PABLO PICASSO | Jeune homme au miroir, nu, joueur de flûte de Pan, enfant

Sale: Christie's, London, December 2, 1986, lot 228
Stanley J. Seeger, United States & United Kingdom (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 4, 1993, lot 440)
Galerie Perrau-Saussine, Paris (acquired at the above sale)
Acquavella Galleries, New York
Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago (acquired from the above in June 1997)
Galerie Pels-Leusden, Berlin (acquired from the above in 1999)
Acquired after 2003

Arles, Musée Réattu, Picasso: Dessins, gouaches, aquarelles, 1898-1957, 1957, n.n.
Bielefeld, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Picasso Klassizismus, Werke 1914-1934, 1988, no. 56E, illustrated in the catalogue
New York, Richard Gray Gallery, Thirty-Five Drawings, 2001, n.n., illustrated in color in the catalogue

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso: Oeuvres de 1923 à 1925, vol. V, Paris, 1952, no. 118, illustrated pl. 60

The work is in excellent condition. The work is executed on cream wove paper, which has been mounted at two places along the top edge of its verso. The top, bottom, and left edges are very slightly deckled. There are a few areas of extremely light staining to the top left corner, and near the child's face in the upper center, and upper right corner.
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 figure of Pan appears in several ink drawings by Picasso in early 1923. We find him in many iterations, both on his own and attending female bathers on the beach, as well as center-stage in the large-scale oil painting La Flûte de Pan (see fig. 1). The series of drawings gradually moves into an interior setting and develops into the multi-figure composition of the present lot. The dynamic between the male and female figures on the left alternates in the various studies though their classical contrapposto position does not change. Her reflection in the mirror draws the gaze of all except that of the male, who looks uncertainly at her face instead and that of the viewer from whom the mirror is hidden. The interaction between these figures grounds the focal point toward the center and balances the composition. The emergence of Picasso’s Neoclassical style marked a dramatic shift from the uncompromising abstraction of his Cubist works executed not long before. The present drawing is a particularly elegant example of his draftsmanship.