“Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?”
—Pablo PicassoIn Peintre et Modèle, 1954, Pablo Picasso's linework is focused and precise, leaving little room for error on the paper. Both figures are shown in strict profile, while the painter's easel separates the composition into two equal halves. The easel itself is drawn with a handful of lines and successfully captures the tone of the scene. Moreover, the model's elevated pose and upright posture counters the painter's lower positioning and cramped configuration while painting. When compared to other contemporary drawings by the artist, this duo is notably less erotic, instead focusing on the working relationship between artist and model. The present work serves as a fine example of Picasso’s technical mastery over draftsmanship, using careful lines and brushstrokes to emphasize the more granular details within the piece, such as the cluster of brushes in the painter’s left hand and the delicately rendered watch on the model’s wrist.

The present work is a practice in depicting complimentary dualities - of man and woman, artist and muse, active and passive. The figures, although reliant on one another for the success of the painting, do not interact. The model glances stoically forward, her eyes reaching beyond the tip of the easel, over the artist's head. Likewise, the artist’s deep concentration seems to burn a hole through the canvas in front of him, which obstructs the view of the model just beyond. The pronounced two-dimensionality of the picture requires the viewer to imagine the artist peeking around the easel to get an eye on his subject.

Left: Pablo Picasso, Peintre et Modèle, January 10, 1954, no. 169. Artwork: © 2024 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Right: Pablo Picasso, Peintre et Modèle, January 10, 1954, no. 171. Artwork: © 2024 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Picasso revisits this subject on multiple occasions throughout the 1950s, altering the perspective and adding or removing objects from the studio with each iteration. In some, the model is laying down while the artist looks up from the canvas, instigating a heightened degree of the male gaze. In others, the model holds objects like ceramic vases, perhaps also from Picasso's studio, or glances down at a momento mori. Rarely, the model will match the artist's gaze. In some examples, the model reveals herself to the painter, allowing him to occasionally glance, though in the present she is concealed, modestly resting her hands in her lap. This concealment further engages with Picasso’s experimentation with this subject, not allowing the sexual undertones of the subject get in the way of his masterful linework.

Peintre et Modèle stands out as the most precise example of his skills in linework. Though experimenting with ink in a variety of subjects throughout this time, others reveal a heavy hand, fusing hair strands and fingers together in pools of ink. This example is a prize from this period of interest in the painter and model subject. Peintre et Modèle beckons us to imagine not only Picasso hunched over his paper, cutting lines of ink with a tense hand; but also, to animate his figures in our minds, deeply entertained in the symbiotic act of figure painting.
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- 拍品詳情
  View our Conditions of Sale.
- 來源
  Private Collection, Canada (acquired circa 1970)
  Christie's, New York, November 8, 2012, lot 188
  Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
- 文學
  Michel Leiris, Picasso and the Human Comedy, Paris, 1954, n.p. (illustrated)
  Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso. Œuvres de 1953 à 1955, vol. 16, Paris, 1965, no. 173, p. 56 (illustrated)
  Dore Ashton, The Documents of 20th-Century Art, Picasso on Art: A Selection of Views, New York, 1972, p. 57 (illustrated)
- 藝術家簡介
  Pablo Picasso
  Spanish • 1881 - 1973
  One of the most dominant and influential artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso was a master of endless reinvention. While significantly contributing to the movements of Surrealism, Neoclassicism and Expressionism, he is best known for pioneering the groundbreaking movement of Cubism alongside fellow artist Georges Braque in the 1910s. In his practice, he drew on African and Iberian visual culture as well as the developments in the fast-changing world around him.
  Throughout his long and prolific career, the Spanish-born artist consistently pushed the boundaries of art to new extremes. Picasso's oeuvre is famously characterized by a radical diversity of styles, ranging from his early forays in Cubism to his Classical Period and his later more gestural expressionist work, and a diverse array of media including printmaking, drawing, ceramics and sculpture as well as theater sets and costumes designs.
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