Pablo Picasso

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris (acquired directly from the artist)
R.S. Johnson International Gallery, Chicago
Harry and Brigitte Spiro, New York (acquired from the above on May 2, 1973 and sold: Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg, London, June 24, 2002, lot 32)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Paris, Galerie Louise Leiris, Picasso: 172 dessins en noir et en couleurs, 1971-73, no. 142, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Oeuvres de 1971-1972, vol. 33, Paris, 1983, no. 477, illustrated pl. 164
The Picasso Project, Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture, The Final Years, 1970-1973, San Francisco, 2004, no. 72-216, illustrated p. 335

In very good condition. Hinged at the top corners with tape. Old tape is affixed to the verso at bottom edges. The ink wash and gouache are both very fresh and bright. The sheet is slightly wavy, the top and side edges are deckled. Few faint marks of foxing in the blank part of the sheet at upper right corner, possibly due to the fibers inherent in the sheet. Slight soiling to the top edge, otherwise fine.
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.

Executed in 1972, Nu debout et deux hommes features two musketeers, a key subject in Picasso's late oeuvre. The two men surround a standing, nude woman who seems unaware of the two encroaching figures. The theme of musketeers, which first appeared in the work of Picasso's formative years, represents a sort of disguised self-portrait, and the return of this iconography is indicative of his self-awareness in his mature years. Towards the end of his life, the image of the musketeer evoked Picasso's Spanish heritage and his nostalgia for his lost youthful vigor. As Marie-Laure Bernadac has observed: "If woman was depicted in all her aspects in Picasso's art, man always appeared in disguise or in a specific role, the painter at work or the musketeer. In 1966, a new and final character emerged in Picasso's iconography and dominated his last period to the point of becoming its emblem. This was the Golden Age gentleman, a half-Spanish, half-Dutch musketeer dressed in richly adorned clothing complete with ruffs, a cape, boots, and a big plumed hat... All of these musketeers are men in disguise, romantic gentlemen, virile and arrogant soldiers, vainglorious and ridiculous despite their haughtiness. Dressed, armed, and helmeted, this man is always seen in action; sometimes the musketeer even takes up a brush and becomes the painter" (M.-L. Bernadac in The Ultimate Picasso, New York, 2000, p. 455).

Picasso implemented a broad application of ink against the white of the paper in the present work, thus creating dramatic chiaroscuro effects. The darkness of the musketeers cloaks contrasts with the white, nubile body of the exposed female. By featuring the woman at the center of the composition, Picasso confronts the viewer with her nudity and, simultaneously, reveals his fixation on youth and fecundity. Jeffrey Hoffeld remarked, "Picasso's obsession with sex in the late work probably had an apotropaic function for the old master: an image of sexual vitality serves as an amulet against death, that clear water, as he called it in his youth. [The late works] restore a sense of well-being and vigor with the promise of an Arcadian restoration of youthfulness and vitality – the consoling image of a realm of infantile feeling, a refuge of play and pathos" (J. Hoffeld, Picasso: The Late Drawings (exhibition catalogue), Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, 1988, p. 13). Having gone through many phases of stylistic and technical experimentation, by this time Picasso had acquired a confidence of expression that enabled him to apply the layers of ink wash in quick, assured brushstrokes. The energy which results from this free, spontaneous style reflects the passion Picasso maintained into his later years.