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Lot Essay
Claude Ruiz-Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
Maya Widmaier-Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
Depicting a simple jug, Pichet orange et bleu nevertheless conveys the tension which animated Europe as it hurtled towards the Second World War: executed in 1937, the work illustrates a pitcher through a series of sharp lines cutting through its body. A black sickle crosses the object with violence, while the concentric lines at its centre evocates the propagating energy of an explosion. The juxtaposition of complementary colours, such as blue and orange, moreover, exacerbates the contrast at the core of the picture, enhancing the vividness of the tones. Executed a year after the outburst of the Spanish Civil War, Pichet orange et bleu uses an expressionistic pictorial language in which distortion and tense lines create the impression of a vibrating image.
At the time he executed Pichet orange et bleu, Picasso was working on one of the most momentous masterpieces of his entire career: Guernica. The mural had been commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for its pavilion at the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris. Executed on May 30th 1937, Pichet orange et bleu was conceived during Picasso’s last week of work on the mural, which he completed on June 4th. Although a still life, Pichet orange et bleu seems to have absorbed the tension and violence of Picasso’s mural in its simple subject, offering a surprising, new visual interpretation to the memento mori tradition.
Maya Widmaier-Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
Depicting a simple jug, Pichet orange et bleu nevertheless conveys the tension which animated Europe as it hurtled towards the Second World War: executed in 1937, the work illustrates a pitcher through a series of sharp lines cutting through its body. A black sickle crosses the object with violence, while the concentric lines at its centre evocates the propagating energy of an explosion. The juxtaposition of complementary colours, such as blue and orange, moreover, exacerbates the contrast at the core of the picture, enhancing the vividness of the tones. Executed a year after the outburst of the Spanish Civil War, Pichet orange et bleu uses an expressionistic pictorial language in which distortion and tense lines create the impression of a vibrating image.
At the time he executed Pichet orange et bleu, Picasso was working on one of the most momentous masterpieces of his entire career: Guernica. The mural had been commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for its pavilion at the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris. Executed on May 30th 1937, Pichet orange et bleu was conceived during Picasso’s last week of work on the mural, which he completed on June 4th. Although a still life, Pichet orange et bleu seems to have absorbed the tension and violence of Picasso’s mural in its simple subject, offering a surprising, new visual interpretation to the memento mori tradition.