Lot 374
  • 374

PABLO PICASSO | Nu couché

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
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Description

  • Pablo Picasso
  • Nu couché
  • signed Picasso and dated Lundi 7.8.72. (lower right)
  • felt-tip pen on paper
  • 34.3 by 34.6cm., 13 1/2 by 13 5/8 in.
  • Executed on 7th August 1972.

Provenance

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris
Marlborough Fine Art, London
Private Collection, New York (sale: Sotheby's, New York, 12th May 1999, lot 449)
A. Alfred Taubman, New York (purchased at the above sale; sale: Sotheby's, New York, 5th November 2015, lot 103)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Exhibited

Paris, Galerie Louise Leiris, Picasso, 172 dessins en noir et en couleurs, 1972, no. 160
New York, Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery, Picasso's Drawings—Myths of the Master, 1998, n.n.

Literature

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Œuvres de 1971-1972, Paris, 1978, vol. XXXIII, no. 496, illustrated p. 170

Condition

Executed on cream wove paper not laid down, attached to the mount along all four edges and floating in its mount. The upper and lower edges are unevenly cut, as visible in the catalogue illustration. There is a flattened crease to the centre of the extreme left edge (approximately 2cm. long). The felt tip pen has slightly faded. This work is in overall good condition.
"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."

Catalogue Note

This extraordinary work is a testament to Picasso’s natural flair as a draughtsman. Executed in 1972, when Picasso's own physical stamina had inevitably waned due to old age, his focus on erotic subjects in his paintings and drawings only intensified. In Diana Widmaier Picasso’s monograph on her grandfather’s art from these years, she claims that: ‘painters go about their painting to fulfill urgent needs and work off their passions’ (Diana Widmaier Picasso, Picasso, New York, 2005, p. 10). This was undoubtedly the case for Picasso, who longed for the physical sensations that now eluded him. Rendered with a confident and free-flowing line, the image of the reclining nude in the present work is one of pure sensuality, and it takes the odalisque paintings of Ingres and Matisse as clear art historical references. The figure reclines languorously, surrounded by the serpentine lines of her oversized breasts, eyes and lips, as well as her looming left foot seemingly writhing in ecstasy. The contortions of the figure call to mind some of Picasso's most sensual depictions of the voluptuous Marie-Thérèse from the 1930s. ‘I have less and less time and I have more and more to say’, Picasso commented during his last decade (quoted in Klaus Gallwitz, Picasso Laureatus, Lausanne & Paris, 1971, p. 166). The freedom and spontaneity of his late work, together with the recourse of archetypical figures and symbols, reflect a growing awareness of his mortality, as well as a conscious decision to allow himself total liberty with both style and subject matter. Rather than ponder the details of human anatomy and perspective, the artist isolated those elements of his subject that fascinated and preoccupied him most, and he depicted them with his signature confidence and wit.