Depicting Picasso's muse and lover Dora Maar, a painter and photographer in her own right, this work beguiles the viewer. Its abstracted imagery recalls the artist's seminal painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), a canvas that secured his place in art history. Femme is a half-length portrait showing Dora with her arms framing her body; in one arm she holds a piece of fruit. Her eyes, set on different levels, are large and somewhat haunting. They hold the viewer's gaze, and one can only imagine what it must have been like to be in Picasso's place, meeting her look. The tight margins and defined, close space of the yellow room enforce this sense of intimacy, hinting at deeper, more complicated layers of emotion.

Created in 1955, this original color lithograph is hand-signed by the artist in the lower right. Mourlot was the printer, and created this work after the original oil on canvas entitled Woman's Face (Dora Maar), painted by Picasso in 1944.

Provenance:

Private collection, Switzerland.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

This work 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. Czwiklitzer, Christopher. Pablo Picasso: Plakate 1923-1973. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1981. Illustrated as catalogue no. 104.

2. Christopher, Picasso's Posters, 1971. Another example of the work is listed and illustrated in this catalogue raisonné as cat. no. 92 and detailed on pg. 318.

3. Rodrigo, Luis Carlos. Picasso: in his posters, image and work. Spain: Arte Ediciones, 1992. Listed and illustrated on pp. 104-05 as catalogue no. 038.

4. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.

About the Framing:

Framed to archival museum grade conservation standards, this piece is presented in a complementary moulding with silk-wrapped mats and optical-grade Plexiglas.