PABLO PICASSO | Le poète Alberto Lozano

Sebastian Junyer-Vidal, Barcelona
Private Collection, Barcelona
Private Collection, London
Sidney & Esther Rabb, Boston
Helene Rabb Cahners (by descent from the above; sale: Sotheby's, New York, 7th May, 2003, lot 186)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

New York, Sidney Janis Gallery; London, O'Hana Gallery; Warwickshire, Stoneleigh Abbey & Geneva, Galerie Motte, Picasso, His Blue Period, Pastels, Watercolours and Drawings from the Junyer Vidal Collection, Barcelona, 1960, no. 18 (as dating from 1900)

Sir Anthony Blunt & Phoebe Pool, Picasso, The Formative Years, London, 1962, no. 54
Pierre Daix & Georges Boudaille, Picasso, The Blue and Rose Periods, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, 1900-06, Greenwich, 1967, no. D.III.6, illustrated p. 137
Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Œuvres de 1892 à 1902, Paris, 1969, vol. 21, no. 184, illustrated pl. 72
Josep Palau i Fabre, Picasso, The Early Years, 1881-1907, New York, 1981, no. 533, illustrated p. 218
John Richardson, A Life of Picasso, London, 1991, vol. I, n.n., illustrated p. 185
The Picasso Project, Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture. Turn of the Century, 1900-1901, San Francisco, 2010, no. 1901-054, illustrated p. 112

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, attached to the mount at all four corners intermittently along the edges, floating in the mount. The edges are unevenly cut. The sheet is time-stained. There are small nicks and scattered spots of foxing to the left edge and further minor spots of foxing in the lower right quadrant. 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."

Executed in 1901, soon after Picasso arrived in Madrid, the present work is a portrait of the poet Alberto Lozano - one of the very first people the artist met in the Spanish capital. Alberto contributed frequently to the avant-garde review, Arte Joven, that Picasso founded in Madrid together with his Catalan friend Francesc d'Asis Soler with whom he had associated at Els Quatre Gats in Barcelona. Youthful and revolutionary in spirit, Arte Joven was socially conscious and reflected the bohemian lifestyle of its creators. It was printed almost exclusively in black and white and the illustrations and portraits that Picasso created for the review, such as the present work, were therefore predominantly executed in ink and charcoal for a maximum of tonal contrast and expression. Another work from the series depicts Picasso, flanked by Soler and Lozano together with their collaborators (Fig. 1).