Prints by Picasso
1904 Artist's Life in the Bateau-Lavoir
2012 SOLD 1.95 M£ including premium
The Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre was an experimental workshop of modern art in which the residents, whose destiny was to become famous artists, met the harsh realities of life.
In 1904, Picasso's blue period ends when he appreciates that the clowns of the circuses cannot escape poverty. Le Repas Frugal (Frugal Meal) is his first trial in his mature period to create and distribute a pathetic and empathetic image with a universal impact. Its technical and emotional success is total.
The 46 x 37 cm images were printed individually by Delâtre on request by the artist, and the exact number is unknown: about 30.
One of them was sold for £ 620K including premium by Christie's on November 30, 2004. Another copy inscribed by Picasso to a friend in December 1904 is estimated £ 1.5 million, for sale by Christie's in London on June 20. Here is the link to the catalog.
Meanwhile, the art market has changed, not only for Picasso: the collectors crave for multiples when they are of excellent quality. A copy of La Femme qui pleure (the Weeping Woman), 1937, was sold $ 5.1 million including premium by Christies' on November 1, 2011.
In addition to its extreme rarity, this first edition has another quality: it is also the most perfect. When Vollard took over the plate and inserted it into the series of Saltimbanques in 1913, he wisely strengthened it by electroplating so that it can support a large quantity of prints.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate of this exceptional print had been correctly targeted. It was sold £ 1.95 million including premium.
In 1904, Picasso's blue period ends when he appreciates that the clowns of the circuses cannot escape poverty. Le Repas Frugal (Frugal Meal) is his first trial in his mature period to create and distribute a pathetic and empathetic image with a universal impact. Its technical and emotional success is total.
The 46 x 37 cm images were printed individually by Delâtre on request by the artist, and the exact number is unknown: about 30.
One of them was sold for £ 620K including premium by Christie's on November 30, 2004. Another copy inscribed by Picasso to a friend in December 1904 is estimated £ 1.5 million, for sale by Christie's in London on June 20. Here is the link to the catalog.
Meanwhile, the art market has changed, not only for Picasso: the collectors crave for multiples when they are of excellent quality. A copy of La Femme qui pleure (the Weeping Woman), 1937, was sold $ 5.1 million including premium by Christies' on November 1, 2011.
In addition to its extreme rarity, this first edition has another quality: it is also the most perfect. When Vollard took over the plate and inserted it into the series of Saltimbanques in 1913, he wisely strengthened it by electroplating so that it can support a large quantity of prints.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate of this exceptional print had been correctly targeted. It was sold £ 1.95 million including premium.
1930-1937 Suite Vollard by Picasso
2019 SOLD for $ 4.8M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1930-1937 La Suite Vollard
2012 SOLD 2.65 MCHF including premium
La Suite Vollard is one of the masterpieces of twentieth century engraving. It comes from an agreement between Pablo Picasso and Ambroise Vollard cleverly obtained by the merchant on a day when the artist wanted to buy paintings to him.
The one hundred prints which constitute this set were prepared from 1930 to 1937. It was a particularly fruitful period for Picasso. His love affair with Marie-Thérèse and his psychological exploration of the theme of the Minotaur brought to his images a carnal eroticism. The theme of the sculptor's studio is also abundant.
The accidental death of Vollard in 1939 stopped the project of publishing while the 310 copies were already printed. Henri Petiet took over the project after the war and tried to get autographs signatures from Picasso, but the complacency of the artist was not unlimited. Few sets were signed, and very few also have not been dismantled.
The copy for sale on June 15 by Galerie Kornfeld in Bern is complete, and all prints have been signed by Picasso. Ten of them are numbered 8/15 by the artist, assessing that they were among the 15 copies that Picasso had begun to sign during the lifetime of Vollard.
Even better: this is one of 50 copies with wide margins, on paper 38 x 50 cm. The paper size of the 260 other copies is smaller: 34 x 44.5 cm. This exceptional lot is estimated CHF 1.5 M.
POST SALE COMMENT
The description in the catalogue showed convincingly that this complete set was of exceptional quality. The result is excellent: CHF 2.3 million before fees, 2.65 million after calculating the premium announced by the auction house.
The one hundred prints which constitute this set were prepared from 1930 to 1937. It was a particularly fruitful period for Picasso. His love affair with Marie-Thérèse and his psychological exploration of the theme of the Minotaur brought to his images a carnal eroticism. The theme of the sculptor's studio is also abundant.
The accidental death of Vollard in 1939 stopped the project of publishing while the 310 copies were already printed. Henri Petiet took over the project after the war and tried to get autographs signatures from Picasso, but the complacency of the artist was not unlimited. Few sets were signed, and very few also have not been dismantled.
The copy for sale on June 15 by Galerie Kornfeld in Bern is complete, and all prints have been signed by Picasso. Ten of them are numbered 8/15 by the artist, assessing that they were among the 15 copies that Picasso had begun to sign during the lifetime of Vollard.
Even better: this is one of 50 copies with wide margins, on paper 38 x 50 cm. The paper size of the 260 other copies is smaller: 34 x 44.5 cm. This exceptional lot is estimated CHF 1.5 M.
POST SALE COMMENT
The description in the catalogue showed convincingly that this complete set was of exceptional quality. The result is excellent: CHF 2.3 million before fees, 2.65 million after calculating the premium announced by the auction house.
1930-1937 Picasso's Printer
2016 SOLD for $ 2.53M including premium
Upon his arrival in Paris Pablo Picasso was supported by Vollard. The conditions in which they start together in 1930 the project of a series of engravings have however not been documented. These one hundred illustrations were named La Suite Vollard after the accidental death of the editor that occurred in 1939.
Most of these images were prepared between 1930 and 1934. While admiring the gentle Marie-Thérèse, Pablo finds back the fiery impulses of his youth. Far away from Cubism, minotaurs and fauns approach with brutality or delicacy the snoozing women with appealing curves. The supplement up to the symbolic figure of 100 is assured in 1937 with three portraits of Ambroise Vollard.
At some time before 1934 the meeting of Picasso with Roger Lacourière changes the quality of graphics and printing. The drawings are getting richer. Picasso loves to experiment and he follows the instructions from his new printer who teaches to him the varied possibilities of chisel, aquatint and drypoint.
310 copies of each image are printed including 50 for a deluxe publication with wide margins on 51 x 39 cm sheet size. After the death of Vollard, this almost intact stock is acquired by the dealer Henri M. Petiet who will sell from it many single images. For this reason the original sets that are remaining complete are extremely rare. Picasso signed many sheets before and after the death of Vollard.
Here are below three examples of complete sets with wide margins of the Suite Vollard.
A set partially serialized by Picasso in Vollard's lifetime but fully signed by the artist was sold for CHF 2.65M including premium by Galerie Kornfeld on June 15, 2012.
A set acquired by Petiet and fully signed by Picasso was sold for £ 2,65M including premium by Sotheby's on June 19, 2013.
On November 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells the full collection assembled by Lacourière. The printer had retained proofs with beautiful tones executed before and during his participation. It is the rare case of a set that was not owned by Petiet but the plates are not signed. It is estimated $ 2M, lot 11.
Most of these images were prepared between 1930 and 1934. While admiring the gentle Marie-Thérèse, Pablo finds back the fiery impulses of his youth. Far away from Cubism, minotaurs and fauns approach with brutality or delicacy the snoozing women with appealing curves. The supplement up to the symbolic figure of 100 is assured in 1937 with three portraits of Ambroise Vollard.
At some time before 1934 the meeting of Picasso with Roger Lacourière changes the quality of graphics and printing. The drawings are getting richer. Picasso loves to experiment and he follows the instructions from his new printer who teaches to him the varied possibilities of chisel, aquatint and drypoint.
310 copies of each image are printed including 50 for a deluxe publication with wide margins on 51 x 39 cm sheet size. After the death of Vollard, this almost intact stock is acquired by the dealer Henri M. Petiet who will sell from it many single images. For this reason the original sets that are remaining complete are extremely rare. Picasso signed many sheets before and after the death of Vollard.
Here are below three examples of complete sets with wide margins of the Suite Vollard.
A set partially serialized by Picasso in Vollard's lifetime but fully signed by the artist was sold for CHF 2.65M including premium by Galerie Kornfeld on June 15, 2012.
A set acquired by Petiet and fully signed by Picasso was sold for £ 2,65M including premium by Sotheby's on June 19, 2013.
On November 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells the full collection assembled by Lacourière. The printer had retained proofs with beautiful tones executed before and during his participation. It is the rare case of a set that was not owned by Petiet but the plates are not signed. It is estimated $ 2M, lot 11.
1930-1937 The Petiet Suite
2017 SOLD for € 1.94M including premium
Ambroise Vollard knew how to work in the long term. When he agrees with Picasso for the edition of one hundred original etchings, he already defines the final quantity to print : 50 deluxe copies with large margins 51 x 39 cm and 260 copies with small margins 44 x 34 cm. Picasso begins in 1930, gets a renewed excitement from a printer change around 1933 but does not provide the last plates until 1937.
Vollard died in 1939 in the exercise of his job a bit like Aeschylus, supposedly because a jolt unbalanced a statue that fell on his neck in the back seat of a car in which he was sleeping. The series of the hundred pictures had no title and will never have one. It will be known as La Suite Vollard.
Vollard had just started distributing the Suite. Picasso had numbered and signed 15 sets. Around 1941 the merchant Henri M. Petiet recovers all the stock. He has signed the prints by Picasso as and when he gets customers from his first sale in 1950 until his dispute with the artist in 1969.
Complete series in deluxe format are rare. One of them including ten sheets numbered by Picasso was sold for CHF 2.65M including premium by Kornfeld on June 15, 2012. The set assembled by the printer Lacourière for his personal collection was sold for $ 2.53M including premium by Sotheby's on November 14, 2016.
The Petiet stock was split between both formats. A deluxe set signed by Picasso was sold for £ 2.65M including premium by Sotheby's on June 19, 2013.
Petiet was a competent merchant but also a demanding collector. Curiously the Vollard Suite he had kept for his collection is with small margins. It has been entirely signed by Picasso.
It has taken 50 auction sessions since 1991 to disperse Petiet's collection of prints in 12,000 lots. His Vollard Suite waited for the very last sale. It is estimated € 1,2M for sale by Ader-Nordmann in Paris on November 25, lot 317.
Vollard died in 1939 in the exercise of his job a bit like Aeschylus, supposedly because a jolt unbalanced a statue that fell on his neck in the back seat of a car in which he was sleeping. The series of the hundred pictures had no title and will never have one. It will be known as La Suite Vollard.
Vollard had just started distributing the Suite. Picasso had numbered and signed 15 sets. Around 1941 the merchant Henri M. Petiet recovers all the stock. He has signed the prints by Picasso as and when he gets customers from his first sale in 1950 until his dispute with the artist in 1969.
Complete series in deluxe format are rare. One of them including ten sheets numbered by Picasso was sold for CHF 2.65M including premium by Kornfeld on June 15, 2012. The set assembled by the printer Lacourière for his personal collection was sold for $ 2.53M including premium by Sotheby's on November 14, 2016.
The Petiet stock was split between both formats. A deluxe set signed by Picasso was sold for £ 2.65M including premium by Sotheby's on June 19, 2013.
Petiet was a competent merchant but also a demanding collector. Curiously the Vollard Suite he had kept for his collection is with small margins. It has been entirely signed by Picasso.
It has taken 50 auction sessions since 1991 to disperse Petiet's collection of prints in 12,000 lots. His Vollard Suite waited for the very last sale. It is estimated € 1,2M for sale by Ader-Nordmann in Paris on November 25, lot 317.
1935 Minotauromachie by Picasso
May 2016 SOLD for $ 2.63M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020 before the sale of another copy by Phillips (see below)
Picasso can no longer maintain a balance in his sexual life. The artist tries to capture his feelings through the engraved image. Conceived in December 1934, the plate 97 of the Suite Vollard is a blind Minotaur guided by a young girl at night, a confrontation between the artist's sexual brutality and the lost innocence of his mistress Marie-Thérèse.
The situation worsens in 1935, which Picasso considered to be the worst time in his life. Marie-Thérèse is pregnant. Olga is upset. Picasso designs La Minotauromachie, one of his most complex compositions. He concentrates in a single image three ages of the woman and two ages of the man.
The most visible hero is the enormous mythological brute with the head of a bull on a human body, the Pablo of today. He has just defeated the pregnant woman, a dying torera on a gutted horse. In a theater box, two young women watch this weird corrida, with a remaining hope symbolized by two doves. The innocent little girl stops the bull with a light and a bouquet. The old man, Picasso tomorrow, flees on a ladder that leads to nothing.
La Minotauromachie is the most intimate work of Picasso's entire career, to which he devoted several working sessions in the workshop of the engraver Roger Lacourière. The final state is the seventh. Picasso intended these images to be presented to his best friends, away from the trade. The total quantity of this state probably exceeds 55 copies.
The copy numbered 2/50, image 50 x 69 cm printed at full margins on a 57 x 76 cm sheet size, was sold for $ 2.63M including premium by Christie's on May 12, 2016, lot 18C. The present discussion was prepared before another copy was sold for £ 975K including premium by Phillips on January 23, 2020.
The tragic characters of the Minotauromachie return two years later in Guernica, opening the way to a certainly erroneous interpretation according to which the Minotauromachy reflects Picasso's concerns about the political situation in Spain.
The situation worsens in 1935, which Picasso considered to be the worst time in his life. Marie-Thérèse is pregnant. Olga is upset. Picasso designs La Minotauromachie, one of his most complex compositions. He concentrates in a single image three ages of the woman and two ages of the man.
The most visible hero is the enormous mythological brute with the head of a bull on a human body, the Pablo of today. He has just defeated the pregnant woman, a dying torera on a gutted horse. In a theater box, two young women watch this weird corrida, with a remaining hope symbolized by two doves. The innocent little girl stops the bull with a light and a bouquet. The old man, Picasso tomorrow, flees on a ladder that leads to nothing.
La Minotauromachie is the most intimate work of Picasso's entire career, to which he devoted several working sessions in the workshop of the engraver Roger Lacourière. The final state is the seventh. Picasso intended these images to be presented to his best friends, away from the trade. The total quantity of this state probably exceeds 55 copies.
The copy numbered 2/50, image 50 x 69 cm printed at full margins on a 57 x 76 cm sheet size, was sold for $ 2.63M including premium by Christie's on May 12, 2016, lot 18C. The present discussion was prepared before another copy was sold for £ 975K including premium by Phillips on January 23, 2020.
The tragic characters of the Minotauromachie return two years later in Guernica, opening the way to a certainly erroneous interpretation according to which the Minotauromachy reflects Picasso's concerns about the political situation in Spain.
1935 Picasso in the Arena
2016 SOLD for $ 2.1M including premium by Christie's
2020 withdrawn
PRE 2020 SALE DISCUSSION
Picasso said it all and did it all. In his career which lasted three quarters of a century, he was the most prolific of artists. Yet his private life is a long series of secrets. We will never know why in 1901 he suddenly plunged into the blue period, nor why Guernica drifted onto the moral torture of Dora Maar personalizing war.
His meeting with Marie-Thérèse in 1927 is a triumph for his virility. He chooses a young woman by reference to a canon of beauty that will compete with Matisse's odalisques, he invites her to follow him and she gives herself to him lastingly. He is so proud that he portrays himself as a sexual bully, the Minotaur, from the early 1930s.
How did he come not to manage or even foresee what will happen next ? Marie-Thérèse is pregnant and Olga leaves him. At the beginning of 1935 he is so taken aback that he stops working.
His restart takes place in July 1935, by practicing copperplate engraving with Roger Lacourière. He must concentrate on mastering this technique, for which he designs an image that synthesizes his questioning on the three ages of life and on death. The monster has just entered the arena, but the little girl with the head of Marie-Thérèse exorcises him with the greatest calm, brandishing a candle and bringing a bouquet.
The final state of the Minotauromachie is the seventh, 50 x 69 cm on a 57 x 77 cm sheet. It is printed by Lacourière in 50 copies plus about 25 unnumbered artist's proofs of which Picasso will never dare to part, probably because for once he had revealed his most intimate feelings.
A full margin copy that had been part of his estate was sold for $ 2.1M including premium from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on November 16, 2016, lot 42 B, and is estimated $ 1.2M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on October 22, lot 33.
Picasso said it all and did it all. In his career which lasted three quarters of a century, he was the most prolific of artists. Yet his private life is a long series of secrets. We will never know why in 1901 he suddenly plunged into the blue period, nor why Guernica drifted onto the moral torture of Dora Maar personalizing war.
His meeting with Marie-Thérèse in 1927 is a triumph for his virility. He chooses a young woman by reference to a canon of beauty that will compete with Matisse's odalisques, he invites her to follow him and she gives herself to him lastingly. He is so proud that he portrays himself as a sexual bully, the Minotaur, from the early 1930s.
How did he come not to manage or even foresee what will happen next ? Marie-Thérèse is pregnant and Olga leaves him. At the beginning of 1935 he is so taken aback that he stops working.
His restart takes place in July 1935, by practicing copperplate engraving with Roger Lacourière. He must concentrate on mastering this technique, for which he designs an image that synthesizes his questioning on the three ages of life and on death. The monster has just entered the arena, but the little girl with the head of Marie-Thérèse exorcises him with the greatest calm, brandishing a candle and bringing a bouquet.
The final state of the Minotauromachie is the seventh, 50 x 69 cm on a 57 x 77 cm sheet. It is printed by Lacourière in 50 copies plus about 25 unnumbered artist's proofs of which Picasso will never dare to part, probably because for once he had revealed his most intimate feelings.
A full margin copy that had been part of his estate was sold for $ 2.1M including premium from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on November 16, 2016, lot 42 B, and is estimated $ 1.2M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on October 22, lot 33.
1935 Minotauromachie by Picasso
Two results :
SOLD for £ 1.02M including premium by Sotheby's on June 23, 2014
SOLD for$ 1.33M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2019
SOLD for £ 1.02M including premium by Sotheby's on June 23, 2014
SOLD for$ 1.33M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2019
1935 Premonition of Guernica
2010 SOLD 1.27 M£ including premium
Two of the greatest Picasso prints are announced in the sale at Sotheby's in London on September 16. They are among his most complex works, whatever the technique.
In August 1934, Pablo attends bullfights. His wife Olga who accompanies him on this trip certainly did not anticipate the lustful passions that this experience was to generate to this artist in his fifties.
What a pity, indeed, that the bull is a beast ... but, after all, why not fighting a Minotaur? The Minotauromachie is a spirited work dominated by the monster, but where the secondary symbols are countless. The gutted horse is ridden by a naked woman lying on her back. A wise girl waves the light of peace in front of the horrible warlike scene.
Picasso wanted to lead this work to perfection. The seventh and final state was done primarily for his friends and for himself. This image printed in May 1935, 50 x 70 cm on a sheet of 57 x 77 cm, is estimated £ 400K. It is illustrated in the press release shared by Artdaily.
On April 26, 1937 happened the horror of the bombing of Guernica. Shocked, Picasso drew and printed la Femme qui pleure (the Weeping Woman), a complex figure who has the like of both Marie-Thérèse and Dora, and perhaps also of Olga. The image of the third state (of seven), 69 x 50 cm on a sheet of 77 x 56 cm, is estimated £ 500K. It is illustrated in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity.
The grammar of Picasso's Guernica is now in place. In the huge painting, the Minotaur and the horse have the same role as in the Minotauromachie, and the slaughtered women are the sisters of the weeping woman. With Guernica, Picasso became the equal of Goya.
POST SALE COMMENT
The press release of Sotheby's had convinced me of the importance of these two copies. The Minotauromachie was sold £ 1.27 million including premium, and La Femme qui pleure £ 1.1 million including premium.
In August 1934, Pablo attends bullfights. His wife Olga who accompanies him on this trip certainly did not anticipate the lustful passions that this experience was to generate to this artist in his fifties.
What a pity, indeed, that the bull is a beast ... but, after all, why not fighting a Minotaur? The Minotauromachie is a spirited work dominated by the monster, but where the secondary symbols are countless. The gutted horse is ridden by a naked woman lying on her back. A wise girl waves the light of peace in front of the horrible warlike scene.
Picasso wanted to lead this work to perfection. The seventh and final state was done primarily for his friends and for himself. This image printed in May 1935, 50 x 70 cm on a sheet of 57 x 77 cm, is estimated £ 400K. It is illustrated in the press release shared by Artdaily.
On April 26, 1937 happened the horror of the bombing of Guernica. Shocked, Picasso drew and printed la Femme qui pleure (the Weeping Woman), a complex figure who has the like of both Marie-Thérèse and Dora, and perhaps also of Olga. The image of the third state (of seven), 69 x 50 cm on a sheet of 77 x 56 cm, is estimated £ 500K. It is illustrated in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity.
The grammar of Picasso's Guernica is now in place. In the huge painting, the Minotaur and the horse have the same role as in the Minotauromachie, and the slaughtered women are the sisters of the weeping woman. With Guernica, Picasso became the equal of Goya.
POST SALE COMMENT
The press release of Sotheby's had convinced me of the importance of these two copies. The Minotauromachie was sold £ 1.27 million including premium, and La Femme qui pleure £ 1.1 million including premium.
1935 Picasso broke his Toy
2020 SOLD for £ 975K including premium
Fully narrated above.
See blog.
The final state of La Minotauromachie is the seventh. Picasso intended these images to be presented to his best friends, away from the trade. They were distributed by the artist sparingly. About 25 units remained in his estate. These unnumbered copies, printed at full margins on a 57 x 77 cm sheet size, are highly appreciated.
Let us remind three results on examples from this provenance : £ 1.02M by Sotheby's on June 23, 2014, $ 2.1M by Christie's on November 16, 2016, $ 1.33M by Christie's on May 13, 2019. These figures include the premium. Another copy from the same provenance is estimated £ 800K to be sold by Phillips in London on January 23, lot 1.
See blog.
The final state of La Minotauromachie is the seventh. Picasso intended these images to be presented to his best friends, away from the trade. They were distributed by the artist sparingly. About 25 units remained in his estate. These unnumbered copies, printed at full margins on a 57 x 77 cm sheet size, are highly appreciated.
Let us remind three results on examples from this provenance : £ 1.02M by Sotheby's on June 23, 2014, $ 2.1M by Christie's on November 16, 2016, $ 1.33M by Christie's on May 13, 2019. These figures include the premium. Another copy from the same provenance is estimated £ 800K to be sold by Phillips in London on January 23, lot 1.
1937 La Femme qui pleure I, print by Picasso
2011 SOLD for $ 5.1M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1937 The Seventh State of the Weeping Woman
2014 SOLD 3.2 M£ including premium
Guernica and the Weeping Woman are inseparable.
In May 1937 Picasso designed the different elements of his large mural commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for the pavilion of the Universal Exhibition of Paris. He chose the unsustainable theme of the bombing of Guernica.
In the immediate following of this creative process, he starts to execute drawings and paintings of the Weeping Woman. This woman who has the facial features of Dora did not appear in the mural. She is an outside witness of the horror of Guernica.
During a single day, July 1, Picasso executed seven consecutive printed states of La Femme qui pleure, 69 x 49 cm on 77 x 57 cm sheet size. Satisfied by the third and by the last state, he printed and numbered fifteen copies each from both of them.
The number 8/15 from the third state was sold for $ 2.6 million including premium at Christie's on November 5, 2013.
The development is significant between the third and seventh state. The lines become darker and stronger, especially in the hair. More important : the mouth begins to close, transforming into rage the distress of the woman.
The seventh and final state of La Femme qui pleure I, so designated to differentiate it from a later work, is the masterpiece of modern printmaking. Number 3/15 was sold for $ 5.1 million including premium by Christie's on November 1, 2011 over a lower estimate of $ 1.5 M.
Number 8/15 of the seventh state is estimated £ 1.2 million, for sale by Sotheby 's in London on February 5, lot 19 in the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
La Femme qui pleure I in its seventh state is confirmed as the most outstanding print of the twentieth century. This example was sold for £ 3.2 million including premium.
In May 1937 Picasso designed the different elements of his large mural commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for the pavilion of the Universal Exhibition of Paris. He chose the unsustainable theme of the bombing of Guernica.
In the immediate following of this creative process, he starts to execute drawings and paintings of the Weeping Woman. This woman who has the facial features of Dora did not appear in the mural. She is an outside witness of the horror of Guernica.
During a single day, July 1, Picasso executed seven consecutive printed states of La Femme qui pleure, 69 x 49 cm on 77 x 57 cm sheet size. Satisfied by the third and by the last state, he printed and numbered fifteen copies each from both of them.
The number 8/15 from the third state was sold for $ 2.6 million including premium at Christie's on November 5, 2013.
The development is significant between the third and seventh state. The lines become darker and stronger, especially in the hair. More important : the mouth begins to close, transforming into rage the distress of the woman.
The seventh and final state of La Femme qui pleure I, so designated to differentiate it from a later work, is the masterpiece of modern printmaking. Number 3/15 was sold for $ 5.1 million including premium by Christie's on November 1, 2011 over a lower estimate of $ 1.5 M.
Number 8/15 of the seventh state is estimated £ 1.2 million, for sale by Sotheby 's in London on February 5, lot 19 in the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
La Femme qui pleure I in its seventh state is confirmed as the most outstanding print of the twentieth century. This example was sold for £ 3.2 million including premium.
1937 Dora's Scream
2015 SOLD for $ 4.6M including premium
Picasso's sensitivity is exacerbated in 1937. The softness of Marie- Thérèse is no more sufficient to provide him the ideal vision of the woman. He successfully tries to refuse the divorce requested by Olga. His new muse met in the previous year, Dora, active, aggressive, politically engaged, has another behavior.
Pablo said later that Dora always symbolized for him the weeping woman, basically meaning the suffering woman. She thus became a model for the mater dolorosa, understood by the artist as an attitude ranging from a passive sentimentality to an activist rage against oppression.
Dora accompanies the gradual creation of Guernica and produces a photographic report of the preparation of the artwork. A crying woman could be a candidate to enter this terrible scene. Picasso gives up, probably after appreciating that the image of victimized women based on Marie-Thérèse will better reinforce his political message on the horror of war.
On July 1, 1937, Pablo executes in a single day seven successive states of the engraving of La femme qui pleure I. The third and seventh state are printed in fifteen copies each, 69 x 49 cm on 77 x 57 cm sheet.
In this seventh and final state, the rage expressed by Dora joins the intensity of the message of Guernica. The simultaneous conception of both themes is a consequence of the excitement of Pablo, unbalanced altogether by the rape of his anti-war feelings and his unprecedented issues with women.
The seventh state is the most outstanding print in auction history. The number 3/15 was sold for $ 5.1 million including premium by Christie's on November 1, 2011. The 8/15 previously discussed in this column was sold for £ 3.2 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 5, 2014. The number 11/15 is estimated $ 4M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 14, lot 5C.
Pablo said later that Dora always symbolized for him the weeping woman, basically meaning the suffering woman. She thus became a model for the mater dolorosa, understood by the artist as an attitude ranging from a passive sentimentality to an activist rage against oppression.
Dora accompanies the gradual creation of Guernica and produces a photographic report of the preparation of the artwork. A crying woman could be a candidate to enter this terrible scene. Picasso gives up, probably after appreciating that the image of victimized women based on Marie-Thérèse will better reinforce his political message on the horror of war.
On July 1, 1937, Pablo executes in a single day seven successive states of the engraving of La femme qui pleure I. The third and seventh state are printed in fifteen copies each, 69 x 49 cm on 77 x 57 cm sheet.
In this seventh and final state, the rage expressed by Dora joins the intensity of the message of Guernica. The simultaneous conception of both themes is a consequence of the excitement of Pablo, unbalanced altogether by the rape of his anti-war feelings and his unprecedented issues with women.
The seventh state is the most outstanding print in auction history. The number 3/15 was sold for $ 5.1 million including premium by Christie's on November 1, 2011. The 8/15 previously discussed in this column was sold for £ 3.2 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 5, 2014. The number 11/15 is estimated $ 4M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 14, lot 5C.
1937 La Femme qui pleure 3rd state
2013 SOLD for $ 2.6M including premium by Christie's
1943 Woman and Beast
2011 SOLD 720 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
For his Minotauromachie, Picasso wanted perfection. He got it in the seventh and final state. It was in 1935. I have already discussed in this group the copy sold £ 1.27 million including premium by Sotheby's on September 16, 2010. I explained that this tragic work foreshadowed Guernica.
Another copy of the same state is privileged to be included in the evening sale of modern art at Christie's on November 1 in New York. It is estimated $ 1.2 M. The picture measures 50 x 70 cm, on a 57 x 78 cm sheet. It is illustrated in the catalog.
In 1939, the Spanish civil war is over. The crying woman does not cry any more. Picasso takes up hope, despite the threat from the international events. Master of his new medium, he produces one of his masterpieces, la Femme au tambourin. The naked woman walking while holding a small drum is a symbol of joy.
The copy of the fifth state of la Femme au tambourin for sale by Christie's in New York on October 25 is very nice.The contrasts are of exceptional richness. This is probably a proof of that final state of 1943, preparing the edition in thirty serialized copies by the Galerie Louise Leiris.
This picture of 66 x 51 cm on a 77 x 57 cm sheet is estimated $ 500K, and illustrated in the catalog, as usual.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
Well deserved result for this exceptional copy of La Femme au Tambourin : $ 720K including premium.
2
The Minotauromachie remained unsold last night at Christie's, but La Femme qui Pleure I (Weeping Woman I), printed in 1937, seventh and final state, got the extraordinary price of $ 5.1 million including premium on an estimate of 1.5 M.
For his Minotauromachie, Picasso wanted perfection. He got it in the seventh and final state. It was in 1935. I have already discussed in this group the copy sold £ 1.27 million including premium by Sotheby's on September 16, 2010. I explained that this tragic work foreshadowed Guernica.
Another copy of the same state is privileged to be included in the evening sale of modern art at Christie's on November 1 in New York. It is estimated $ 1.2 M. The picture measures 50 x 70 cm, on a 57 x 78 cm sheet. It is illustrated in the catalog.
In 1939, the Spanish civil war is over. The crying woman does not cry any more. Picasso takes up hope, despite the threat from the international events. Master of his new medium, he produces one of his masterpieces, la Femme au tambourin. The naked woman walking while holding a small drum is a symbol of joy.
The copy of the fifth state of la Femme au tambourin for sale by Christie's in New York on October 25 is very nice.The contrasts are of exceptional richness. This is probably a proof of that final state of 1943, preparing the edition in thirty serialized copies by the Galerie Louise Leiris.
This picture of 66 x 51 cm on a 77 x 57 cm sheet is estimated $ 500K, and illustrated in the catalog, as usual.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
Well deserved result for this exceptional copy of La Femme au Tambourin : $ 720K including premium.
2
The Minotauromachie remained unsold last night at Christie's, but La Femme qui Pleure I (Weeping Woman I), printed in 1937, seventh and final state, got the extraordinary price of $ 5.1 million including premium on an estimate of 1.5 M.
