Pablo Picasso

Marina Picasso, Paris (by descent from the artist)
Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva
Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne
Richard Gray Galleries, Chicago & New York
Private Collection, USA (acquired from the above in 1987)
Heinz Berggruen, Berlin (acquired from the above in 2004)
Thence by descent to the present owner

Paris, Musée National Picasso, Picasso/Berggruen: une collection particulière, 2006-07, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

David Douglas Duncan, Picasso's Picassos: The Treasures of La Californie, London, 1961, illustrated p. 224
David Douglas Duncan, Goodbye Picasso, New York, 1974, illustrated in colour p. 148 (titled Minotaure et son épouse)
The Picasso Project, Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture. Spanish Civil War, 1937-1939, San Francisco, 1997, no. 37-178, illustrated p. 73 (titled Minotaure)

The canvas is unlined. Apart from two areas of retouching in the white background to the left of the Minotaur's head, one spot of retouching in the lower left corner, and a few scattered small spots of retouching, visible under ultra-violet light, this work is in very good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the catalogue illustration.
"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."

During the Surrealist period of his career, Picasso often used subjects from classical mythology, and the image of minotaur, half-man, half-bull, became one of his key figures from this time. The ambiguous nature of the minotaur perfectly suited Picasso's wit, and in Minotaure et femme the presence of the female figure emphasises his masculine quality. As with most other male characters depicted throughout Picasso's work, the minotaur can be seen as an aspect of the artist's own persona. The coupling of the wide-eyed creature with the curved, undulating forms of the woman, creates a sense of erotic tension that underlies so much of Picasso's art.

 

The image of the minotaur, a character of Cretan mythology born of the union between Pasiphaë and a bull, first appeared in Picasso's work in a collage of 1928, now at the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris. In 1933 Picasso executed another version of this subject for the cover for the fist issue of Minotaure (fig. 1), a Surrealist periodical published by Albert Skira and Tériade in Paris. It was primarily the hybrid nature of the creature that appealed to Picasso and many Surrealist artists, who delighted in the union of opposing forces embodied in this figure. In a number of Picasso's works throughout the 1930s, including several preparatory sketches for Guernica, the minotaur is depicted as a ferocious animal, often in scenes of rape and violence. In the present work, however, his fierce character appears tamed, however the composition is abundant in implications of sexual tension.