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Pablo Picasso – Le Repos

Pablo Picasso’s intimate depiction of his ‘golden muse’ Marie-Thérèse Walter – Le Repos from 1932 – is set to highlight Sotheby’s  Impressionist and Modern evening art sale in New York on May 14.  It is estimated at $25-35 million.  This follows the sale in London last week of a 1937, shadowed portrait of Marie-Thérèse for £49.8 million following the arrival of new love Dora Maar into the life of Picasso.  Meantime Tate Modern’s first solo exhibition of Picasso’s work, The Ey Exhibition: Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame, Tragedy, opens in London this week.

Picasso’s paintings of Marie-Thérèse are arguably the finest emblems of love, sex and desire in 20^th century art. He executed his major series of paintings depicting her in January 1932, in anticipation of Picasso’s first retrospective that coming June at Galeries Georges-Petit in Paris.

Simon Shaw, Co-Head of Sotheby’s Worldwide Impressionist & Modern Art Department, commented:  “We are thrilled to offer this stunning painting from Picasso’s greatest series this May. As we saw last week in London, there is a vigorous global demand for depictions of Picasso’s golden muse. This classic, dreamy example from his critical year of 1932 is immediately recognisable, and captures the key elements of his work inspired by Marie Therese. Its lush, painterly quality and vibrant colours stand in stark contrast to Picasso’s final portraits of his first wife, Olga Khokhlova, which immediately precede this extraordinary period – generally considered the strongest in Picasso’s entire career.”