Lot Essay
The suite comprises:
1. Le Repas frugal (Bl. 1; Baer 2) P. 462 x 378mm., S. 596 x 507mm.
2. Tête de Femme (Bl. 2; Baer 3) P. 123 x 91mm., S. 485 x 332mm.
3. Les Pauvres (Bl. 3; Baer 4) P. 235 x 179mm., S. 485 x 334mm.
4. Bust d'Homme (Bl. 4; Baer 5) P. 120 x 93mm., S. 482 x 333mm.
5. Les deux Saltimbanques (Bl. 5; Baer 6) P. 121 x 92mm., S. 484 x 334mm.
6. Tête de Femme, de Profil (Bl. 6; Baer 7) P. 292 x 250mm., S. 552 x 395mm.
7. Les Saltimbanques (Bl. 7; Baer 9) P. 289 x 330mm., S. 402 x 552mm.
8. L'Abreuvoir (Bl. 8; Baer 10) P. 121 x 188mm.; S. 334 x 485mm.
9. Au Cirque (Bl. 9; Baer 11) P. 221 x 139mm., S. 486 x 332mm.
10. Le Saltimbanque au Repos (Bl. 10; Baer 12) P. 122 x 87mm., S. 485 x 333mm.
11. Le Bain (Bl. 12; Baer 14) P. 342 x 288mm., S. 552 x 399mm.
12. La Toilette de la Mère (Bl. 13; Baer 15) P. 237 x 178mm., S. 486 x 333mm.
13. Salomé (Bl. 14; Baer 17) P. 403 x 348mm., S. 551 x 456mm.
14. La Danse (Bl. 15; Baer 18) P. 185 x 232mm., S. 335 x 485mm.
In La Suite des Saltimbanques, Picasso treats the most important subjects that preoccupied him during the beginning of his career. Bohemianism, destitution and the theatrical universe are all themes that pervade his work during the Blue and Rose periods. 1905 was a seminal year for the artist, representing the transition of these two phases. His artistic output rose as the company of poets, most notably Apollinaire whom he met at the beginning of that year, enabled him to put aside the sentimentality of the Blue period in favour of the impersonality of theatrical gesture and expression.
The prevailing subject, that of the Saltimbanques, had preoccupied Picasso since he first encountered these travelling acrobats in the Places des Invalides, in about 1904. We see the artist, in portraying these strolling players who had performed in the Paris squares since the fifteenth century, exploring their mystical realm, combining observation of the solitary figure, with an exploration of their imaginative, enchanted universe.
Much of Picasso's imagery runs parallel to that of Apollinaire, indeed these etchings seem to serve as illustrations of the latter's poems of the time. Evidence of their symbiotic relationship is especially apparent in the poet's Un Fantôme de Nuées published later in his Calligrammes. The poem demonstrates how they shared the same vision of the Saltimbanques performers, how they both drew on their timeless, immemorial quality, combined with the brutal reality of their impoverished existence:
Comme c'était la veille du quatorze juillet
Vers les quatre heures de l'après-midi
Je descendis dans la rue pour aller voir les saltimbanques (...)
De nombreux tapis sales couvraient le sol
Tapis qui sont presque entièrement couleur de la poussière
Et où quelques taches jaune ou vertes ont persisté
Comme un air de musique qui vous poursuit
Vois-tu le personnage maigre et sauvage
La cendre de ses pères lui sortait en barbe grisonnante
Il portait ainsi toute son hérédité au visage
Il semblait rêver à l'avenir (...)
Et quand il marcha sur une boule
Son corps mince devint une musique si délicate que nul parmi les
spectateur n'y fut insensible
Un petit esprit sans aucune humanité
Pensa chacun
Et cette musique des formes
Détruisit celle de l'orgue mécanique
Que moulait l'homme au visage couvert d'ancêtres
Le petit saltimbanques fit la roue
Avec tant d'harmonie
Que l'orgue cessa de jouer
Et que l'organiste se cacha le visage dans les mains
Aux doigts semblables aux descendants de son destin (...)
(Guillaume Apollinaire, Calligrammes, Poèmes de la Paix et de la Guerre, 1913-1916, Paris, 1925)
This suite, so rarely found complete on Japan paper, is central to the artist's early works. The simplicity of form through which he achieves such richness of expression, the coming together of the various contemporary themes, and the fine balance that he achieves between spirituality and realism, culminate here in this very fine set of the Saltimbanques.
1. Le Repas frugal (Bl. 1; Baer 2) P. 462 x 378mm., S. 596 x 507mm.
2. Tête de Femme (Bl. 2; Baer 3) P. 123 x 91mm., S. 485 x 332mm.
3. Les Pauvres (Bl. 3; Baer 4) P. 235 x 179mm., S. 485 x 334mm.
4. Bust d'Homme (Bl. 4; Baer 5) P. 120 x 93mm., S. 482 x 333mm.
5. Les deux Saltimbanques (Bl. 5; Baer 6) P. 121 x 92mm., S. 484 x 334mm.
6. Tête de Femme, de Profil (Bl. 6; Baer 7) P. 292 x 250mm., S. 552 x 395mm.
7. Les Saltimbanques (Bl. 7; Baer 9) P. 289 x 330mm., S. 402 x 552mm.
8. L'Abreuvoir (Bl. 8; Baer 10) P. 121 x 188mm.; S. 334 x 485mm.
9. Au Cirque (Bl. 9; Baer 11) P. 221 x 139mm., S. 486 x 332mm.
10. Le Saltimbanque au Repos (Bl. 10; Baer 12) P. 122 x 87mm., S. 485 x 333mm.
11. Le Bain (Bl. 12; Baer 14) P. 342 x 288mm., S. 552 x 399mm.
12. La Toilette de la Mère (Bl. 13; Baer 15) P. 237 x 178mm., S. 486 x 333mm.
13. Salomé (Bl. 14; Baer 17) P. 403 x 348mm., S. 551 x 456mm.
14. La Danse (Bl. 15; Baer 18) P. 185 x 232mm., S. 335 x 485mm.
In La Suite des Saltimbanques, Picasso treats the most important subjects that preoccupied him during the beginning of his career. Bohemianism, destitution and the theatrical universe are all themes that pervade his work during the Blue and Rose periods. 1905 was a seminal year for the artist, representing the transition of these two phases. His artistic output rose as the company of poets, most notably Apollinaire whom he met at the beginning of that year, enabled him to put aside the sentimentality of the Blue period in favour of the impersonality of theatrical gesture and expression.
The prevailing subject, that of the Saltimbanques, had preoccupied Picasso since he first encountered these travelling acrobats in the Places des Invalides, in about 1904. We see the artist, in portraying these strolling players who had performed in the Paris squares since the fifteenth century, exploring their mystical realm, combining observation of the solitary figure, with an exploration of their imaginative, enchanted universe.
Much of Picasso's imagery runs parallel to that of Apollinaire, indeed these etchings seem to serve as illustrations of the latter's poems of the time. Evidence of their symbiotic relationship is especially apparent in the poet's Un Fantôme de Nuées published later in his Calligrammes. The poem demonstrates how they shared the same vision of the Saltimbanques performers, how they both drew on their timeless, immemorial quality, combined with the brutal reality of their impoverished existence:
Comme c'était la veille du quatorze juillet
Vers les quatre heures de l'après-midi
Je descendis dans la rue pour aller voir les saltimbanques (...)
De nombreux tapis sales couvraient le sol
Tapis qui sont presque entièrement couleur de la poussière
Et où quelques taches jaune ou vertes ont persisté
Comme un air de musique qui vous poursuit
Vois-tu le personnage maigre et sauvage
La cendre de ses pères lui sortait en barbe grisonnante
Il portait ainsi toute son hérédité au visage
Il semblait rêver à l'avenir (...)
Et quand il marcha sur une boule
Son corps mince devint une musique si délicate que nul parmi les
spectateur n'y fut insensible
Un petit esprit sans aucune humanité
Pensa chacun
Et cette musique des formes
Détruisit celle de l'orgue mécanique
Que moulait l'homme au visage couvert d'ancêtres
Le petit saltimbanques fit la roue
Avec tant d'harmonie
Que l'orgue cessa de jouer
Et que l'organiste se cacha le visage dans les mains
Aux doigts semblables aux descendants de son destin (...)
(Guillaume Apollinaire, Calligrammes, Poèmes de la Paix et de la Guerre, 1913-1916, Paris, 1925)
This suite, so rarely found complete on Japan paper, is central to the artist's early works. The simplicity of form through which he achieves such richness of expression, the coming together of the various contemporary themes, and the fine balance that he achieves between spirituality and realism, culminate here in this very fine set of the Saltimbanques.