FRANCIS PICABIA | Surimpression Madonne

Bertrand Davezac, Houston
Sale: Christie's, New York, February 17, 1982, lot 56
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Overall the work is in very good condition.The panel is stable but very gently warped. There is scattered frame abrasion along all four edges of the panel. A thick layer of varnish (with some minor imperfections) is most likely original to the work. There are two horizontal surface scuffs at the right of the composition just below center.
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.

Following his experimentation with Dada and abstraction, Picabia turned away from the aesthetic of shock toward a kind of “renaissance," creating figurative images of mysterious, contemplative beauty. The present work belongs to the famed series known as Transparences which Picabia executed in the late 1920s and early 1930s, which derived their name from multiple layers of overlapping imagery. Despite the wealth of artistic, cultural and natural references, the meanings of these compositions remain deliberately obscure, their power lying in their evocative beauty and elegance of execution. Simultaneously transparent and opaque, works from the series are manipulated by Picabia in scale and orientation in such a way as to create a seemingly impenetrable allegory with characteristics of a dream or a mystic vision. Picabia's Transparences also draw their inspiration from Romanesque frescos and Renaissance painting. Rich in allusions, they combine their varied images into compositions of great harmony. Surimpression—Madonne is a dynamic representation of the Virgin Mary. Radically depicted, May is is layered with a pared-down sinuous figure with luscious red lips and hypnotic yet sympathetic eyes. The layered image suggests the complexity of Mary’s femininity and her biblical role at large, a question first explored during the Italian Renaissance. In discussing Picabia’s re-interpretation of the art of the Old Masters, critics have compared his paintings to those of Pablo Picasso, often incorrectly characterizing Picabia as Picasso’s follower. Maria-Lluïsa Borràs, however, argues that it was Picabia who pioneered this style, stating “Picabia was in fact anticipating by over fifteen years the Picasso who was to take as his theme works by Cranach, Altdorfer, Poussin and Courbet—or the Picasso of the fifties who, before the adoring eyes of the specialists, was to transform the works of El Greco, Delacroix, Velázquez and even Manet in ways not fundamentally different from that used by Picabia in the twenties” (Maria-Lluïsa Borràs, Picabia, New York, 1985, p. 292; see fig. 1).



This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné being prepared by the Comité Picabia.