Pablo Picasso

Marina Picasso (acquired by 1981)
Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva (acquired from the above)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Paris, Le Petit Palais, Hommage à Pablo Picasso, 1966-67, no. 116, illustrated in the catalogue
Venice, Centro di Cultura di Palazzo Grassi, Picasso: opere dal 1895 al 1971 dalla Collezione Marina Picasso, 1981, no. 263, illustrated in the catalogue
Munich, Haus der Kunst; Cologne, Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle; Frankfurt, Städelsches Kunstinstitut & Zurich, Kunsthaus, Pablo Picasso, Sammlung Marina Picasso, 1981-82, no. 220, illustrated in the catalogue
Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, Picasso the Draughtsman, 103 Works from the Marina Picasso Collection, 1993, no. 71, illustrated in the catalogue

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, œuvres de 1942 et 1943, Paris, 1961, vol. XII, no. 137, illustrated pl. 71
The Picasso Project, Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture. Nazi Occupation, 1940-1944, San Francisco, 1999, no. 42-137, illustrated p. 158

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount in all four corners, floating in the mount. There are artist's pinholes to the centre of the upper edge and to the upper right edge. There is a minor 5cm. area of paper infill to the centre of the left edge, a small repaired tear to the centre of the lower edge, both with associated retouching, and a small paper loss to the upper right corner. There are some minor scattered losses to the medium, mainly to the areas of ink wash, a 3cm. flattened crease to the upper right corner and a flattened crease towards the centre of the upper edge. Apart from some minor handling creases towards the edges, this work is in 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 the early months of 1943 Picasso modelled his sculpture Homme au mouton in just a day (fig. 1). It was the final process of an ongoing project that saw him produce a number of preliminary sketches in 1942 in order to best decide the overall gesture of the male figure in the work, as well as the positioning of the sheep in his arms. Études pour l'homme au mouton is one of these preparatory sketches and is incredibly close in composition to the final sculpture with the only noticeable difference being the angle of the figure's left arm.

The subject of a man holding a lamb evokes the theme of the pastoral, with the figure in the present work representing a vision of Arcadian harmony, a theme that could not have been further from the reality of Nazi-occupied France. It is possible therefore that Homme au mouton was a project to help Picasso retreat from a continent at war towards a bucolic rural idyll of classical Greece, the antithesis of such a troubled modern day world.

Fig. 1, Pablo Picasso, L'Homme au mouton, 1943, bronze