Pablo Picasso Cubist Composition, 1960;

"[Pablo] Picasso delights in the ambiguous sign that permit him to develop analogies between forms, such as the female torso and the body of a violin."

Writes William Rubin in Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubsim (23). While there is no violin, the outline of a guitar does suggest itself in the wavy lines of the girl's hair. Both guitar and violin recur in Picasso's works from this period, their shapes imbued human attributes. The subject, in this case, is a young girl with sad eyes and a mouth that frowns from its inverted position. The composition centers on this curious face with its pinhole eyes and sail-shaped nose while also drawing the gaze outwards along its many facets.

Blending as it does emotion and the 'analysis' of forms into single elements, recalls Rubin's comment that Picasso has an "intense interest in the particulars of the human situation" (20). Here is an artist, and an oeuvre, dedicated to exposing the human element of any scene, in any style.

Created in c. 1960 after the original oil painting that Picasso painted in autumn 1913 in Paris, this work was printed by Guy Spitzer. Hand-signed in pencil at the lower right by Pablo Picasso (Malaga, 1881 - Mougins, 1973), this collotype is numbered from the edition of 350 in pencil at the lower left.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Pablo Picasso Cubist Composition, 1960, is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work).

1. Rubin, William. Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1989. The original oil painting is listed and illustrated on p. 296.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.

About the Framing:

Pablo Picasso Cubist Composition, 1960, is framed to archival, museum-grade standards. Displayed in a complementary moulding, the piece is finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical-grade Plexiglas.