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Lot Essay
Conceived in 1950, Grand vase aux femmes voilées is one of the finest examples of Picasso’s earlier ceramic work. Standing over 25 inches high, the vase is among the largest in Picasso’s ceramic output and was produced only three years after he moved to the Côte d’Azur and began to work alongside Suzanne and Georges Ramié at the Madoura pottery studio in Vallauris. Only six years later, would Anne Douglas walk into the artist's iconic studio to purchase the present lot. In a letter Anne wrote to Kirk, she describes her trip, “I went yesterday to Vallauris, buying posters for us and Dr. Kupper. I also was so enchanted with one of Picasso’s latest pottery—a big vase—that I bought it. It will be sent directly. Cost me only $200. It is for our new house and I am sure you will love it.”
Regarded as one of the most sought after ceramic examples by the artist, the present lot is highly prized for its small edition size and large scale and is an extremely rare example that is scarcely seen on the market. It is in these earlier ceramic works by Picasso that we see a keen interest in reflecting on the history of the media and its ancient past, collecting inspiration from the history of Vallauris which had been a ceramic center since the Roman times. Decorated with four veiled women, evoking the classical while calling upon antiquities in both iconography and color palette, Picasso draws inspiration from the classical motif of the Three Graces.
The delicate and hourglass shape of the vase is accentuated with four female forms arranged as a simplified frieze. Likely inspired by the artist’s then companion, Françoise Gilot, both the elegant lines of the figures as well as the curvature of the vase itself echo and emphasize the female form. The women are each delicately accentuated with bold facial features and voluminous, black and ochre hair and are strikingly emphasized against the white engobe background.
The present lot is accompanied by a gelatin silver print photograph taken of Picasso with the vase by photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1954. In an exchange with Karsh, Douglas noted that the original photograph of Picasso with Grand vase aux femmes voilées hung prominently in the entryway to their home, right next to the vase.
Regarded as one of the most sought after ceramic examples by the artist, the present lot is highly prized for its small edition size and large scale and is an extremely rare example that is scarcely seen on the market. It is in these earlier ceramic works by Picasso that we see a keen interest in reflecting on the history of the media and its ancient past, collecting inspiration from the history of Vallauris which had been a ceramic center since the Roman times. Decorated with four veiled women, evoking the classical while calling upon antiquities in both iconography and color palette, Picasso draws inspiration from the classical motif of the Three Graces.
The delicate and hourglass shape of the vase is accentuated with four female forms arranged as a simplified frieze. Likely inspired by the artist’s then companion, Françoise Gilot, both the elegant lines of the figures as well as the curvature of the vase itself echo and emphasize the female form. The women are each delicately accentuated with bold facial features and voluminous, black and ochre hair and are strikingly emphasized against the white engobe background.
The present lot is accompanied by a gelatin silver print photograph taken of Picasso with the vase by photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1954. In an exchange with Karsh, Douglas noted that the original photograph of Picasso with Grand vase aux femmes voilées hung prominently in the entryway to their home, right next to the vase.