Picasso from 1961
1962 Newlywed and Hound
2019 SOLD for $ 55M including premium
Picasso changes his life. In March 1961 he marries Jacqueline, his muse since 1954. Pablo is 80 years old, she is 35. In June the newlyweds leave Cannes to settle in Mougins.
In their vast Provençal mas, they manage to have an ordinary life. Both love dogs. The dachshund Lump has been rejoined since 1960 by an Afghan hound named Kaboul who becomes Jacqueline's favorite. Pablo executes no less than six oil paintings on the theme of Jacqueline and her kind dog.
On May 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells Femme au chien, oil on canvas 162 x 130 cm painted in 1962, lot 33 estimated $ 25M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The woman is seated. Kaboul stands on his four high legs. These two characters are in a static attitude. The position of Jacqueline's hands displays a quiet closeness.
Curiously their graphic processing is different. Kaboul is almost realistic, except that his haggard eyes and slight smile are not indeed marks of intelligence. The woman's face is unstructured in four angles of view. The left eye and the mouth are inserted in two opposite profiles. The right eye is seen from full front and the portrait is completed on the right side by the profile of an abundant ponytail.
In their vast Provençal mas, they manage to have an ordinary life. Both love dogs. The dachshund Lump has been rejoined since 1960 by an Afghan hound named Kaboul who becomes Jacqueline's favorite. Pablo executes no less than six oil paintings on the theme of Jacqueline and her kind dog.
On May 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells Femme au chien, oil on canvas 162 x 130 cm painted in 1962, lot 33 estimated $ 25M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The woman is seated. Kaboul stands on his four high legs. These two characters are in a static attitude. The position of Jacqueline's hands displays a quiet closeness.
Curiously their graphic processing is different. Kaboul is almost realistic, except that his haggard eyes and slight smile are not indeed marks of intelligence. The woman's face is unstructured in four angles of view. The left eye and the mouth are inserted in two opposite profiles. The right eye is seen from full front and the portrait is completed on the right side by the profile of an abundant ponytail.
1963 Artist at Easel and Model in the Nude
2016 SOLD for $ 13M including premium
Picasso married in 1961 Jacqueline Roque who was his companion for nearly ten years. He is happy and relaxed. In 1963 he devotes primarily his art to the theme of man and woman, more specifically the painter and his model.
He painted a lot, even too much, re-exploring the styles of his career as he had done in 1955 with the Femmes d'Alger but without building a structured suite. Some of these oils are little more than sketches. All are constructed in the same way : the surface is divided into two equal parts with the artist in close-up on the left and the nude woman on the right.
The surroundings are varied, outdoors or in the studio. They are not self-portraits : the man has various faces. Pablo is not bearded and never uses the attributes he provides to his characters, easel and palette. The woman is not identifiable. She displays various positions.
An outdoor scene makes some exception by its large size, 130 x 195 cm, and by the erotic proximity of the two characters. It is the masterpiece of this series but did not reach the expected $ 25M at auction in 2013.
On November 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells Le Peintre et son modèle dated 26.3.63.II. This well colored oil on canvas is one of the largest among the interior scenes, 130 x 162 cm. It is estimated $ 12M, lot 22. The serial number II attributed for one day on a relatively complex work demonstrates the frenzy of creation by this artist in his eighties.
The model is standing in front of a screen of a dressing room. The contrast between the big head of the artist and the tiny head of the woman tells that the work in progress does not generate a communication. Pablo's target is art, symbolized by the bust of a faun over the right edge of the canvas.
He painted a lot, even too much, re-exploring the styles of his career as he had done in 1955 with the Femmes d'Alger but without building a structured suite. Some of these oils are little more than sketches. All are constructed in the same way : the surface is divided into two equal parts with the artist in close-up on the left and the nude woman on the right.
The surroundings are varied, outdoors or in the studio. They are not self-portraits : the man has various faces. Pablo is not bearded and never uses the attributes he provides to his characters, easel and palette. The woman is not identifiable. She displays various positions.
An outdoor scene makes some exception by its large size, 130 x 195 cm, and by the erotic proximity of the two characters. It is the masterpiece of this series but did not reach the expected $ 25M at auction in 2013.
On November 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells Le Peintre et son modèle dated 26.3.63.II. This well colored oil on canvas is one of the largest among the interior scenes, 130 x 162 cm. It is estimated $ 12M, lot 22. The serial number II attributed for one day on a relatively complex work demonstrates the frenzy of creation by this artist in his eighties.
The model is standing in front of a screen of a dressing room. The contrast between the big head of the artist and the tiny head of the woman tells that the work in progress does not generate a communication. Pablo's target is art, symbolized by the bust of a faun over the right edge of the canvas.
1964 The Civic Maquette by Picasso
2015 SOLD for £ 8.9M including premium
An outstanding sculpture from the later career of Picasso went unsold at Christie's on November 4, 2013. It is now listed by Sotheby's at lot 37, estimated £ 5M, on February 3 in London.
There is no doubt that it is the same copy because the only other maquette in metal from the same project is not available on the market and both sales described a provenance through Marina Picasso.
I copy below my previous discussion :
In 1963, a new skyscraper is planned in Chicago: the Civic Center. The architects decide to invite Picasso to design a monumental sculpture that will be installed on the ground in front of the building.
Picasso accepts. Since only a few years, he has solved the difficult problem of controlling the proportions in very large sculptures. Socially, he also interested in that idea and he will donate this work to the city of Chicago shortly before the inauguration.
In his workshop in Mougins, Picasso takes seriously the project with all its difficulties, including the fact that the work will be public, seen by everyone and important for his artistic reputation.
By realizing a head of Jacqueline, he selects a theme that came much earlier in his career: the face with a very long nose of the woman standing on the right in the Demoiselles d'Avignon, inspired indeed by Ngil masks.
In 1964, he made two models in cut and welded steel. One of them is sent to Chicago. He keeps the other specimen. This maquette 105 cm high is now coming for sale.
The full size Chicago sculpture, unveiled in 1967, is 20 m high, one-tenth of the total height of the building. The public admires. When seen strictly in profile, it is a woman's head, but Jacqueline's hair may be interpreted as the wings of a large bird in a striking three-dimensional synthesis of the art of Picasso.
There is no doubt that it is the same copy because the only other maquette in metal from the same project is not available on the market and both sales described a provenance through Marina Picasso.
I copy below my previous discussion :
In 1963, a new skyscraper is planned in Chicago: the Civic Center. The architects decide to invite Picasso to design a monumental sculpture that will be installed on the ground in front of the building.
Picasso accepts. Since only a few years, he has solved the difficult problem of controlling the proportions in very large sculptures. Socially, he also interested in that idea and he will donate this work to the city of Chicago shortly before the inauguration.
In his workshop in Mougins, Picasso takes seriously the project with all its difficulties, including the fact that the work will be public, seen by everyone and important for his artistic reputation.
By realizing a head of Jacqueline, he selects a theme that came much earlier in his career: the face with a very long nose of the woman standing on the right in the Demoiselles d'Avignon, inspired indeed by Ngil masks.
In 1964, he made two models in cut and welded steel. One of them is sent to Chicago. He keeps the other specimen. This maquette 105 cm high is now coming for sale.
The full size Chicago sculpture, unveiled in 1967, is 20 m high, one-tenth of the total height of the building. The public admires. When seen strictly in profile, it is a woman's head, but Jacqueline's hair may be interpreted as the wings of a large bird in a striking three-dimensional synthesis of the art of Picasso.
1967 Musical Waking with Picasso
2011 SOLD 23 M$ including premium
Since the Middle Ages, music accompanies the joy of living in love. In the morning, the musician is enchanting the lovers with the aubade. In the evening, he concludes the day with the serenade.
Jacqueline Picasso, naked, is still in bed. Beside her, a fiery bearded Faun plays the flute, symbolic instrument of original music. The hirsute character is her husband, Pablo, who is both the musician and the lover of this aubade.
Jacqueline is in ecstasy, both eyes wide open. On this oil on canvas 130 x 195 cm painted in 1967, the woman's face is barely cubist, but one of her cheeks is distorted as if it were drawn by the flute.
Picasso, then 86 years old, wanted to stay young forever and continue to enjoy the sensory pleasures. The friendly side of this otherwise exuberant work is the gift of music to the beloved.
This painting is estimated $ 18M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 2.
POST SALE COMMENT
This artwork is outstanding when considering its period in the life of Picasso. It marks the ridiculous and inevitable conflict between sexuality and aging. It was sold $ 23M including premium.
Jacqueline Picasso, naked, is still in bed. Beside her, a fiery bearded Faun plays the flute, symbolic instrument of original music. The hirsute character is her husband, Pablo, who is both the musician and the lover of this aubade.
Jacqueline is in ecstasy, both eyes wide open. On this oil on canvas 130 x 195 cm painted in 1967, the woman's face is barely cubist, but one of her cheeks is distorted as if it were drawn by the flute.
Picasso, then 86 years old, wanted to stay young forever and continue to enjoy the sensory pleasures. The friendly side of this otherwise exuberant work is the gift of music to the beloved.
This painting is estimated $ 18M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 2.
POST SALE COMMENT
This artwork is outstanding when considering its period in the life of Picasso. It marks the ridiculous and inevitable conflict between sexuality and aging. It was sold $ 23M including premium.
1967 Jacqueline offered to Rembrandt
2018 SOLD for £ 13.7M including premium
After a long convalescence Pablo Picasso takes his brushes again at the end of 1966. He cannot smoke anymore and is sexually disabled. He compensates for this handicap by the theme of the couple including his wife Jacqueline naked in various positions. Cubist distortions are now minimized.
Pablo admires Rembrandt and Velazquez as well as the vitality with which the men of their time were pictured. He copies several times in his own style one of his favorite images, the self-portrait engraved in 1636 of Rembrandt with his wife Saskia.
On February 27 in London, Christie's sells Mousquetaire et nu assis, oil and industrial paint on canvas 130 x 97 cm executed in April 1967, lot 18 estimated £ 12M. This artwork had been sold for £ 6.7M including premium on June 18, 2007 in the same auction room. Ten years ago the late works of Picasso were less appreciated.
On the right side the domineering man in a musketeer's attire conforms to the 30-year-old Rembrandt with no resemblance to Picasso. He does not look at his wife.
Saskia was 24 years old in 1636. In a submissive attitude, she was dressed like the wives of her time. Picasso gives her place to his 41-year-old Jacqueline. Pablo no longer accepts censorship against his creative freedom : Jacqueline is outrageously nude with her sex moved to the thigh for being better exhibited in the foreground of the image. Her loving gaze attests that she is offered to the fantasies of her old husband.
Throughout that year Picasso also develops the portraiture of singled musketeers as a symbol of virility while he remains aware of the illusion of his own boasting.
Pablo admires Rembrandt and Velazquez as well as the vitality with which the men of their time were pictured. He copies several times in his own style one of his favorite images, the self-portrait engraved in 1636 of Rembrandt with his wife Saskia.
On February 27 in London, Christie's sells Mousquetaire et nu assis, oil and industrial paint on canvas 130 x 97 cm executed in April 1967, lot 18 estimated £ 12M. This artwork had been sold for £ 6.7M including premium on June 18, 2007 in the same auction room. Ten years ago the late works of Picasso were less appreciated.
On the right side the domineering man in a musketeer's attire conforms to the 30-year-old Rembrandt with no resemblance to Picasso. He does not look at his wife.
Saskia was 24 years old in 1636. In a submissive attitude, she was dressed like the wives of her time. Picasso gives her place to his 41-year-old Jacqueline. Pablo no longer accepts censorship against his creative freedom : Jacqueline is outrageously nude with her sex moved to the thigh for being better exhibited in the foreground of the image. Her loving gaze attests that she is offered to the fantasies of her old husband.
Throughout that year Picasso also develops the portraiture of singled musketeers as a symbol of virility while he remains aware of the illusion of his own boasting.
1968 The Grand Siècle of Picasso
2019 SOLD for $ 20.8M including premium
In his ambition to become and remain the greatest artist, Pablo Picasso was much dependent of his most famous predecessors, adapting their imagination to his own styles. In 1966 after a disabling illness, he retrieves Velazquez and Rembrandt, and behind them an idealized image of the seventeenth century. Through Velazquez he also sees his native Spain.
He hardly moves anymore. Jacqueline and Mougins constitute the surrounding of his life. His doctor forbids him to smoke. In the wide world, life continues with a new and ephemeral truculence brought by the sexual freedom.
He then enters a period of intense creativity, with glaring colors. His art is populated with picturesque characters : the musketeers, the matadors, the impressionists, his naked wife. This cartoon-like style pleases the public. Art critics see it as a fantasy but no matter : now Picasso works a lot for himself, against his own aging.
On May 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells Mousquetaire à la pipe, oil on canvas 145 x 96 cm painted in 1968, lot 40 estimated $ 20M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This musketeer is engaging and funny. The drawing is very effective : a few loops for a wig like that of Louis XIV, the mustache that goes up like a smile, five small strokes for the goatee. The difference between the two eyes can be interpreted as a start for a wink.
He is also a self-portrait, like most of the male characters painted by Picasso. He is a twin brother to a substitute for a Rembrandt's self-portrait that Picasso painted alongside Jacqueline in the nude in 1967, and which was sold for £ 13.7M including premium by Christie's on February 27, 2018.
He hardly moves anymore. Jacqueline and Mougins constitute the surrounding of his life. His doctor forbids him to smoke. In the wide world, life continues with a new and ephemeral truculence brought by the sexual freedom.
He then enters a period of intense creativity, with glaring colors. His art is populated with picturesque characters : the musketeers, the matadors, the impressionists, his naked wife. This cartoon-like style pleases the public. Art critics see it as a fantasy but no matter : now Picasso works a lot for himself, against his own aging.
On May 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells Mousquetaire à la pipe, oil on canvas 145 x 96 cm painted in 1968, lot 40 estimated $ 20M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This musketeer is engaging and funny. The drawing is very effective : a few loops for a wig like that of Louis XIV, the mustache that goes up like a smile, five small strokes for the goatee. The difference between the two eyes can be interpreted as a start for a wink.
He is also a self-portrait, like most of the male characters painted by Picasso. He is a twin brother to a substitute for a Rembrandt's self-portrait that Picasso painted alongside Jacqueline in the nude in 1967, and which was sold for £ 13.7M including premium by Christie's on February 27, 2018.
1968 Intimacy at Mougins
2019 SOLD for £ 12.5M including premium
Settled in Mougins with Jacqueline since June 1961, Pablo Picasso begins a new life. His wife adores him. They live together apart from society as an ordinary couple despite their 45 years of age difference.
Up to his death in 1973, Picasso exacerbates his passion for artistic creation. He paints very quickly, as if he is in a hurry. Sometimes he feels that he is creating a masterpiece. Le Peintre et son modèle dans un paysage was painted in ten iterations from June to September 1963. This oil on canvas 130 x 195 cm passed at Christie's on November 5, 2013 with a lower estimate of $ 25M.
At the end of 1966 after a long illness, Picasso restarts his most carnal theme, the expression of the sensuality of the woman in love. The woman exhibits her whole anatomy, like in the famous image by Courbet. In the feverish imagination of Picasso, she is Jacqueline, although Jacqueline never posed for him. The man is naked at her side, often without the attributes of an artist. In the same period, Picasso also confronts the nude woman with other emanations of himself such as the musician or the musketeer.
On June 18 in London, Christie's sells Homme et femme nus, oil and industrial paint on canvas 162 x 130 cm painted in a single day in Mougins on November 13, 1968, lot 6 estimated £ 10M.
The two characters are lying on their backs as on the beach, side by side, the bodies slightly intertwined. The woman looks at the man with an ecstatic expression. Complacent and even satisfied with this assault, the man quietly smokes his pipe.
Up to his death in 1973, Picasso exacerbates his passion for artistic creation. He paints very quickly, as if he is in a hurry. Sometimes he feels that he is creating a masterpiece. Le Peintre et son modèle dans un paysage was painted in ten iterations from June to September 1963. This oil on canvas 130 x 195 cm passed at Christie's on November 5, 2013 with a lower estimate of $ 25M.
At the end of 1966 after a long illness, Picasso restarts his most carnal theme, the expression of the sensuality of the woman in love. The woman exhibits her whole anatomy, like in the famous image by Courbet. In the feverish imagination of Picasso, she is Jacqueline, although Jacqueline never posed for him. The man is naked at her side, often without the attributes of an artist. In the same period, Picasso also confronts the nude woman with other emanations of himself such as the musician or the musketeer.
On June 18 in London, Christie's sells Homme et femme nus, oil and industrial paint on canvas 162 x 130 cm painted in a single day in Mougins on November 13, 1968, lot 6 estimated £ 10M.
The two characters are lying on their backs as on the beach, side by side, the bodies slightly intertwined. The woman looks at the man with an ecstatic expression. Complacent and even satisfied with this assault, the man quietly smokes his pipe.
1969 Mousquetaire à la pipe by Picasso
2013 SOLD for $ 31M including premium by Sotheby's
Link to catalogue.
1969 Incoming of Mosqueteros into Modern Art
2015 SOLD for $ 22.6M including premium
In 1966, Pablo Picasso is recovering. Despite his fragile health, the artist has kept his frenzy of creation, but his relationship to the world has changed. He no longer travels and is afraid of being jostled by a crowd.
His Musketeers are an offshoot of the masculinity that still excites the old man, but it is difficult to regard them as self-portraits. They are instead his companions of adventures. The temperament of the male transcends time: Picasso compares the soldiers from Rembrandt's time with the hippies of the sexual revolution.
The art of Picasso becomes a wink of complicity with youth. For the first time, his theme is decidedly humorous. The French boys, always fans of Alexandre Dumas, are delighted. They do not consider the dominant red and gold of these paintings that also mark the artist's refusal to return to Franco's Spain. Art critics are skeptical, except Zervos.
Pablo combines his own styles within that series as he has done since the early 1930s. A decidedly cubist Mousquetaire à la pipe, oil on canvas 195 x 130 cm painted on March 5, 1969, was sold for $ 31M including premium by Sotheby's on November 6, 2013 from a lower estimate of $ 12M.
L'Homme à l'épée, oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm painted on July 25, 1969 during the preparation of the Woodstock festival, is undoubtedly a hidalgo. He is a bodyguard of the old artist in his approach to the new world. The face that is only slightly deformed outside the aggressive gaze is perhaps a tribute to Velazquez. On the following year, Picasso approves the choice of this picture for the poster of the exhibition of his most recent art in Avignon.
L'Homme à l'épée was sold for £ 7M including premium by Sotheby's on June 24, 2009. It is for sale by Christie's in New York on November 9, lot 20A, with a minimum price guarantee which was not disclosed, as usual in such a case.
His Musketeers are an offshoot of the masculinity that still excites the old man, but it is difficult to regard them as self-portraits. They are instead his companions of adventures. The temperament of the male transcends time: Picasso compares the soldiers from Rembrandt's time with the hippies of the sexual revolution.
The art of Picasso becomes a wink of complicity with youth. For the first time, his theme is decidedly humorous. The French boys, always fans of Alexandre Dumas, are delighted. They do not consider the dominant red and gold of these paintings that also mark the artist's refusal to return to Franco's Spain. Art critics are skeptical, except Zervos.
Pablo combines his own styles within that series as he has done since the early 1930s. A decidedly cubist Mousquetaire à la pipe, oil on canvas 195 x 130 cm painted on March 5, 1969, was sold for $ 31M including premium by Sotheby's on November 6, 2013 from a lower estimate of $ 12M.
L'Homme à l'épée, oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm painted on July 25, 1969 during the preparation of the Woodstock festival, is undoubtedly a hidalgo. He is a bodyguard of the old artist in his approach to the new world. The face that is only slightly deformed outside the aggressive gaze is perhaps a tribute to Velazquez. On the following year, Picasso approves the choice of this picture for the poster of the exhibition of his most recent art in Avignon.
L'Homme à l'épée was sold for £ 7M including premium by Sotheby's on June 24, 2009. It is for sale by Christie's in New York on November 9, lot 20A, with a minimum price guarantee which was not disclosed, as usual in such a case.
1969 The Green Bearded Artist
2016 SOLD for $ 18.4M including premium
After more than one year in convalescence, Pablo Picasso takes his brushes again in February 1967. Aged 86, he is too old for being excited by women and his art enters a new phase. The theme of the Mousquetaires is funny and invites him to reinterpret in his own way the masters of the past.
L'Homme à la pipe painted on May 8, 1969 joins this movement with other features. He is not a mosquetero but an artist. The heavy beard and the hat in the style of a canotier even allows to identify an impressionist. The beard is green, providing a link between the pioneers of outdoor painting and the desire of a return to the land expressed by the new generations.
Young people are indeed restless at that time, with the protest movements of 1968 and the Woodstock festival in the following year. They are more appealed by this new style of Picasso than by Van Dyck or Velazquez. The images of Pablo are sharp, without those cubist distortions of the faces that were beginning to bother his own admirers.
L'Homme à la pipe is a larger than life oil on canvas 195 x 130 cm. It was sold for $ 11.8M including premium by Sotheby's on November 7, 2007. It is estimated $ 15M for sale by Christie's in New York on November 16, lot 26 B.
L'Homme à la pipe painted on May 8, 1969 joins this movement with other features. He is not a mosquetero but an artist. The heavy beard and the hat in the style of a canotier even allows to identify an impressionist. The beard is green, providing a link between the pioneers of outdoor painting and the desire of a return to the land expressed by the new generations.
Young people are indeed restless at that time, with the protest movements of 1968 and the Woodstock festival in the following year. They are more appealed by this new style of Picasso than by Van Dyck or Velazquez. The images of Pablo are sharp, without those cubist distortions of the faces that were beginning to bother his own admirers.
L'Homme à la pipe is a larger than life oil on canvas 195 x 130 cm. It was sold for $ 11.8M including premium by Sotheby's on November 7, 2007. It is estimated $ 15M for sale by Christie's in New York on November 16, lot 26 B.
1970 The Final Matador
2018 SOLD for £ 16.5M including premium
Aged 89 Pablo Picasso attends a corrida de toros in Fréjus. How could he have abandoned for so long his former craze for bullfighting ? The matador is a symbol of virility and bravery as well as the musketeer, and less obsolete. He is also a symbol of Spain. In September and October 1970 Picasso makes mid-length imaginary portraits of matadores. It is the human being and not the bull or the faena that excites the artist in what will be his last thematic series.
Picasso revisits various styles from his long career as he had done fifteen years earlier in Les Femmes d'Alger. As for that example the final opus is the most complex and the best completed. On February 28 in London, Sotheby's sells this oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm dated October 23, 1970, lot 16 estimated £ 14M.
This robust man is much larger than life. He holds the sword, an essential instrument of his function. Except for his fanciful musketeer's hat, his clothes copy a portrait of a matador painted by Goya around 1797. The background is not plain as in the previous paintings of the series : the torero poses in the middle of the sand colored arena and a pattern of hatching simulates the spectators who are waiting for the action on the seats.
With his wide open eyes and his clenched mouth, the attitude of the man is severe. His game is dangerous. Despite the poor health of the artist, this work with a good psychological expression is a picturesque evocation of the Spanish culture and not a presentiment of his next appointment with death.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Picasso revisits various styles from his long career as he had done fifteen years earlier in Les Femmes d'Alger. As for that example the final opus is the most complex and the best completed. On February 28 in London, Sotheby's sells this oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm dated October 23, 1970, lot 16 estimated £ 14M.
This robust man is much larger than life. He holds the sword, an essential instrument of his function. Except for his fanciful musketeer's hat, his clothes copy a portrait of a matador painted by Goya around 1797. The background is not plain as in the previous paintings of the series : the torero poses in the middle of the sand colored arena and a pattern of hatching simulates the spectators who are waiting for the action on the seats.
With his wide open eyes and his clenched mouth, the attitude of the man is severe. His game is dangerous. Despite the poor health of the artist, this work with a good psychological expression is a picturesque evocation of the Spanish culture and not a presentiment of his next appointment with death.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
