Pablo Picasso

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris
Saidenberg Gallery, New York
Hokin Gallery, Palm Beach
Estate of Grace E. Hokin, Chicago (acquired from the above; sale: Sotheby's, New York, 5th November 2009, lot 244)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Œuvres de 1967 à 1968, Paris, 1973, vol. XXVII, no. 301, illustrated pl. 118
The Picasso Project (ed.), Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings & Sculpture, The Sixties III, 1968-1969, San Francisco, 2003, no. 68-148, illustrated p. 44

Executed on cream wove paper, and t-hinged in two places along the upper edge. The sheet is lightly time-stained and there is some mount staining to all four extreme edges. There are a few tiny spots of foxing predominantly to the upper half, and a few scattered discoloured varnish spots predominantly to the lower half of the composition. 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."

Dompteuse et lion is a drawing of extraordinary strength and is testament to the creative confidence and energy that characterised Picasso's work right up to his final years. This drawing highlights the latent desires of the, by this point, eighty-six year old artist, bursting with an explosive energy made possible by total liberty and creative freedom, reflected in both subject matter and handling of the medium.

The impossibly voluptuous figure of the female lion tamer is exaggerated in Picasso’s hallmark late style, with her breasts and slender waist becoming signifiers of the artist’s undiminished sexual desires, here transferred onto paper with great creative passion and vigour. As John Richardson has explained: ‘the tools of the artist's trade – the brushes – became surrogates for sexual parts to be used on a canvas that was surrogate for a model’ (John Richardson, ‘L’Epoque Jacqueline’ in Late Picasso: paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints 1953 – 1973 (exhibition catalogue), The Tate Gallery, London, 1988,p. 30). These impulses are also revealed in the frantic crosshatching to the centre of the composition and the pouncing, powerful lion. The present work was executed in 1968, a year of frenzied activity for Picasso, when he executed 347 etchings between March and October not to mention his work in other media.