巴布羅·畢加索

Watercolour, ink and ink wash on paper

Perls Galleries, New York
Janie C. Lee, New York
Lionel Prejger, Paris
Private Collection, France (acquired from the above in 1991. Sold: Sotheby's, London, 7th February 2006, lot 62)
Purchased at the above sale by the late owner

New York, The Museum of Modern Art & Caracas, Museo de Bellas Artes, Picasso: 150 grabados, 1971

Josep Palau i Fabre, Picasso: from the Minotaur to Guernica (1927-1939), Barcelona, 2011, no. 488, illustrated in colour p. 156 

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount on the reverse of the top edge. There are some very slight glue remnants along the reverse of all four edges. Apart from some very light time staining, this work is in very good original condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although slightly frehser and more contrasted in the original.
"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 July 1933, Sur la plage belongs to a series of works  Picasso created during his stay in Cannes where he was on holiday with his wife Olga and their son Paulo. Although depicting the Mediterranean setting that surrounded them during the summer, Picasso's works of this period do not take his family as their subject. His muse and inspiration at this time was his mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter (fig. 2), whom he had met in 1927. It was not until 1935, when Marie-Thérèse was pregnant with their daughter Maya, that Picasso and Olga separated, allowing the artist to lead a full-time relationship with Marie-Thérèse. In the meantime, the artist continuously depicted his new muse in his compositions, and used Surrealism in such a way as to transform the features of his mistress and thus hide his obsession from Olga.

 

Captivated by her youthful, unpredictable spirit as well as by her voluptuous physique, Picasso's renderings of Marie-Thérèse are erotically charged, often showing her in the state of sleep and carefree abandon or, as in the present work, playing on the beach. Sur la plage is dominated by two female figures, both representing Marie-Thérèse, and a blooming palm tree between them, its phallic connotations suggesting the artist’s lust for his muse. In the figure on the left, her anatomy is transformed into geometric forms, and her long blond hair gives her a free, youthful spirit. The figure on the right is a combination of geometric and biomorphic shapes accentuating her sexuality, her enlarged womb painted in red reflecting Picasso’s dream of conceiving a child with her. The cabin door on the far right, opening into a dark interior, can be seen as a symbol of marriage and domesticity that were still tying him to Olga. Writing about Picasso's depictions of Marie-Thérèse, William Rubin commented: 'None of Picasso’s earlier relationships had provoked such sustained, lyrical power, such a sense of psychological awareness and erotic completeness… Picasso proceeds from his intense feeling for [Marie-Thérèse]… he paints the body contemplated, loved and self-contemplating' (W. Rubin, Picasso in the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1971, p. 138).