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Lot Essay
Pablo Picasso’s Nu assis is a triumph of color and form. Executed in 1963, this elegant composition invites the viewer into a richly draped interior, where a graceful young woman is caught in a moment of quiet contemplation. Her hand gently falling to her side, she reads a letter in deep concentration, her eyes intent as she takes in the letter’s content.
Employing soft, curvaceous lines, Picasso describes her body with confident handling, delicately defining her rounded hips, tender breasts, and long legs. Even her lovingly observed eyelashes and tousled hair—carefully swept up in a refined bow—are faithfully recorded. Indeed, such is the artist’s facility with his medium that in only a few, expressive strokes, he is able to create what is unmistakably a portrait of his beloved and most enduring muse, Jacqueline Roque.
Capturing his imagination from their first fateful meeting at the Madoura pottery in 1952, Jacqueline came to dominate Picasso’s oeuvre, famously becoming his most celebrated, and most frequently painted, model. In Nu assis, Roque’s distinctive features—her luscious raven hair, strong eyebrows and refined, classical profile—combine to create a portrait that succeeds in capturing both her alluring personality and undeniable sensual appeal. Indeed, as Marie-Louise Bernadac explained, "It is her image that permeates Picasso's work from 1954 to his death, twice as long as any of her predecessors. It is her body that we are able to explore exhaustively and more intimately than any other body in the history of art" (M.-L. Bernadac, "Picasso 1953-1972: Painting as Model" in Late Picasso, exh. cat., Tate Gallery, London, 1988, p. 47).
Intensely modern in both execution and style, the present work is nonetheless richly steeped in the art historical canon, taking as its root the famed biblical narrative of Bathsheba. Anchored in the Old Testament story of the beautiful young woman caught in a quiet moment of intimacy by King David, the passage served as rich source material for artists across the ages, and it is no doubt Rembrandt’s celebrated iteration of 1654 (Louvre, Paris) that Picasso here quotes.
In fact, Nu assis belongs to a powerful series of ten works on paper Picasso began on 2 May 1963; in this series, exploring varying combinations of color and form, the artist mines the expressive power of the historic narrative in modern, vivid terms, reimagining himself in the place of the hallowed king, and Jacqueline, as the object of his desire.
Employing soft, curvaceous lines, Picasso describes her body with confident handling, delicately defining her rounded hips, tender breasts, and long legs. Even her lovingly observed eyelashes and tousled hair—carefully swept up in a refined bow—are faithfully recorded. Indeed, such is the artist’s facility with his medium that in only a few, expressive strokes, he is able to create what is unmistakably a portrait of his beloved and most enduring muse, Jacqueline Roque.
Capturing his imagination from their first fateful meeting at the Madoura pottery in 1952, Jacqueline came to dominate Picasso’s oeuvre, famously becoming his most celebrated, and most frequently painted, model. In Nu assis, Roque’s distinctive features—her luscious raven hair, strong eyebrows and refined, classical profile—combine to create a portrait that succeeds in capturing both her alluring personality and undeniable sensual appeal. Indeed, as Marie-Louise Bernadac explained, "It is her image that permeates Picasso's work from 1954 to his death, twice as long as any of her predecessors. It is her body that we are able to explore exhaustively and more intimately than any other body in the history of art" (M.-L. Bernadac, "Picasso 1953-1972: Painting as Model" in Late Picasso, exh. cat., Tate Gallery, London, 1988, p. 47).
Intensely modern in both execution and style, the present work is nonetheless richly steeped in the art historical canon, taking as its root the famed biblical narrative of Bathsheba. Anchored in the Old Testament story of the beautiful young woman caught in a quiet moment of intimacy by King David, the passage served as rich source material for artists across the ages, and it is no doubt Rembrandt’s celebrated iteration of 1654 (Louvre, Paris) that Picasso here quotes.
In fact, Nu assis belongs to a powerful series of ten works on paper Picasso began on 2 May 1963; in this series, exploring varying combinations of color and form, the artist mines the expressive power of the historic narrative in modern, vivid terms, reimagining himself in the place of the hallowed king, and Jacqueline, as the object of his desire.