Description:Subtle in color and grand in scale, this work is the quintessential representation of Picasso's mature style. It features his interest in the female subject, cubist planer interpretation, form and line, emotion, and elements of the fantastic.
Created 1960, this original lithograph is based on an earlier gouache painting from 1957. Printed on Arches wove paper with the Arches watermark, this work was printed by Mourlot, Paris, and published by Paul Rosenburg. Picasso has signed the piece in red crayon in the lower right hand side of the work. The reverse contains the following printed inscription from an additional plate: 'Venus et l'amour voluer de miel, collection Lehman, le 12.6.57, fait. 13.6.57, Cranach l'Ancien.' This text was printed in script on a second plate to reflect the original paintings provenance association in the Lehman collection. Cranach l'Ancien is Lucas Cranach the Old One, a fifteenth century painter of mythological subjects, to which this piece is dedicate by Picasso.
Venus and Cupid emerge from a fantastical wilderness into the frontal plane of the lithograph. Cubist in nature, Venus suffers from complex and unnatural proportions that include voluptuous hips and breasts, dangerously thin limbs, a shrunken head, and an unscrupulous pregnant belly. She modestly covers herself with a diaphanous scarf, as she wears only a large and fashionable sun hat. Her small companion, Cupid, is shown crying, as he looks to Venus guiltily with the stolen fruit in hand. The large scale of the piece allows us to examine the finer details, analyze the style, and truly appreciate the genius of the artist. The work is playful and complex, as Picasso interprets mythology, sexuality, and reality.
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
It is fully documented and referenced in (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that I will enclose with the sale of the work) :
1) The original gouache painting is documented in The Picasso Project, Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture, The Fifties II, listed as 57-050 on page 114.
2) A Masterworks Certificate of Authenticity will be included with the sale of this work.
About the Framing:
Conservation framed with a wonderful floral moulding in an antique gold finish. The subtle triple layer vegetal motif perfectly compliments the whimsical environment within this Picasso print. All materials are archival and museum quality. Framing is completed with white linen wrapped mattes, a matching gold inner fillet, and Plexiglas cover.
NOTE: Our master framer custom frames all our works specifically for our company. If our selection of framing is not to your taste, we can easily custom frame the work to meet your needs.
