Pablo Picasso

Private Collection, Spain (acquired before 1983)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

This work is in overall very good condition. The pigments are bright and fresh. Executed on cream laid paper, laid down on Japan paper. The sheet is hinged to the mount at two points along the verso of the upper edge and is gently undulating. The left edge is deckled and has perforated holes consistent with extraction from a sketchbook. There are two small repaired tears running from the center and upper left edge. Some scattered small spots of loss to the medium in the lower left quadrant which are possibly inherent to the artist's technique. The sheet is very lightly time-stained with a few faint specks of foxing. There is a Watermark running along the lower edge.
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.

Bathsheba d'après Rembrandt is Picasso’s homage to the celebrated painting by Rembrandt van Rijn entitled Bathsheba at her Bath which belongs to the Musée du Louvre, Paris (see fig. 1). This painting illustrates a scene from the second book of Samuel in the Old Testament in which King David sees Bathsheba, the wife of an army General named Uriah, bathing from a distance. Instantly engulfed by lust, King David sends her a letter summoning her to the palace where she is forced to commit adultery, and consequently becomes pregnant with his child. The King orders Uriah to be abandoned in battle, left for certain death, so that he and Bathsheba may be married. Their child perishes as punishment from God for their cruel and adulterous behavior.

Picasso, following Rembrandt’s suit, depicts Bathsheba at the moment she receives David’s letter, alone but for a maid who helps to prepare her bath. A scene charged with dramatic tension which is reflected in Picasso's choice of a vivid palette, this is the moment when Bathsheba, and in turn the viewer, comprehends the profundity of the King's summons and the effect it will have on young Bathsheba’s life. Paralyzed and destabilized by the news, Bathsheba’s emotions traverse her darkened face which stands out prominently amidst the multi-colored composition.

While Picasso often painted after masters such as Goya and Rubens, and had even engaged with the subject of Bathsheba previously, the timing of this depiction of Bathsheba may have been particularly poignant for him. In 1963, when he painted Bathsheba d'après Rembrandt, Picasso was newly married at 84 years old; the topic of virility was a major preoccupation for the artist. "It is age that forced us to stop making love," Picasso lamented. "You can't do it anymore, but you still want to" (quoted in Diana Widmaier Picasso, Picasso, "Art Can Only be Erotic," New York, 2005, p. 108).

Having begun the present work in May 1963, Picasso returned to rework it in September of the same year, seemingly unsatisfied with its first state. Bathsheba d'après Rembrandt thus encompasses the major themes of Picasso’s art such as sex, mortality, fecundity, love and power, and as such Picasso lends insight into his late psyche while simultaneously aligning himself with the great masters of the past.