R.S. Johnson International Gallery, Chicago (acquired in 1967)
Private Collection, United States (acquired in 1971)
Russeck Gallery, Palm Beach (acquired in 2007)
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2009

Chicago, R.S. Johnson International Gallery, Inc., Picasso Drawings 1961-1968, no. 16, illustrated in the catalogue
Chicago, R.S. Johnson International Gallery, Inc., Homage to Picasso, 1973, no. 23, illustrated in the catalogue

Charles Feld & René Char, Picasso: His Recent Drawings, 1966-1968, New York, 1969, no. 104, illustrated p. 252
Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Oeuvres de 1967 et 1968, vol. XXVII, Paris, 1973, no. 457, illustrated pl. 181
The Picasso Project, ed., Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture, The Sixties II, 1964-1967, San Francisco, 2002, no. 67-055, illustrated p. 1281

Work is in excellent condition. Executed on cream wove paper. Edges of sheet are deckled. Sheet is affixed to mount at several places around perimeter on verso. Sheet is very bright and fresh as are pigments, with no evidence of time darkening. No tears or losses.
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.

In 1963, after almost ten years of finding inspiration in the iconography of Old Masters, Picasso reduced the use of allusive references to the past by limiting them primarily to his etchings, while in his painting and drawings he began to focus on the relationship between the artist and the model. Numerous variations on this theme absorbed him throughout his remaining years. In some the artist is seen with his easel in front of him as he gazes at his model, in or alone with his troubled thoughts; in others, the nude body of the model alone fills the canvas.

The variations on this theme present a direct juxtaposition of the artist and model. The painter himself is often rendered as an element of caricature, and the seriousness of the artistic enterprise is mocked by a sense of the peculiarity of the situation. In this particular work, the artist gazes at the canvas, upon which the model on his freshly painted canvas reclines serenely . Yet the focus of the drawing underlines the importance of techniques and training to Picasso, illustrating the fact that throughout his career, draughtsmanship remained the foundation upon which all his subsequent excursions into abstraction were based.