Pablo Picasso

Douglas Cooper, London & Argilliers (sold: Christie's, New York, May 11, 1992, lot 31)

Acquired at the above sale

Basel, Kunstmuseum; London, The Tate Gallery & Philadelphia, Museum of Art, Douglas Cooper and the Masters of Cubism, 1987-88, no. 70, illustrated in the catalogue

Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Pablo Picasso, 1988-89, no. 182

Houston, The Museum of Fine Arts, Picasso, Braque, Gris, Léger: Douglas Cooper Collecting Cubism, 1990, no. 74

The Picasso Project, ed., Picasso's Paintings Watercolors, Drawing and Sculpture.  From Cubism to Neoclassicism, 1917-1919, San Francisco, 1995, no. 18-025, illustrated p. 106

Very good condition. The sheet is affixed to the mat at the top and bottom edges. There is a very faint moisture stain, extending across the figure's lower abdomen and along the upper right edge. The extreme bottom edge and left edge towards the top are discolored from a previous window mat, and the sheet is slightly darkened. The graphite is strongly applied and well-worked on the sheet, particuarly in the shading around the figure's head. Overall, this work is in very 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.
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.

Picasso's rendering of the lovelorn Pierrot, or Pucinella as he is known in Italian, dates from the months preceding his wedding to Olga in 1918.  One of the principle characters of the theatrical troupe Commedia dell'arte, Pierrot was the sad clown who loses the love of Columbine to Harlequin.  While in earlier years Picasso favored depicting himself in the guise of the sinister Harlequin Trismegistus, the persona of Pierrot was now more suitable to the bridegroom's light-hearted mood.  It was around this time that Picasso, Serge Diaghilev and Léonide Massine decided to make Pucinella the subject of a ballet of the same title, and Picasso began work on a series of drawings of the sad clown with this production in mind.   

The present work is a handsome rendering of the figure in three-quarter profile, with his hands clapsed between the billows of his sleeves.   Picasso depicts the character in his traditional costume, with a wide-brimmed, conical hat and ruffled, oversized smock, much as he appeared in Watteau's 18th century oil paintings of this subject.  According to John Richardson, Picasso's Pucinella drawings are one of the rare instances when the artist used a model, described by Richardson as a "sharp-looking, bony faced man with a pointed chin and nose" (J. Richardson, A Life of Picasso, The Triumphant Years, 1917-1932, New York, 2007, p. 77).  It would in fact be Massine who would portray the character in Diaghilev's production of Pucinella in 1920, wearing an outfit similar to that which Picasso has imagined for the present figure (fig. 1).