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Lot Essay
The present sheet likely originates from one of two spiral-bound sketchbooks used by Picasso in 1958 and 1959. Sketchbooks formed an integral part of Picasso's creative practice throughout his career: some 175 are known or recorded, dating from 1894-1967. The earliest survive from his adolescence, and he continued to use them almost uninterruptedly thereafter, carrying small notebooks for rapid ideas and working in larger formats in the studio. While a significant group, most notably in the Musée Picasso, Paris, remains intact, many have been dispersed.
Executed on 1 January 1959, the present sheet was the artist’s third work of the New Year. Despite the extraordinary productivity of Picasso’s final decades, sketchbooks from this period are comparatively scarce: aside from the exceptional group of 1962, only a small number are recorded between the late 1950s and his final carnet of 1967. In these late notebooks, the function of the sketchbook shifts away from preparatory study towards a more autonomous arena of exploration, dominated by the nude and by a sustained investigation of line, rhythm, and arabesque, engaging directly with the legacy of artists such as Delacroix, Ingres, and Manet.
Picasso’s sketchbooks furthermore operate as a visual diary, recording a constant process of invention in which motifs evolve across pages and media. At times preparatory, at others reflective, they often stand as fully resolved works in their own right, capturing the immediacy and freedom of the artist’s hand.
The present sheet was previously in the collection of the artist’s granddaughter, Marina Ruiz Picasso (b. 1950), daughter of his eldest son Paulo.
Executed on 1 January 1959, the present sheet was the artist’s third work of the New Year. Despite the extraordinary productivity of Picasso’s final decades, sketchbooks from this period are comparatively scarce: aside from the exceptional group of 1962, only a small number are recorded between the late 1950s and his final carnet of 1967. In these late notebooks, the function of the sketchbook shifts away from preparatory study towards a more autonomous arena of exploration, dominated by the nude and by a sustained investigation of line, rhythm, and arabesque, engaging directly with the legacy of artists such as Delacroix, Ingres, and Manet.
Picasso’s sketchbooks furthermore operate as a visual diary, recording a constant process of invention in which motifs evolve across pages and media. At times preparatory, at others reflective, they often stand as fully resolved works in their own right, capturing the immediacy and freedom of the artist’s hand.
The present sheet was previously in the collection of the artist’s granddaughter, Marina Ruiz Picasso (b. 1950), daughter of his eldest son Paulo.