Pablo Picasso

Acquired by the father of the present owner in Paris in 1974

André Level, Picasso, Paris, 1928, illustration of another cast pl. 55
Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso: Œuvres de 1895 à 1906, Paris, 1932, vol. I, no. 329, illustration of another cast pl. 153
Roland Penrose & John Golding (eds.), Picasso 1881-1973, London, 1973, no. 199, illustration of another cast
Josep Palau i Fabre, Picasso, The Early Years 1881-1907, New York, 1981, no. 1364, illustration of another cast p. 473
Werner Spies, Picasso, Das plastische Werk, Stuttgart, 1983, no. 7, illustrations of another cast pp. 27 & 326
Marie-Laure Besnard-Bernadac, Michèle Richet & Hélène Seckel, The Musée Picasso, Paris: Paintings, Papiers collés, Picture Reliefs, Sculptures, Ceramics, London, 1986, no. 277, illustration of another cast p. 151
Carsten-Peter Warncke & Inigo F. Walther, Pablo Picasso 1881-1973, Cologne, 1991, vol. I, illustration of another cast p. 143
John Richardson, A Life of Picasso, London, 1991, vol. I, illustration of another cast p. 460
Werner Spies, Picasso, The Sculptures, Stuttgart, 2000, no. 7, illustrations of another cast pp. 33 & 346
Brigitte Léal, Christine Piot & Marie-Laure Besnard-Bernadac, The Ultimate Picasso, New York, 2000, no. 201, illustration of another cast p. 98

Attractive dark brown patina. There is some very minor surface dirt in the deeper crevices. What appear to be scattered cracks and fissures to the model are in fact inherent to the cast. Apart from a few pin-sized spots of accretion, 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. 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."

Femme se coiffant was first conceived when Picasso returned to Paris from the Pyrenean village of Gósol in 1906. The artist had achieved a degree of notoriety in Paris and Ambroise Vollard, the renowned Paris-based dealer, had become aware of the potential value of his work. In the Spring, Vollard acquired a group of 27 paintings and gouaches for 2000 francs. This windfall gave Picasso both a boost in confidence as well as the means to take Fernande Olivier, his mistress and muse of the moment, to Spain. Focusing intensely upon his relationship with Olivier and his representation of the nude, the majority of his Gósol works were distinctly personal in tone. Picasso made a large number of works devoted to the subject of the present work, as Werner Spies writes: 'The figure of a woman combing her hair, which appeared repeatedly during the summer in Spain, had interested Picasso even before his departure from Paris; now it acquired central significance' (Werner Spies, op.cit., Stuttgart, 2000, p. 31). The variations of this theme, standing, crouching and seated are all painted in a similar palette - ochre, pinks, browns and reds - that is recalled in the patina of the bronze. Marilyn McCully suggests that the interplay between painting and sculpture is especially evident when considered as a group: 'The Woman Combing her Hair works reveal the dramatic strides that Picasso was making in the autumn of 1906, as if one medium could, as it were lead to the next - drawing to sculpture to painting, or even in reverse order' (Marilyn McCully, Picasso in Paris 1900-1907 (exhibition catalogue), Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2011, p. 203).

Picasso executed the clay model for the present work in the workshops of the Spanish ceramicist Francisco 'Paco' Durio, who worked in a predominantly linear, fin-de-siècle style. The expertise afforded by his friend's assistance and atelier meant that Picasso was able to employ an advanced complexity of sculptural textures, as evident in the present work. The surface alternates between smooth passages to the heavily worked areas about the hips and the hair. The present work suggests that, even as early as 1906, Picasso was interested in reconfiguring traditional perspectival devices - the vital element to his subsequent invention of Cubism.