Pablo Picasso – ”Le repos”

Sold for 1.000.000 SEK at Uppsala Auktionskammares evening sale ”The Neuman Collection”, 7 Dec 2016.

1005. Pablo Picasso (1881‑1973). ”Le repos”.
Signed in crayon Picasso and dated 8 mai 47 and numbered VI. Pen and black ink on paper, 50.5 x 65.5 cm.

This delicate drawing by Picasso was created in the early summer of 1947, at a time when the artist divided his time between his studio in Paris and Golfe-Juan near Cannes. Picasso and his mistress Françoise Gilot spent much time in Villa Pour Toi, a countryside villa owned by Louis Fort, a retired artisan-engraver and a close friend of Picasso.

Figure 1: Femme assise et Dormeuse. Seated woman and sleeper, 1947 (litho), Picasso, Pablo (1881-1973)
/ Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images. © Succession Picasso

Between the years of 1946 and 1947, Picasso produced a wide range of paintings and drawings, many of which were greatly inspired by his rival and long-time friend Henri Matisse. The inspiration from the Fauvist master can clearly be seen in Le repos. The two artists had a very complex yet fulfilling relationship that lasted until the death of Matisse in 1954. Picasso regularly visited Henri Matisse in Le Rêve, his villa in Vence, and did so together with Françoise Gilot only months before he made the drawing Le repos. The art collector and American avant-garde writer Gertrude Stein was the first to introduce Picasso to Matisse and even though they seemed to have very little in common, by the time they met, they were intrigued by one another and from then on often urged each other to paint the same subjects and even name their works of art the same titles. Matisse created several similar versions of Le repos, both drawings and lithographs, showing a nude woman with her arms above her head in a reclining or seated position. Both artists created their drawings by using only a few and very fine lines, yet the expressions of the figures are ever present. They shared a mutual respect for each other’s works and interpretations and sometimes even exchanged their paintings and drawings. “You have got to be able to picture side by side everything Matisse and I were doing at that time. No one has ever looked at Matisse’s painting more carefully than I; and no one has looked at mine more carefully than he” (Gyula Brassai, Picasso and Company, 1966). Matisse’s opinions on Picasso’s works played a considerable role in his continuing development as an artist. Even during his later years, Picasso thought very highly of his friend and said about him; “All things considered, there is only Matisse”.

Figure 2: La Dormeuse. The Sleeper, 1947 (litho), Picasso, Pablo (1881-1973)
/ Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images. © Succession Picasso

Picasso executed a series of drawings within the theme of the two lovers in similar poses during the 1940’s. On the same day, 8 May 1947, he created eight drawings with a woman sitting beside her sleeping lover. Le repos is numbered six among the eight. The use of only a few lines and a black and white composition creates the impression of fragility but above all, it shows the artists deep understanding for beauty evolving from the simplest of things. Picasso’s drawings are very intimate means of expression and his favourite subjects were often nude models and he especially enjoyed capturing the female body. The many different versions of his resting figures have often also become subjects for graphical works. In the first half of 1947, Picasso completed over fifty lithographs in eight months. The two lovers, one seated in contemplation and the other lies asleep, was a recurring theme in Picasso’s oeuvre. The lithograph Femme assise et Dormeuse (Figure 1) is directly related to the drawing Le repos and was printed the same year as Picasso created the drawing. The image of the lithograph is reversed compared to the drawing, but the positions and gestures of the figures are related to one another. A woman is sitting with her arms around her knees, watching the sleeping person next to her in silence. The sleeping figure is resting with one arm above the head and with the other one positioned underneath the head for support. The figures in the drawing are both nude compared to the dressed seated woman in the lithograph, and their full bodies are presented by the simplest of lines. Another printed example of resting figures from the year of 1947 is La Dormeuse (Figure 2). This lithograph also shows a reversed image compared to the drawing, but the figural composition is almost identical. The prints related to the drawing are richer in colour but were created with the same fine contours as the drawing. Undoubtedly, the theme of the loving couple and the intimate moment between them became a very important study and inspiration for many of Picasso’s graphical works.

Enquiries:
Mr. Magnus Bexhed
+46 705 – 22 12 04
bexhed@uppsalaauktion.se

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