557 - Pablo Picasso (1881 Málaga – Mougins near Cannes 1973)

Pablo Picasso (1881 Málaga – Mougins near Cannes 1973) Quatre personnages Ink pen and ink brush on chamois-colored vellum. (19)68. Approx. 50.5 x 65.5 cm. Signed and dated “2.10.68” and numbered “IV” in the center left. Zervos XXVII, 318; The Picasso Project 68-158. • A typical Picasso theme: the female nude and the male voyeur • A homage to Picasso’s printmaking; sharp pen strokes and soft brushstrokes evoke drypoint etchings with aquatint; the work was created at the same time as the famous print series “Suite 347” • A mature late work from a highly productive phase in the artist’s career This pen-and-ink drawing is a magnificent example of a favorite and recurring theme in Picasso’s work: the female nude and the male voyeur. The work was created during the final, artistically very productive years of Picasso’s life. In a loose triangular composition, we see three nudes—on the right, a seated female figure is shown facing the viewer; at the top, a woman lies on her stomach, her head resting pensively on her hands; while from the left, a naked man crawls into the picture on his hands and feet. In contrast to the three nudes in this work, the figure on the right-hand edge is fully clothed and shown in profile; she is more of a spectator than an object of observation. This male figure has his right hand raised to his mouth and appears to be lost in thought, while the three figures seem like figments of his imagination or objects of his fantasy. Similar male observers appear throughout Picasso’s oeuvre, sometimes holding an instrument or a weapon, or even depicted as a painter with a brush. The man depicted is a very important figure in Picasso’s artistic oeuvre: his printer, Piero Crommelynck (1934–2001). Starting in 1963, he and his brother Aldo Crommelynck set up a studio in Mougins, where Picasso was living at the time. Picasso’s overwhelming creative energy, combined with the Crommelynck brothers’ tremendous dedication and productivity, led to a vast number of prints—including proofs, variations, and revisions—the results of which Picasso was able to see in record time. One product of this collaboration is the legendary Suite 347, a series of 347 etchings created with the help of the two printmakers between March 16 and October 5, 1968, at Picasso’s home, Notre-Dame-de-Vie, in Mougins. The artist created this ink drawing just three days before the completion of this, the largest printmaking project of his life. In many ways, “Quatre personnages” is also a tribute to Picasso’s prints. With the sharp lines of the pen strokes and the smudged areas of ink, the work evokes the effect of drypoint and aquatint etchings. The Crommelynck brothers made every effort to ensure that the printing process went as smoothly as possible for Picasso, delivering prepared printing plates to him every morning. After Picasso etched the plates, the brothers printed them immediately and sent them to the Galerie Leiris in Paris, where they were sold. This allowed Picasso to create an extensive and influential body of work in a remarkably short time. The resulting prints are among the last hand-signed prints Picasso created, and this drawing is a unique testament to the profound influence this technique had on Picasso. Exhibition: Picasso: The Late Drawings, Hirschl & Adler Galleries Inc., New York 1988, cat. no. 21, with ill. Provenance: Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, label on the reverse of the frame; Herman C. Goldsmith, New York, two labels on the reverse of the frame; Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, label on the reverse of the frame; Evelyn Aimis Fine Art, Toronto, with a label on the back of the frame; acquired from the aforementioned dealer; Private collection, Canada, acquired from the aforementioned dealer in 1989; Christie’s, London, February 10, 2005, Lot 687; Private collection, London, acquired from the aforementioned; Private collection, Southern Germany. Taxation: subject to margin scheme (VAT: Margin Scheme).