Françoise Gilot

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris
Daniel Henry Kahnweiler, Paris (acquired by 1956)
Françoise Gilot (acquired by 1980)
The Elkon Gallery, Inc., (acquired by 1993)
Acquired from the above in 1998

Roslyn, Long Island, Nassau County Museum of Art, Intimates and Confidants in Art, 1993
New York, The Elkon Gallery Inc., Françoise Gilot: The Early Years, 1940-55, 1998
New York, Gagosian Gallery, Picasso and Françoise Gilot, Paris — Vallauris, 1943-1953, no. 349, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Executed on panel which has been reinforced with a stretcher. Panel is sound. A few scattered nicks and scratches to the surface including a nailhead-sized loss to the light-blue pigment at upper left. The pigments are bright and fresh and the surface is richly textured. Under UV light: certain pigments fluoresce and areas of inpainting are visible most notably in the upper right quadrant and scattered broad strokes throughout the white shirt at center right. Additional strokes are liberally scattered throughout the golden-brown pigment at bottom, and there are a few additional spots addressed within the white of the composition at upper left. The work is in overall 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.

The present work is an evocative depiction of the profound influence Pablo Picasso had on Françoise Gilot, and an entire generation of artists in the mid-twentieth century. Gilot was famously a young lover and muse to Picasso, forty years her senior, from 1944 to 1953. In Les peintres, she depicts him in a style undeniably inspired by his art in both style and coloration.

In homage, Gilot repaints in trompe l'oeil a famous image Picasso drew of her with a peace dove above her head and with a verse by Paul Éluard below. Picasso is portrayed proudly presenting the drawing to Gilot and two other artists, the established Édouard Pignon and the young Pierre Gastaud. Gilot disclosed her inspiration for the work, writing: “I wanted to create a large composition in which three generations of artists would be present, with Picasso himself in the center… I wanted Picasso’s eyes to be like beacons of light.” She goes on further to say, “The relations between figures at the front and the receding ones achieved the purpose of showing how artists of different generations proceed from one another” (quoted in “Françoise Gilot and Pablo Picasso: Mano a Mano,” in Picasso and Françoise Gilot, Paris-Vallauris, 1943-1953 (exhibition catalogue), Gagosian Gallery, New York, 2012, p. 348).