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拍品專文
Pablo Picasso drew the present work on 9 September 1968, a day of frenzied creative output focusing on one unique theme. Continuing his preoccupation with the lovers, Picasso executed a group of works titled L’Etreinte, depicting two lovers in varying stages of sexual activity ranging from kissing to making love. The works are each composed from the viewpoint of an onlooker to the left of the passionate scenes. Picasso’s close and intimate attention to detail is highlighted through the nude figures in the throes of an intense embrace.
When the artist’s exhibition of his recent paintings and drawings debuted at the Palais des Papes in Avignon in May 1970, many of the visitors were shocked to see his new works. Marie-Laure Bernadac wrote, "Picasso made a single being out of two, expressing the carnal fusion brought forth by the act of kissing. Never had erotic power been suggested with such realism. He bared sexuality in an explicit way in the Embraces: 'Art is never chaste,' the painter said" (The Ultimate Picasso, New York, 2000, p. 458).
Picasso’s entire oeuvre is punctuated by his keen interest in the sexuality of the nude form. Stemming from his sensual neoclassical works from the thirties and extending to his artist and lover series of the early sixties, Picasso had long been exploring the theme of embrace. In 1968, the same year as this work was drawn, the artist applied it to a new suite of prints which were aptly titled 347 for the sheer number of works that he was able to create in just a few months.
When the artist’s exhibition of his recent paintings and drawings debuted at the Palais des Papes in Avignon in May 1970, many of the visitors were shocked to see his new works. Marie-Laure Bernadac wrote, "Picasso made a single being out of two, expressing the carnal fusion brought forth by the act of kissing. Never had erotic power been suggested with such realism. He bared sexuality in an explicit way in the Embraces: 'Art is never chaste,' the painter said" (The Ultimate Picasso, New York, 2000, p. 458).
Picasso’s entire oeuvre is punctuated by his keen interest in the sexuality of the nude form. Stemming from his sensual neoclassical works from the thirties and extending to his artist and lover series of the early sixties, Picasso had long been exploring the theme of embrace. In 1968, the same year as this work was drawn, the artist applied it to a new suite of prints which were aptly titled 347 for the sheer number of works that he was able to create in just a few months.