PABLO PICASSO | Deux têtes

Acquired by the present owner circa 1980 in Japan

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Œuvres de 1970, Paris, 1976, vol. XXXII, no. 152, illustrated p. 57 (as the verso of no. 151)

Please note that there is a professional condition report for this work, please contact mariella.salazar@sothebys.com to request a copy.
"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."

Picasso seldom depicted himself directly, choosing instead to personify himself through thematic characters. In this case, he chooses the musketeer to serve as his alter-ego alongside his beloved wife Jacqueline Roque, recognisable through her unmistakable almond eyes. As Picasso developed his visual lexicon throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, the musketeer became a multi-dimensional figure within a series of engravings and works on paper dedicated to the motif. Exhibiting a range of personalities including card players, musicians and pipe smokers, they illustrate the imagined adventures of a bon vivant. For Picasso, the musketeer signified the golden age of painting, and allowed him to escape the limitations of contemporary subject matter and explore the spirit of a past age. Picasso had devoted a large portion of his production throughout the 1960s to the reinterpretation of the old masters, an experience in which he reaffirmed his place among the greatest painters in the history of art. A character who embodied the courtly mannerisms of the Renaissance gentleman, Picasso's musketeers are tributes to the work of two painters he adored throughout his life - Velázquez and Rembrandt.