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Picasso SculpteurGiven the relatively small number of sculptures within Picasso’s oeuvre—the artist made approximately 700, compared to roughly 4,500 paintings—the role they play is remarkably rich. Picasso had initially studied classical sculpture only as it translated into two dimensions. But his sculptural oeuvre had a strong visibility and impact throughout the course of his lifetime. The dialogue between the pictorial and the sculptural, and the intermingling of conventions used for one with those used for the other, would prove to be constants in his work. For Picasso, sculpture was always something deeply personal, improvisatory, and encompassing a vast range of styles, materials and techniques. He approached the medium with the freedom of a self-taught artist, ready to break all the rules. Picasso lived with his sculptures fully integrated into his homes. The pleasure he derived from surrounding himself with them brought with it a lack of desire to release the works for exhibition or sale. He would send new paintings to exhibitions and dealers, but the sculptures remained an integral part of his environment. It was only in 1966, through the large Paris retrospective Hommage à Picasso, that the public became fully aware of this side of his work. The following year, The Museum of Modern Art organized The Sculpture of Picasso, which until the museum’s blockbuster exhibition Picasso Sculpture this year, remained the first and only show in America to display a large number of the artist’s sculptures. Christie’s is honored to present six sculptures from the 1940s and 1950s, examples of Picasso’s varying and playful depictions of the female form.Property from the Collection of Nan Rosenthal and Henry B. Cortesi
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Femme debout
Details
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Femme debout
numbered and stamped with foundry mark '10/10 C. VALSUANI CIRE PERDUE' (on the top of the base)
bronze with dark brown patina
Height: 7 7/8 in. (19.8 cm.)
Conceived in 1945
Femme debout
numbered and stamped with foundry mark '10/10 C. VALSUANI CIRE PERDUE' (on the top of the base)
bronze with dark brown patina
Height: 7 7/8 in. (19.8 cm.)
Conceived in 1945
Provenance
Galerie Louise Leiris (Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler), Paris.
Acquired by the family of the late owners, circa 1965.
Acquired by the family of the late owners, circa 1965.
Literature
W. Spies, Picasso, Das plastische Werk, Stuttgart, 1983, p. 386, no. 328.II (another cast illustrated, p. 346).
The Picasso Project, ed., Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture, Liberation and Post-War Years, 1944-1949, San Francisco, 2000, p. 50, no. 45-107 (another cast illustrated).
W. Spies, Picasso, The Sculptures, Stuttgart, 2000, pp. 407-408, no. 328.II (another cast illustrated, p. 366).
The Picasso Project, ed., Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture, Liberation and Post-War Years, 1944-1949, San Francisco, 2000, p. 50, no. 45-107 (another cast illustrated).
W. Spies, Picasso, The Sculptures, Stuttgart, 2000, pp. 407-408, no. 328.II (another cast illustrated, p. 366).
Brought to you by
Vanessa Fusco