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La Gommeuse

"{ \"meta_description\": \"A masterpiece of the Blue Period featuring Pere Mañach, La Gommeuse showcases Picasso's bold style and playful depiction of friendship—sold for $67.5 million at Sotheby’s.\" }"

Co-founder of Cubism and creator of Guernica. Discover the revolutionary works of Pablo Picasso today.

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Giclée / Art Print

Museum-quality giclée or canvas print with fast production and flexible finish options. ( Buy Hand Made Painting Switch to Digital Image)

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Total Price

$ 69

La Gommeuse

Giclée / Art Print

Reproduction Size

-

Total Price

$ 69

Quick Facts

  • Location: Private Collection
  • Year: 1901
  • Notable elements or techniques: Caricature of Mañach; Naked figure; Bold lines
  • Artistic style: Expressionism
  • Medium: Oil on canvas

Art Quiz

There is only one correct answer for each question.

Question 1:
What artistic movement is La Gommeuse associated with?
Question 2:
Who commissioned Picasso to create La Gommeuse?
Question 3:
What is the primary subject matter of La Gommeuse?
Question 4:
In what year was La Gommeuse painted?
Question 5:
What is the significance of the hidden caricature on the reverse side of La Gommeuse?

A Masterpiece of the Blue Period

"CITE>Pablo Picasso" is renowned for his diverse and influential body of work, but few pieces capture the essence of his early career as poignantly as "La Gommeuse". Painted in 1901, this oil-on-canvas masterpiece belongs to Picasso's Blue Period, a phase marked by somber tones and introspective themes.

The Subject: A Portrait of Pere Mañach

At the heart of "La Gommeuse" is a portrait of Pere Mañach, a Catalan anarchist and close friend of Picasso. The painting was discovered in 2000 during conservation efforts arranged by Mr. Koch, revealing a whimsical and wicked rendering of Mañach wearing an exotic headdress on a female body in a dancer's leap. This unique depiction reflects the playful yet provocative nature of their friendship.

Artistic Significance

"CITE>La Gommeuse" is not only a testament to Picasso's artistic versatility but also a reflection of his fascination with the human form and identity. The painting's use of bold, expressive lines and vibrant colors, despite being part of the Blue Period, showcases Picasso's evolving style.

Auction History

In 2015, "La Gommeuse" was sold at a Sotheby's auction in New York for $67.5 million, setting a record for a Blue Period Picasso and cementing its place among the most expensive paintings ever sold.

Relevance to Contemporary Art

The enduring appeal of "La Gommeuse" lies in its blend of traditional portraiture with modernist experimentation. This fusion continues to inspire contemporary artists, making it a significant piece in the history of art.

Conclusion

"CITE>La Gommeuse" by "Pablo Picasso" is a captivating work that encapsulates the artist's early exploration of identity and form. Its discovery and subsequent sale highlight the ongoing fascination with Picasso's oeuvre. For those interested in exploring more of his works, visit Pablo Picasso: La Gommeuse on WahooArt.
  • Painting Information: "La Gommeuse" is a portrait of Pere Mañach, discovered during conservation in 2000.
  • Auction Record: Sold for $67.5 million at Sotheby's in 2015.
  • Artistic Period: Part of Picasso's Blue Period.
For more information on "Pablo Picasso" and his works, refer to the detailed documentation available on WahooArt. Additionally, explore other notable pieces like "Mother and child behind the bouquet of flowers" by "Pablo Picasso" at Pablo Picasso: Mother and child behind the bouquet of flowers. To delve deeper into the life and works of "Pablo Picasso", visit La Gommeuse on Wikipedia.

Questions & Answers

What feeling do the colors of "La Gommeuse" by Pablo Picasso create?

The neutrals palette of "La Gommeuse" by Pablo Picasso goes together with its melancholic emotional tone. Color is one of the ways a work conveys feeling.

What is the perceived brightness of "La Gommeuse" by Pablo Picasso?

In terms of perceived brightness, "La Gommeuse" by Pablo Picasso is brilliant.

What saturation and intensity does "La Gommeuse" by Pablo Picasso show?

The colors of "La Gommeuse" by Pablo Picasso show a subtle color saturation with a balanced intensity.


Artist Biography

The boy from Málaga

A child's first words in Málaga were “piz, piz,” a small attempt at saying pencil. This early pull toward the lead and paper was nurtured by his father, José Ruiz y Blasco, who taught him the basics of figure drawing and oil painting. The boy learned to copy the masters and draw from plaster casts under a disciplined eye. As he grew, the family moved through A Coruña and Barcelona. These years were marked by the quiet weight of loss, particularly the death of his sister, Conchita, from diphtheria when she was only seven. Such shadows would later find their way into the heavy, blue-green tones of his early work.

By thirteen, he was already taking entrance exams for advanced classes in Barcelona, finishing in a week what took others a month. His hands moved with a precision that even his father noticed, once seeing him paint over an unfinished sketch of a pigeon with such accuracy that the instructor realized the student had surpassed him. He eventually moved to Paris, a city where he would spend much of his adult life, constantly shifting his focus from one way of seeing to another.

Shifting palettes and fractured forms

The early twentieth century saw his work move through distinct phases of color and mood. There was the Blue Period, where the canvases were filled with beggars, the blind, and the lonely, rendered in somber shades of blue. This gave way to the Rose Period, a time when pinks, oranges, and reds appeared, often featuring the figures of circus performers like harlequins and acrobats. These years showed a man reacting to his own life and the world around him through the temperature of his palette.

In 1907, the way he handled space changed fundamentally with Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Influenced by African masks and Iberian sculpture, he began to break objects into geometric shapes. Alongside Georges Braque, he developed Cubism. This involved two main stages:

  • Analytic Cubism: A method of fragmenting objects into muted, geometric pieces as if dissecting the form itself.
  • Synthetic Cubism: An approach that brought in collage elements like newspaper clippings and fabric scraps to add texture and new layers.

A life of constant change

His work never settled into a single way of being. He explored Neoclassicism with large, monumental figures and later engaged with the imagery of Surrealism, using distorted perspectives to tap into the subconscious. The violence of the Spanish Civil War left its mark on his canvas in 1937 through Guernica. This large oil painting used a stark palette of black, white, and grey to show the suffering of a bombed town, featuring a gored horse, a bull, and screaming women. It remains a heavy, monochromatic response to the chaos of war.

In his later years, he continued to experiment with ceramics, sculpture, and printmaking. He even created large-scale public works, such as the 1967 steel sculpture in Chicago, which was inspired by the head of his Afghan Hound, Kabul. He died in Mougins, France, leaving behind a massive collection of work that spans over seventy-six years of experimentation.

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

1881 - 1973 , Spain

Quick Facts

  • Full Name: Pablo Diego José Ruiz Picasso
  • Nationality: Spanish
  • Date Of Birth: 1881
  • Date Of Death: 1973
  • Place Of Birth: Malaga, Spain
  • Notable Artworks:
    • Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
    • Guernica
    • The Old Guitarist
    • La Vie
    • Family of Saltimbanques
  • Artistic Movement Or Style: Cubism, Surrealism
  • Artists Who Influenced This Artist:
    • Velázquez
    • Goya
    • Matisse
  • Artists Or Movements Influenced By This Artist:
    • Cubism
    • Modern art
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