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254
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Francis Picabia (French, 1879-1953)
Transparency, c.
See original version (French)
254
-
Francis Picabia (French, 1879-1953)
Transparency, c.
See original version (French)
Estimate €20,000 - €30,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Francis Picabia (French, 1879-1953)
Transparency, c. 1932-1933
Untitled
Pencil, charcoal and ink on paper.
Signed in pencil.
Height 35.6 Width 30.5 cm.
Provenance: Bénédicte Joannon collection (1908-1999), Rhone, through family descent.
Picabia. Transparence. Pencil, charcoal and ink on paper. c. 1932-1933.
Certificate of the Picabia Committee.
PICABIA'S TRANSPARENCIES
The Transparences are some of the most emblematic works by an artist who described himself as a "painter of all kinds" and who made it a point of honour throughout his life never to allow himself to be confined to a particular style, genre, group or dealer. Produced between 1927 and 1932, the Transparences illustrate Picabia's break with the Dada movement he had led. The term appeared for the first time at an exhibition at Théophile Briant's gallery in October 1928. The superimposition of several images taking as their starting point classical figures by Botticelli or Piero della Francesca, inspired by the Bible or mythology, combining Antiquity and the modern period, in a dreamlike universe, led Marcel Duchamp to say that they "express the sensation of the third dimension without the aid of perspective". Léonce Rosenberge wrote to him: "Transparencies are the association between the visible and the invisible. It is this notion of time, added to that of space, that constitutes the doctrine of your art. Beyond instantaneity, towards infinity, such is your ideal."
At the end of 1929, as he began work on Judith, Picabia changed his source of inspiration and immersed himself in Peter Landow's collection of photographs, Natur und Kultur: Das Weib, 120 Aufnahmen, published in Berlin in 1925. These photographs, which include in their captions the origin of the women portrayed as well as the photographer's instructions, fascinated the artist "who sought to recreate the poses and theatrical lighting of these models in many of his works" (Francis Picabia catalogue raisonné, t. III, Fonds Mercator, p. 59). Naturally, Picabia was not content with a slavish reproduction of photography, but used it in the service of his work. Playing with the androgyny of the models, a Swedish woman with an athletic body becomes a man. Here, the pose of the model on the right of the composition is reminiscent of that of an Australian woman on plate 21 by Landow. Discovered hidden behind a painting by Marcel Féguide, winner of the Prix de Rome in 1907, this drawing was part of the estate of Bénédicte Joannon (1908-1999), a music lover and daughter of an industrialist and politician from the Loire region. It has been precisely dated to 1932-1933 by the Picabia committee. This was another period of break-up for Picabia: firstly, a break-up in love, as he began his relationship with Olga, who was to be his final wife; and secondly, an artistic break-up, with the introduction of figurative painting, which would later open the doors to Pop Art.
Aymeric Rouillac and Brice Langlois
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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