Lot Essay
The 1930's was a decade of major political upheaval in Europe with the rise of Fascism in Germany and Italy and the Civil War in Spain. For Picasso, who observed these changes closely, it was also the decade in which he produced the important and felt images of his printmaking career. These include La Minotauromachie (B. 288; Ba. 573), La Femme qui Pleure, I (B. 1333; Ba. 623) and La Femme au Tambourin (B. 310; Ba. 646).
Although superficially an evocation of joy, La Femme au Tambourin is rather the personification of frenzy, dancing through a world on the brink of war. Taken from sources as diverse as a Degas monotype and a Baccanal by Poussin and inspired by the persona of Dora Maar, La Femme au Tambourin is a fusion of many influences united to produce Picasso's most powerful full length female nude in the print media.
Although superficially an evocation of joy, La Femme au Tambourin is rather the personification of frenzy, dancing through a world on the brink of war. Taken from sources as diverse as a Degas monotype and a Baccanal by Poussin and inspired by the persona of Dora Maar, La Femme au Tambourin is a fusion of many influences united to produce Picasso's most powerful full length female nude in the print media.