PABLO PICASSO | Tête de femme

Acquired in Paris circa 1970s

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Oeuvres de 1912 à 1917, vol. II**, Paris, 1942, no. 574, illustration of another cast pl. 266
Brassaï & Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Les Sculptures de Picasso, Paris, 1949, illustration of another cast pl. 3 
Werner Spies, Sculpture by Picasso, London, 1971, no. 12, illustration of another cast p. 40
Mare-Besnard Bernadec, Michèle Richet & Hélène Seckel, The Picasso Museum, Paris, New York, 1986, no. 278, illustration of another cast p. 151
Werner Spies, Picasso: The Sculptures. Catalogue Raisonné of the Sculptures, Stuttgart, 2000, no. 12, illustration of another cast p. 346

This work is in overall good condition. Reddish brown patina. There is some minor rubbing to the figure's head and nose. Minor accretion behind the figure's right ear. Some light surface dust in the deepest crevices. The sculpture is mounted to a wooden base with three nails which fit into the interior of the sculpture which has been filled with cork.
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.

This extraordinarily compact, block-like sculpture was conceived in Paris in the winter of 1906-07 and is one of Picasso’s most important early bronzes. The group of works made between the autumn of 1906 and 1909 posed new questions hitherto unknown in European sculpture, putting them on a par with Picasso’s work as a painter and draftsman. Reduced to the essentials, the schematic treatment of the almond-shaped eyes, the smooth surface and the symmetrical features of this piece create the impression of perfect serenity.

“This mask-like object is the sculptural consequence of a radical transition in Picasso’s pictorial and graphic work from a portrait-like conception of the head to a form of expressive stylization” writes Werner Spies. “For the first time, Picasso obtains a sculptural representation in which dependence on received patterns and an interest in autonomous, compositionally abstract formative media counterbalance one another” (Werner Spies, Sculpture by Picasso, London, 1971, pp. 21 & 23).

Claude Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of this work.