Picasso’s portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter as a sea creature to be auctioned at Sotheby’s
Pablo Picasso, Femme nue couchée, 1932. Image via sothebys.com
Sotheby's has announced the sale of "Femme nue couchée," one of the portraits of Marie-Thérèse Walter painted by Pablo Picasso in 1932, offered with a pre-sale estimate in excess of $60 million.
By G. Fernandez - theartwolf.com ·· Image: Pablo Picasso, Femme nue couchée, 1932. Image via sothebys.com
The "big week" of the 2022 spring auctions already has its big superstar, and that is none other than Andy Warhol's "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" for which Christie's expects to fetch some $200 million. Faced with this sale, which could set an auction record for a 20th century work of art, Sotheby's needed another "blockbuster" that would prevent its great rival from snatching all the limelight. "Femme nue couchée", painted by Pablo Picasso -one of the kings of the art market- in his "annus mirabilis" of 1932, meets, at least a priori, all the necessary characteristics to be that work.
The portraits of his muse and lover Marie-Thérèse Walter painted by Picasso in 1932 have reached an almost mythical status within the art market. Some of them (such as "Le rêve" or "Nude, green leaves and bust") have broken several records when they were put on the market, and today their value is well in excess of $150 million. This "mythical status" was reinforced following the exhibition "Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy" organized four years ago at Tate Modern. "As one of the star highlights of Tate Modern’s world-class exhibition devoted to 1932 as a pivotal year for Picasso, Femme nue couchée is a ground-breaking, extraordinarily sensual work that remained within the artist’s estate for decades before its acquisition directly from the family of the artist," stated Helena Newman, Director of Impressionist and Modern Art at Sotheby's.
"Femme nue couchée", in which Picasso has depicted Marie-Thérèse Walter as a strangely sensual sea creature, a sort of surrealist mermaid, makes its debut at auction, which obviously increases its appeal to collectors. So why the relatively conservative valuation ($60 million) published by Sotheby's? One reason may be that, unlike works such as the aforementioned "Le rêve" or "Nude, green leaves and bust", "Femme nue couchée" is an almost monochromatic work, perhaps too simple in composition for its almost monumental scale. In any case, the precedents are positive for Sotheby's: four years ago, "La Dormeuse", another portrait of Marie-Thérèse, more schematic and with a color palette as limited as the painting to be auctioned by Sotheby's, was auctioned at Phillips for nearly £42 million (more than double its pre-sale estimate), a price that, taking inflation into account, is very similar to Sotheby's published valuation for "Femme nue couchée". Likewise, last year, "Femme assise près d’une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse)", another portrait of Marie-Thérèse painted in 1932 -more attractive than "Femme nue couchée" but far from the importance of works such as "Le rêve"- was auctioned at Christie's for $103 million after having sold for $45 million in 2013.

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