Pablo Picasso

Perls Galleries, New York
Rosalie A. Levy & Dr. Robert C. Levy, Chicago
Sale: Sotheby’s, New York, May 10, 1995, lot 392
Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Oeuvres de 1920 à 1922, vol. IV, Paris, 1951, no. 428, illustrated pl. 178
The Picasso Project, ed., Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculptures, Neoclassicism II, 1922-1924, San Francisco, 1996, no. 22-016, illustrated p. 6

This work is in very good condition. The canvas has not been lined. The surface is nicely textured and slightly dirty though the colors remain fresh. Minor frame abrasion is apparent to the extreme edges. Faint and stable diagonal lines of craquelure are visible within the white border and do not affect the central composition. Under UV light: a nailhead-sized spot of inpainting within the white element at center left as well as three pin dots in the outer border (2 to the bottom left corner and 1 to the extreme upper left edge), otherwise fine.
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.

Verre et paquet de cigarettes is one of a number of still lifes that Picasso painted in the early 1920s, when the artist revised his pre-war Cubist experiments. With the sobriety of the war years behind him, Picasso began to combine pure color with powerful linear black shading to express volume and space. In 1938 Gertrude Stein wrote: "During this period...the cubic forms were continually being replaced by surfaces and lines, the lines were more important than anything else, they lived by and in themselves, he painted his pictures not by means of his objects, but by the lines" (Gertrude Stein, Picasso, London, 1938, pp. 27-28).

In the present work, Picasso combines both natural and Cubist elements, abandoning the decorative approach for a bold linearity and angularity of forms. Although the cigarette pack and glass have been elementalized, the composition is enlivened by bold patterns and thick horizontal and vertical lines resulting in a complex construction of flat, interlocking planes. 

Discussing this phase of Picasso's Cubism, John Richardson notes that these still-lifes "are astonishingly varied in their dazzling colours, elaborate patterning, rich textures and complex compositions. No longer did Picasso feel obliged to investigate the intricate formal and spatial problems that had preoccupied him ten years before. Instead he felt free to relax and exploit his cubist discoveries in a decorative manner that delights the eye" (John Richardson, Picasso, An American Tribute (exhibition catalogue), Knoedler Galleries, New York, 1962).