.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Besides executing many portraits of Dora Maar, Picasso also painted a large number of fine still-lives in the spring of 1944. Amongst them is a series incorporating a cafetière as the central element. In seven days, from 2-8 April, Picasso executed then such paintings. The first of these, painted the day before the present picture, was also with Louise Leiris and was exhibited in the Liljevachs Konsthall exhibition in 1954. Sold in these rooms on 29th November 1982 (lot 41) the painting depicts the same coffee pot on a tall table accompanied by a glass vase and apple (Zervos, XIII, no. 250). Painted in rather dark colours, the present work is a much brighter version of the subject and shows Picasso moving towards the spectacularly bright still-life of 8 April entitled Cafetière et Chandelier, now in the Musée Nationale d'Art Moderne, Paris. The cafetière and coffee cup here serve as the focal point for the composition of the later picture.
The painting was acquired by an important early twentieth century Swedish collector, probably from Svensk-Franska Galleriet who acted as Louise Leiris's agent in Stockholm, and remained in the same family until the present owner purchased it in 1993.
The painting was acquired by an important early twentieth century Swedish collector, probably from Svensk-Franska Galleriet who acted as Louise Leiris's agent in Stockholm, and remained in the same family until the present owner purchased it in 1993.