Picasso created the painting after his much-lauded exhibition at Ambroise Vollard's gallery. At the time, he was sharing an apartment with his Catalan anarchist friend Pere Mañach. According to Sotheby's "the two young men immersed themselves in the debauchery of the Parisian demi-monde. This dizzying mixture of professional success and personal tragedy brought Picasso's creative genius to a climax." La Gommeuse is thus "portrayed in an absinthian haze of sexual ennui: she is both temptation and downfall incarnate."
Even more fascinating is that the back of the painting adds a curious new layer to the story. When Koch began conservation efforts in 2000, a crass rendering of Mañach appeared; his face is flush and his body is a sickly yellow color, as he appears to urinate on the canvas.
According to Sotheby's, scholarship suggests Picasso was frustrated with Mañach's professional dealings and "this outrageous portrait encapsulates their tumultuous friendship." It is inscribed "Recuerdo a Mañach en el día de su santo" (I remember Mañach on his Saint's Day) which suggests that Picasso gave La Gommeuse to his friend on June 29 with the scene serving as his "personal version of a boisterous birthday card."
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| Koch, aware of the unique history and insight into the artist's life constructed a custom display in his home so that both paintings could be viewed from opposite sides of the same wall. The unpublished estimate on the work is "in the region of $60 million." Recent scholarship on the work suggests that Vollard acquired it sometime after 1906, and possibly lined it in order to "keep the work as commercial as possible," a representative at Sotheby's told artnet News in an email. It was later owned by 1930s Hollywood film director Josef von Sternberg... More in Artnet news. |
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