Pablo Picasso, Vénus et l'Amour, d'après Lucas Cranach l'Ancien, 1957 |
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| Artist: | Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973) |
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| Title: | Vénus et l'Amour, d'après Lucas Cranach l'Ancien, (Venus and Cupid , after Lucas Cranach the Elder), 1957 |
| Medium: | Color lithograph on Arches wove watermarked paper |
| Image Size: | 25 3/8 in x 19 5/8 in (65.1 cm x 49.8 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 30 in x 22 in (76.2 cm x 55.7 cm) |
| Edition: | A rare hand signed proof. |
| Signature: | Hand signed by Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973) in blue crayon in the lower right margin. |
| Condition: | A marvelous large work in superb condition. |
| ID # | w-6655 |
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.
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.
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. Hand signed by Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973) in blue crayon in the lower right margin.
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Pablo Picasso Venus and Cupid, after Lucas Cranach the Elder (Vénus et l'Amour, d'après Lucas Cranach l'Ancien), 1957 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. 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 Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.
About the Framing:
Framed to archival museum grade conservation standards, Pablo Picasso Venus and Cupid, after Lucas Cranach the Elder (Vénus et l'Amour, d'après Lucas Cranach l'Ancien), 1957 is presented in a complementary moulding with silk-wrapped mats and optical-grade Plexiglas.
