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Lot Essay
Maya Widmaier-Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of this drawing.
Claude Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of this drawing.
The Arlésienne, the beautiful and beguiling woman of Provence in her traditional costume, inspired the writers Gustave Flaubert and Alphonse Daudet. George Bizet wrote some of his most appealing and well-known music for Daudet's play L'Arlésienne, which premiered in 1872. The painters Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were drawn to her legendary charm and portrayed her in paintings done in 1888. Picasso also fell under her spell. He first painted an Arlésienne during the summer of 1912, at the height of his analytic cubist period (Zervos, vol. 2*, no. 722). He painted the lovely, young American photographer Lee Miller as an Arlésienne in Mougins during the summer of 1937 (Zervos, vol. 8, nos. 370-372).
The present drawing, executed on 10 October 1969, marks the culmination of this extended series and features the artist's goddaughter, Olivia Clergue. Picasso posed her in a similar position to that of Mme. Ginoux in Vincent Van Gogh's 1890 painting L'Arlésienne (see Christie's Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art, 2 May 2006, lot 19) with her three-quarter-profile resting in her hand and her hair gathered by a large ribbon.
Please see lot 413 in the Impressionist and Modern Art Day sale for another lot from the Lucien Clergue Family Collection.
Claude Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of this drawing.
The Arlésienne, the beautiful and beguiling woman of Provence in her traditional costume, inspired the writers Gustave Flaubert and Alphonse Daudet. George Bizet wrote some of his most appealing and well-known music for Daudet's play L'Arlésienne, which premiered in 1872. The painters Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were drawn to her legendary charm and portrayed her in paintings done in 1888. Picasso also fell under her spell. He first painted an Arlésienne during the summer of 1912, at the height of his analytic cubist period (Zervos, vol. 2*, no. 722). He painted the lovely, young American photographer Lee Miller as an Arlésienne in Mougins during the summer of 1937 (Zervos, vol. 8, nos. 370-372).
The present drawing, executed on 10 October 1969, marks the culmination of this extended series and features the artist's goddaughter, Olivia Clergue. Picasso posed her in a similar position to that of Mme. Ginoux in Vincent Van Gogh's 1890 painting L'Arlésienne (see Christie's Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art, 2 May 2006, lot 19) with her three-quarter-profile resting in her hand and her hair gathered by a large ribbon.
Please see lot 413 in the Impressionist and Modern Art Day sale for another lot from the Lucien Clergue Family Collection.