Sitelle

From 1928 Picabia evolved a style of painting which later became known as 'the transparencies', of which the present work is a prime example. This series was so named due to the "multiple layers of transparent images, although it was also characterized by pervasive moods of wistfulness and melancholy, and by extensive reference to art of the past." (W. A. Camfield, Francis Picabia, New Jersey 1979, p. 229). The reactions of the viewer constantly shift as the perception of one form gives way to the appearance of another overlaid image.

Picabia described the 'transparencies' as paintings "where all my instincts may have a free course" (quoted in exh. cat., Paris, Exposition Francis Picabia, 1930). His creative instincts clearly drew upon a strong sense of artistic heritage, his 'transparencies' closely modelling the work of collages. In the best of these works Picabia achieves "a fusion of suggestive symbolism and poignant visual experiences that transform his sources into an utterly personal creation" (W. A. Camfield, ibid, p. 234).