La Gommeuse
La Gommeuse | |
---|---|
Artist | Pablo Picasso |
Year | 1901 (1901) |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Movement | Blue Period |
Dimensions | 81.3 cm × 54 cm (32.0 in × 21 in) |
La Gommeuse [la ɡɔmøz] is a 1901 oil-on-canvas painting by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. It dates from his Blue Period and is noted for its caricature of Picasso's friend Pere Mañach painted on the reverse. Gommeuse was sexually charged slang of the time for café-concert singers and their songs. It was offered for sale ex the William I. Koch collection at a Sotheby's, New York, auction on 5 November 2015. The painting realized $67.5 million at the sale, a record for a Blue Period Picasso, placing the painting among the most expensive ever sold.
Background
The painting was executed in the second half of 1901 following Picasso's successful exhibition at the Vollard gallery that June. This was at the start of his Blue Period of 1901 to 1904, thought to have been occasioned by the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas earlier in the year, a time when his paintings were somewhat melancholic and characterized by somber monochromatic tones in blue and green. During this time, Picasso, who was nearly 20, was sharing a studio flat in the Boulevard de Clichy with his friend Pere Mañach and was exploring the carnal pleasures of youth. Mañach was a Catalan anarchist who worked as a talent scout for art dealers and was responsible for organising Picasso's successful 1901 Vollard exhibition. A portrait of Mañach, which is now housed in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, was a feature of the Vollard show.[1]
Description
La Gommeuse is a nude portrait of a cabaret performer. The word "gommeuse" was a term used to describe cafe concert singers who were dressed in a suggestive manner. This subject matter reflects the pleasures of the Parisian nightlife, in which Picasso and his friend, Pere Mañach were immersed. The identity of the model is unknown, but she is unabashed by her nakedness and poses with a striking directness, as though with a sense of defiance.[2]
Picasso painted La Gommeuse in his studio on Boulevard de Clichy. A painting on the wall of the studio can be seen behind the woman, which appears to be a large, blue canvas depicting a figure wearing a dress and red stockings. It is similar to another painting that Picasso had created earlier in 1901, which was titled Nude with red stockings.[1]
The model in this painting is displayed in the foreground to the left, her body outlined against the flat background to give emphasis to her figure. Her body is depicted using tones of green and ochre. The central theme of the image is of a woman who is both a siren and a figure of loneliness. Her figure is slumped, giving an impression of physical exhaustion and her face offers a sad, contemplative expression. Picasso historian Marilyn McCully commented that, "The depictions of syphilitic prostitutes and poverty-stricken mothers in his Blue Period of late 1901-1902 was in many ways anticipated in La Gommeuse and works related to it".[1]
Hidden caricature
A caricature of Picasso's friend Pere Mañach can be seen on the reverse and is inscribed "Recuerdo a Mañach en el día de su santo", demonstrating that the painting was intended as a gift for Mañach on his Saint's Day (29 June). The caricature is intentionally irreverent, depicting Mañach naked except for a red and yellow striped turban on his head. He is placed in a suggestive pose, urinating into the landscape.[2]
The caricature remained undiscovered for over a century. It was revealed under the lining of the painting when conservation work took place in 2000.[3] William Koch displayed in his home with a custom-made display so that both paintings could be viewed from opposite sides of the same wall.[4]
Significance and legacy
Helena Newman, chair of impressionist and modern art for Sotheby’s in Europe described the painting as, "an absolutely incredible and major blue period work" and opined that, "The value sits in the front, but it [the reverse] does give you a glimpse into what Picasso’s life must have been like in 1901 when he had just arrived in Paris and was still a relatively impoverished artist."[2]
Picasso historian Marilyn McCully summarised the significance of the painting, stating that it represents a pivotal moment in Picasso’s artistic development in 1901.[1]
The major influence was Toulouse Lautrec, both in subject matter – café scenes, prostitutes and dance halls – and, to some extent, technique, but Picasso's subsequent focus on isolated figures and restricted, subdued palettes in his new works emphasized his own exploration of the theme of loneliness and his interest in formal experimentation.
2015 auction
In 2015 La Gommeuse was sold at Sotheby's auction in New York. The owner, American billionaire Bill Koch had acquired it for $3 million in 1984. The painting achieved a price of $67.5m, which was a record for a Blue Period work.[5][6]
Provenance
- Ambroise Vollard, Paris
- Demotte Gallery, New York (1931)
- Josef von Sternberg, Hollywood (acquired from the above before 1935 and sold: Parke Bernet Galleries, New York, November 22, 1949, lot 89)
- Perls Gallery, New York (acquired at the above sale)
- Jacques Sarlie, New York (sold: Sotheby’s, London, October 12, 1960, lot 5)[7]
- Galerie Alex Maguy, Paris (acquired at the above sale)
- William I. Koch (sale: Sotheby’s, London, December 4, 1984, lot 23 )
- Private collection (sale: Sotheby's, New York, November 5, 2015, lot 26)[1]
See also
- List of most expensive paintings
- Le petit picador jaune
- Science and Charity
- Child with a Dove
- 1901 in art
References
- ^ a b c d e "La Gommeuse". Sotheby's.
- ^ a b c Brown, Mark (9 October 2015). "Blue period Picasso – with a little secret – goes under the hammer". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Blue period Picasso with hidden image set for auction". ITV News. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ Kinsella, Eileen (2015-10-09). "Secret Picasso Painting on $60M Artwork". Artnet News. Archived from the original on 2015-10-10. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- ^ "Picasso Blue Period Painting Achieves Record Price At Sotheby's". Artlyst. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ Singh, Anita (9 October 2015). "The US billionaire who got two Picassos for the price of one". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "Art: How to Break Records". Time. 1960-10-24. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- v
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- Le petit picador jaune (1889)
- Science and Charity (1897)
- Le Moulin de la Galette (1900)
- The Appointment (1901)
- Child with a Dove (1901)
- La Gommeuse (1901)
- Yo, Picasso (1901)
- Portrait of Jaime Sabartés (1901)
- The Blue Room (1901)
- Femme aux Bras Croisés (1901-02)
- Old Jewish Man with a Boy (1903)
- The Old Guitarist (1903)
- La Vie (1903)
- Portrait of Angel Fernández de Soto (1903)
- Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904)
- The Actor (1904-1905)
- Woman Ironing (1904)
- Girl in a Chemise (c. 1905)
- Acrobat and Young Harlequin (1905)
- Family of Saltimbanques (1905)
- Garçon à la pipe (1905)
- Girl on a Ball (1905)
- Les Noces de Pierrette (1905)
- Au Lapin Agile (1905)
- Young Girl with a Flower Basket (1905)
- Famille d'acrobates avec singe (1905)
- Boy Leading a Horse (1905–06)
- Portrait of Gertrude Stein (1905–06)
- Head of a Young Woman (1906)
- Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907)
- Woman with a Fan (1908)
- Brick Factory at Tortosa (1909)
- Woman with a Fan (1909)
- Femme et pot de moutarde (1910)
- Girl with a Mandolin (1910)
- Portrait of Ambroise Vollard (1910)
- Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler (1910)
- The Accordionist (1911)
- Le pigeon aux petits pois (1911)
- La Coiffeuse (1911)
- Violon et Raisins (1912)
- Bottle, Glass, Fork (1912)
- Ma Jolie (1912)
- Arlequin (1913)
- Ma Jolie (1914)
- Three Musicians (1921)
- Reading the Letter (c. 1921)
- The Pipes of Pan (1923)
- The Three Dancers (1925)
- Woman in a Red Armchair (1929)
- Le Repos (1932)
- Girl before a Mirror (1932)
- La Lecture (1932)
- Le Rêve (1932)
- Nude, Green Leaves and Bust (1932)
- Nude in a Black Armchair (1932)
- Femme à la montre (1932)
- Two Girls Reading (1934)
- Jeune Fille Endormie (1935)
- Guernica (1937)
- Portrait of Dora Maar (1937)
- Woman in Hat and Fur Collar (1937)
- The Weeping Woman (1937)
- Girl with a Red Beret and Pompom (1937)
- Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter) (1937)
- Maya with Doll (1938)
- Woman's Head (1939)
- Dora Maar au Chat (1941)
- The Charnel House (1944–1945)
- Nature morte au poron (1948)
- Massacre in Korea (1951)
- Les Femmes d'Alger series (1955)
- Las Meninas (1957)
- The Fall of Icarus (1958)
- Bust of a Seated Woman (Jacqueline Roque) (1960)
- Jacqueline (1961)
- Femme au Chien (1962)
- Bust of a Woman (Marie-Thérèse) (1931)
- Tête de femme (Dora Maar) (1941)
- Bull's Head (1942)
- Baboon and Young (1951)
- Figure découpée (1963, 1964, 1965)
- Chicago Picasso (1967)
- Sylvette (1970)
- Vollard Suite (1930–1937)
- Minotaur Kneeling over Sleeping Girl (1933)
- Minotauromachy (1935)
- The Dream and Lie of Franco (1937)
- 347 Series (1968)
- Girl from Majorca (1905)
- Don Quixote (1955)
- Toros y toreros (1961)
- Le Taureau (1945-1946)
- Dove (1949)
- Desire Caught by the Tail (c. 1941)
- The Four Little Girls (c. 1947–48)
- Picasso and the Ballets Russes
- Parade
- The Three-Cornered Hat
- Pulcinella
- Le Train Bleu
- Mercure
- Musée Picasso (Paris)
- Musée Picasso (Antibes)
- Museu Picasso (Barcelona)
- Museo Picasso Málaga (Malaga)
- Museo Casa Natal (Malaga)
- Château de Boisgeloup (Normandy)
- Olga Khokhlova (first wife)
- Jacqueline Roque (second wife)
- Maya Widmaier-Picasso (daughter)
- Claude Picasso (son)
- Paloma Picasso (daughter)
- Diana Widmaier Picasso (granddaughter)
- Marina Picasso (granddaughter)
- Bernard Ruiz-Picasso (grandson)
- José Ruiz y Blasco (father)
(France)
- Bateau-Lavoir (Montmartre Paris)
- Villa La Vigie (Juan-les-Pins, Summer 1924)
- Château de Boisgeloup (Gisors, 1930-1937)
- Château of Vauvenargues (Vauvenargues, 1958-1962)
- Villa La Californie (Cannes, 1955-1961)
- Château de Vie (Mougins, 1961-1973)
television about
- Visit to Picasso (1949)
- Guernica (1950)
- The Mystery of Picasso (1956)
- The Adventures of Picasso (1978)
- Surviving Picasso (1996)
- Picasso: Magic, Sex & Death (2001)
- Modigliani (2004)
- Genius (2018 TV series)
- Carles Casagemas
- Carl Nesjar
- Lydia Corbett
- Lump (dog)
- Fundación Picasso
- Picasso. In the heart of darkness (1939-1945) (2019-2020 exhibition)
- Picasso & Lump (2006 book)
- Picasso referendum of Basel
- Theft of The Weeping Woman from the National Gallery of Victoria
- Portrait of Pablo Picasso (1915 painting)
- "If I Told Him: A Completed Portrait of Picasso" (1924 poem)
- Woman, Bird, Star (Homage to Pablo Picasso) (1973 painting)
- "Pablo Picasso" (1976 song)
- The Blue Guitar (1977 etchings)
- Picasso at the Lapin Agile (1993 play)
- Picasso (crater)