In the summer of 1932, Pablo Picasso was in love. Not with his wife, the Russian ballerina Olga, but with a young woman of 22 called Marie-Thérèse Walter. It was a milestone year in every sense, one celebrated in the recent Tate exhibition: Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame, Tragedy. Not only did he produce some of his greatest paintings during this intensely creative period, he made great prints too, including a series of 20 etchings depicting bathers. A notable example from the series is Baigneuses à la Piscine, where he depicts Marie-Thérèse, not once, but obsessively, six times. Variously reclining, seated, standing and diving into a swimming pool, each time Picasso shows her unmistakable profile and cropped bob of hair. At the time of making, only a few trial proofs of each image were pulled. In 1981, Galerie Louise Leiris eventually published the prints, each in an edition of 50, all bearing facsimile stamped signatures.
Marie-Thérèse Walter photographed by Picasso at Juan-les-Pins, July 1932 Literature
Georges Bloch 242
Brigitte Baer 270Artist Biography
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.
39
Baigneuses à la piscine (Bathers at the Pool) (B. 242, Ba. 270)
1932/1961
Etching, on Japanese laid paper, with full margins.
I. 9 x 7 1/2 in. (22.9 x 19.1 cm)
S. 17 3/4 x 13 in. (45.1 x 33 cm)
Stamp-signed in black ink and numbered 20/50 in pencil (there were also 19 artist's proofs), published by Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, 1981, framed.
Estimate
$6,000 - 8,000
Sold for $6,930
212 940 1220
Editions Southampton
New York Auction 25 June 2022