Lot Essay
A burst of creative activity marks Picasso's finale to his phenomenal career. In this last chapter the artist no longer makes references to art of the past or paints compositions with multiple figures.
Picasso now chose to work with isolated figures,
archetypes, and concentrated on the essential: the
nude, the couple, man in disguise or stripped bare:
it was his way of dealing with the subject of women,
love, and the human comedy.
After isolating the painter in a series of portraits,
it was logical that Picasso should now paint the
model alone: that is to say a nude woman lying on a
divan, offered up to the painter's eyes and to the
man's desire. It is characteristic of Picasso, in
contrast to Matisse and many other twentieth-century
painters, that he takes as his model - or as his
Muse - the woman he loves and who lives with him,
not a professional model. So what his paintings
show is never a 'model' of a woman, but woman as
model. This has its consequences for his emotional
as well as his artistic life: for the beloved woman
stands for 'painting', and the painted woman is the
beloved: detachment is an impossilility. Picasso
never paints from life: Jacqueline never poses for
him: but she is there always, everywhere. All the
women of these years are Jacqueline, and yet they
are rarely portraits. The image of the woman he
loves is a model imprinted deep within him, and it
emerges every time he paints a woman. (M.-L. Bernadac,
exh. cat., Late Picasso, Tate Gallery, London, 1988,
p. 78)
This brashly colored portrait of a seated nude is created with confident rapid brushstrokes, placing particular emphasis on the details of the woman's anatomy. This cinematic close-up presentation becomes the total focus with the background left to a thin wash of muted color. The model stares out at the viewer with a blank expression presenting herself with absolutely no inhibitions. This icon-like presentation is in direct contrast to the artist's urgent almost haphazard brushwork. The overall unity arising from these opposing elements create the striking vitality found in Picasso's late style.
Picasso now chose to work with isolated figures,
archetypes, and concentrated on the essential: the
nude, the couple, man in disguise or stripped bare:
it was his way of dealing with the subject of women,
love, and the human comedy.
After isolating the painter in a series of portraits,
it was logical that Picasso should now paint the
model alone: that is to say a nude woman lying on a
divan, offered up to the painter's eyes and to the
man's desire. It is characteristic of Picasso, in
contrast to Matisse and many other twentieth-century
painters, that he takes as his model - or as his
Muse - the woman he loves and who lives with him,
not a professional model. So what his paintings
show is never a 'model' of a woman, but woman as
model. This has its consequences for his emotional
as well as his artistic life: for the beloved woman
stands for 'painting', and the painted woman is the
beloved: detachment is an impossilility. Picasso
never paints from life: Jacqueline never poses for
him: but she is there always, everywhere. All the
women of these years are Jacqueline, and yet they
are rarely portraits. The image of the woman he
loves is a model imprinted deep within him, and it
emerges every time he paints a woman. (M.-L. Bernadac,
exh. cat., Late Picasso, Tate Gallery, London, 1988,
p. 78)
This brashly colored portrait of a seated nude is created with confident rapid brushstrokes, placing particular emphasis on the details of the woman's anatomy. This cinematic close-up presentation becomes the total focus with the background left to a thin wash of muted color. The model stares out at the viewer with a blank expression presenting herself with absolutely no inhibitions. This icon-like presentation is in direct contrast to the artist's urgent almost haphazard brushwork. The overall unity arising from these opposing elements create the striking vitality found in Picasso's late style.