La Femme au Tambourin (B. 310; Ba. 646 V Ba)

Details

Pablo Picasso
La Femme au Tambourin (B. 310; Ba. 646 V Ba)
aquatint with etching and scraper, 1938, on Arches, signed in pencil, numbered 28/30, with wide margins, very pale discoloration in the margins and on the reverse, two skillfully repaired tears in the margins, one at the upper sheet edge and one at the upper right (neither touching the platemark), occasional very minor inconspicuous scuffs and abrasions, otherwise in good condition, framed
P. 664 x 511 mm., S. 754 x 565 mm.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Sale room notice

Please note that this impression is numbered 28/30 and not as stated in the catalogue.

Lot Essay

La Femme au Tambourin is recognised as one of Picasso's most important graphic works and his most powerful depiction of a full-length female figure. Initially based on compositions by Degas and Poussin, Picasso gives the dancer an appearance of wild, desparate joy as she capers across an inky black background. The extraordinary contraposto movement and her inscrutable stare suggest something dark and less frivolous than the title would suggest. Unease is also conveyed through technique as Picasso has attacked the plate, carving out the forms from the surrounding aquatint

More apocalyptic than bacchanalian, the dancer is both disturbing and monumental, and may be read as an expression of the sombre political tensions of the time. As such La Femme au Tambourin is ranked along side Picasso's other great graphic works such as La Minotauromachie (B. 288; Ba 573) and La Femme qui Pleure, I (B. 1333; Ba. 623).

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