Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Deux baigneuses

Details

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Deux baigneuses
signed and dated 'Picasso 23-6-20-' (lower right)
pencil on paper
10 5/8 x 16 3/8 in. (27 x 41.7 cm.)
Drawn in Juan-les-Pins on 23 June 1920

Provenance

Herbert Bittner & Co., New York.
Acquired by the family of the present owner, circa 1950s.

Literature

C. Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Paris, 1951, vol. 4, p. 52, no. 167 (illustrated). The Picasso Project, ed., Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture: Neoclassicism I 1920-1921, San Francisco, 1995, p. 86, no. 20-278 (illustrated; with incorrect dimensions).

Exhibited

New York, Herbert Bittner & Co., Master Drawings Exhibition No. 4, 1940, no. 29.
Hagerstown, Maryland, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Trends in 20th Century Art, 1963, no. 75.

Lot Essay

In mid-June 1920, Picasso and Olga arrived at Juan-les-Pins on the French Riviera. Although Picasso continued to paint highly geometric compositions using Commedia dell'Arte characters, his focus was increasingly drawn to the classical figure. While staying in the south, subjects from Mediterranean antiquity captivated the artist's imagination and the traditional, humanistic theme of the bather naturally suggested itself. The series of nudes which Picasso drew and painted before his return to Paris in late September demonstrate the artist's commitment to the classical style.

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