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拍品專文
'There are two kinds of women: Goddesses and Doormats.' (Picasso, quoted in Francoise Gilot & Carlton Lake, Life with Picasso, New York, 1964)
Picasso painted this striking portrait of his partner Francoise Gilot in the beginning of March, 1953. It was the end of an era in many senses. Not only was their relationship almost over - they would finally separate in August - but Femme assise dans un fauteuil was also executed on the day Stalin died.
Picasso's adherence to the Communist cause during the period after the Second World War is well documented. Picasso remained a Party member for a long time, but it is interesting to note that in many ways, Francoise's departure marked the end of his true devotion. Although it is possible that she merely joined because she was Picasso's partner, she had nonetheless been a vital bridge between the Party and Picasso. It was only after Francoise left that Picasso realised how much of a bridge she had been between him and so many elements in his life.
As happened with so many of Picasso's partners during his long and active life, his works effectively provide barometers indicating the state of each of his relationships. This is powerfully evoked in Femme assise dans un fauteuil. When Picasso and Francoise began their affair in 1946, Francoise was usually depicted as a buxom nymph with masses of hair and a face often reduced to the simplest triangle. In Femme assise dans un fauteuil, the image is intense, restrained and matronly. Picasso has emphasised less her being his lover than her being the mother of his children, Claude and Paloma. Francoise was still in her twenties in 1953, yet here there are few signs of her youth and vitality. These aspects of the work would have been doubly poignant for Francoise who was herself a skilled artist and very familiar with the thought behind Picasso's work. She had even collaborated on his works at times. Picasso was already having affairs with other women during this period and had met Jacqueline Roque, who would later become his last great love.
The pose of the sitter is itself a great indication of the state of the relationship: Francoise is protrayed as a remote ice-maiden. Femme assise dans un fauteuil echoes Renaissance portraiture in its composition. Francoise's crossed hands and her entire posture lend this work a weighty formality, only increased by the almost period feel to her costume. This coolness supports the idea that it was Francoise who seems to have precipitated the end of her affair with Picasso, not vice versa. She had realised how self-effacing her life with the artist had become, and how completely she had been in his thrall. She therefore reacted by slowly distancing herself. This change in the couple's dynamic is perhaps reflected in the restrained pose shown here, and in Picasso's choice of an increasingly arcane method of portrayal. Where the bygone works showing the voluptuous Francoise were effortless celebrations of her beauty, Femme assise dans un fauteuil is a far more intense and psychological portrait of his lover.The style is more tortuous and abstract, reminiscent of Picasso's great series of portraits of Francoise's predecessor Dora Maar almost imprisoned in a chair. In this painting, Picasso has used a familiar artistic vocabulary to transpose his increasingly heavy feelings to canvas. Femme assise dans un fauteuil is thus a highly expressive legacy of his final days with Francoise.
Picasso painted this striking portrait of his partner Francoise Gilot in the beginning of March, 1953. It was the end of an era in many senses. Not only was their relationship almost over - they would finally separate in August - but Femme assise dans un fauteuil was also executed on the day Stalin died.
Picasso's adherence to the Communist cause during the period after the Second World War is well documented. Picasso remained a Party member for a long time, but it is interesting to note that in many ways, Francoise's departure marked the end of his true devotion. Although it is possible that she merely joined because she was Picasso's partner, she had nonetheless been a vital bridge between the Party and Picasso. It was only after Francoise left that Picasso realised how much of a bridge she had been between him and so many elements in his life.
As happened with so many of Picasso's partners during his long and active life, his works effectively provide barometers indicating the state of each of his relationships. This is powerfully evoked in Femme assise dans un fauteuil. When Picasso and Francoise began their affair in 1946, Francoise was usually depicted as a buxom nymph with masses of hair and a face often reduced to the simplest triangle. In Femme assise dans un fauteuil, the image is intense, restrained and matronly. Picasso has emphasised less her being his lover than her being the mother of his children, Claude and Paloma. Francoise was still in her twenties in 1953, yet here there are few signs of her youth and vitality. These aspects of the work would have been doubly poignant for Francoise who was herself a skilled artist and very familiar with the thought behind Picasso's work. She had even collaborated on his works at times. Picasso was already having affairs with other women during this period and had met Jacqueline Roque, who would later become his last great love.
The pose of the sitter is itself a great indication of the state of the relationship: Francoise is protrayed as a remote ice-maiden. Femme assise dans un fauteuil echoes Renaissance portraiture in its composition. Francoise's crossed hands and her entire posture lend this work a weighty formality, only increased by the almost period feel to her costume. This coolness supports the idea that it was Francoise who seems to have precipitated the end of her affair with Picasso, not vice versa. She had realised how self-effacing her life with the artist had become, and how completely she had been in his thrall. She therefore reacted by slowly distancing herself. This change in the couple's dynamic is perhaps reflected in the restrained pose shown here, and in Picasso's choice of an increasingly arcane method of portrayal. Where the bygone works showing the voluptuous Francoise were effortless celebrations of her beauty, Femme assise dans un fauteuil is a far more intense and psychological portrait of his lover.The style is more tortuous and abstract, reminiscent of Picasso's great series of portraits of Francoise's predecessor Dora Maar almost imprisoned in a chair. In this painting, Picasso has used a familiar artistic vocabulary to transpose his increasingly heavy feelings to canvas. Femme assise dans un fauteuil is thus a highly expressive legacy of his final days with Francoise.