Pablo Picasso

Eight lithographs, five printed in colors, comprising an unrecorded state, six of the Picasso Project's eight intermediate states and an impression of the published edition, 1949, each intermediate state one of six reserved for the artist and printer, the eighth an impression aside from the numbered edition of 50 (8 prints)

The prints are in good condition, the full sheets. Most with pale time-stain at the extreme sheet edges, pale backboard-stain and scattered, inconspicuous foxing. Two with damp-stains in the top sheet edge and right sheet edges.
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.

 

Are we to paint what's on the face, what's inside the face, or what's behind it?Pablo Picasso

Femme aux Cheveux Verts exemplifies Picasso’s struggle to capture the essence of a subject over the course of many ‘states” or stages of the image’s progression. A lithograph utilizes a separate stone for each different color so a dramatic difference can be achieved simply by omitting a stone or altering one layer. The present lot depicts Françoise Gilot, Picasso’s lover and preferred sitter at that time, in varying phases; lacking hair, lacking a face, lacking color. We can watch, over the course of these eight states, how a composition can be revised or re-worked, such that there are differences in each stage yet each one plays a role in determining the completed image. 

The unrecorded proof (the print in the top left corner of the grouping on the right), subsititues for the Picasso Project's fifth state.  Here, Picasso combined the first state of the brown stone (as seen in state three), state three of the black stone (as seen in state six) and the first state of the colored stone (as seen in the first state).