Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973) Spanish Lot n° 25

Nature morte, pichet et fruits, 12 Feb. 1939 Dated and signed '12.2.39. Picasso' (upper left corner) Oil on paper - Huile sur papier 28,5 x 42,3 cm - 11.2 x 16.6 in. AED 7,346,000 -11,019,000 Provenance Albert Sarraut, Paris Perls Galleries, New York Parke Bernet, Oct. 28, 1970, lot 29 Edmund W. Mudge Jr., Dallas Private collection, Europe Exhibited New York, Helly Nahmad Gallery, Picasso's Bodegones, 2008, No. 24, ill. p. 65 Literature The Picasso Project, Picasso Paintings, Watercolours, Drawings and Sculptures: Spanish Civil War 1937-1939, San Francisco, 1997, No. 39-030a, ill. p. 217 Certificate The Comité Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of this work on March 13,1990 Public notes Picasso is one of the most important artists of the 20th Century, renown for his diverse and prodigious artistic genius. Picasso and the war years: 1937-1945 Within Picasso's artistic framework, his still life paintings draw upon a range of household props, such as the carafe depicted in this painting and various fruits, lemons, oranges and an apple, 'to create an allegory' of the war years. 'I have not painted the war because I am not the kind of painter who goes out like a photographer for something to depict. But I have no doubt, that the war is in these paintings I have done.' The influence of the wars, while rarely overt, lurks just below the surface of Picasso's works of the era. In confronting his role as an artist faced with representing such violence, Picasso realized he could never adequately address wartime's specific atrocities. He chose instead to pursue a highly personal yet evocative language of symbols and formal devices. As a result, he created a compelling visual testimony to the times. 'When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk you'll end up as the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.' Pablo Picasso