Francis Picabia (1879-1953)
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 1… Read more PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE SWISS COLLECTION
Francis Picabia (1879-1953)

Transparence (Deux têtes)

Details
Francis Picabia (1879-1953)
Transparence (Deux têtes)
signed and dated 'Francis Picabia 1935' (lower right)
oil on canvas
31 7/8 x 25½ in. (81 x 64.8 cm.)
Painted in 1935
Provenance
Acquired by the family of the present owner circa 1970s, and thence by descent.
Special Notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

Lot Essay

This painting is sold with a photo-certificate from the Comité Picabia.

For Picabia, in the late 1920s, the new freedom offered by the simultaneous and seemingly non-hierarchical imagery of the transparencies was important. 'My present feeling as regards aesthetics comes from the boredom produced by the sight of pictures that seem to me to be congealed on their immobile surfaces, far removed from anything human', he said. 'This third dimension, which is not a product of chiaroscuro, these transparencies with their secret depth, enable me to express my inner intentions with a certain degree of verisimilitude. When I lay the foundation stone, I want it to remain under my picture and not on top of it' (F. Picabia, quoted in M.L. Borràs, op. cit., p. 340).

More from The Art of the Surreal (immediately following the Impressionist and Modern Art, Evening Sale)

View All
View All