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Lot Essay
La conversation was painted in Paris during Picasso's second visit in the spring of 1901. He stayed in the studio of his late friend Carles Casagemas. During this period, Picasso painted a number of evocations of Parisian night-life and the demimonde.
The erotic overtones of the present painting are characteristic of Picasso's work during this period. Accustomed to the decorum of Spanish culture, Picasso must have been surprised by the liberal attitude of Parisian society, where displays of affection were not at all uncommon. Picasso often portrayed Parisian women as heavily made-up and tough, with aggressive posturing. John Richardson observes, 'Picasso evokes an erotic ambiance all the more exciting for being faintly menacing. It is as though he saw the cocottes through Casagemas's eyes with a little help from van Gogh... Picasso's tarts with their mascara and lipstick...project a sexuality that is distinctly twentieth century' (J. Richardson, A Life of Picasso, 1881-1906, vol. I, London, 1991, p. 167).
The erotic overtones of the present painting are characteristic of Picasso's work during this period. Accustomed to the decorum of Spanish culture, Picasso must have been surprised by the liberal attitude of Parisian society, where displays of affection were not at all uncommon. Picasso often portrayed Parisian women as heavily made-up and tough, with aggressive posturing. John Richardson observes, 'Picasso evokes an erotic ambiance all the more exciting for being faintly menacing. It is as though he saw the cocottes through Casagemas's eyes with a little help from van Gogh... Picasso's tarts with their mascara and lipstick...project a sexuality that is distinctly twentieth century' (J. Richardson, A Life of Picasso, 1881-1906, vol. I, London, 1991, p. 167).