This large pastel drawing was probably intended as an independent work of art rather than a study preparatory to a painting. It is distinguished by its high level of finish and representational style. Picasso told a Swedish journalist in 1915 that German connoisseurs were partial to his more naturalistic work, and he may have made drawings like this to attract them. German dealers active in Paris, including Alfred Flechtheim, Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Heinrich Thannhauser, and Wilhelm Uhde, were among his most important agents. This drawing was first shown in an influential exhibition in Munich in 1913. Two years later, the American photographer and art dealer Alfred Stiegltiz included the work in an exhibition at his New York gallery, 291. He acquired the picture for himself as a result of a default on a loan.
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Inscription: Signed and dated (verso, upper left, in graphite): Picasso/ 09
[with Moderne Galerie (Heinrich Thannhauser), Munich, 1913–14; probably sold on March 31, 1914 to Basler]; [Adolphe Basler, Paris, 1914–15; left with Stieglitz in December 1914 as collateral for a loan; upon default of loan on August 15, 1915, acquired by Stieglitz]; Alfred Stieglitz, New York (1915–d. 1946; his estate, 1946–49; gift to MMA)
Munich. Moderne Galerie Heinrich Thannhauser. "Ausstellung Pablo Picasso," February 1913, no. 100 (as "Stilleben").
New York. 291. "Untitled exhibition of nine works by Pablo Picasso from the collection of Adolphe Basler," January 12–26, 1915, no catalogue.
Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. "Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Representative Modern Masters," April 17–May 9, 1920, no. 195 (as "Still Life").
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "History of an American, Alfred Stieglitz: '291' and After, Selections from the Stieglitz Collection," July 1–November 1, 1944, no. 91 (as "Still Life").
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "From the Alfred Stieglitz Collection: An Extended Loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 22–August 12, 1951, no catalogue (checklist no. E.L.51.699; as "Still Life"; loan extended to June 9, 1958).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971, not in catalogue (added to the exhibition on November 24, 1970).
Paris. Cabinet des dessins, Musée du Louvre. "Dessins français du Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York de David à Picasso," October 25, 1973–January 7, 1974, no. 73.
Yokohama Museum of Art. "Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: French Art from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century," March 25–June 4, 1989, no. 177.
Paris. Musée Picasso. "Picasso 1901–1909: Chefs d'oeuvre du Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," October 21, 1998–January 25, 1999, unnumbered cat. (fig. 44).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 27–August 1, 2010, no. 47.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe," October 13, 2011–January 2, 2012, no. 24.
Christian Zervos. Pablo Picasso. Vol. 2b, Works from 1912 to 1917. Paris, 1942, p. 303, no. 683, ill.
Donald E. Gordon. Modern Art Exhibitions, 1900–1916: Selected Catalogue Documentation. Vol. 2, Munich, 1974, p. 664.
Pepe Karmel in Sarah Greenough. Modern Art and America: Alfred Stieglitz and His New York Galleries. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, D. C., 2000, pp. 189, 505 n. 11, fig. 68.
Jean-François Rodriguez. "Le Cafard après la fête...": Naturisme e rappel à l'ordre tra Francia e Italia nelle lettere di Louis Rouart, Eugène Montford e Adolphe Basler ad Ardengo Soffici, 1910–1932. Padua, 2001, p. 108.
Julia May Boddewyn in Michael FitzGerald. Picasso and American Art. Exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, 2006, pp. 329, 359.
Gary Tinterow inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, p. 5.
Lisa M. Messinger inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, pp. 133–35, no. 47, ill. (color).
Rachel Mustalish inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, p. 134.
Lisa Mintz Messinger inStieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe. The Alfred Stieglitz Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Lisa Mintz Messinger. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2011, pp. 54, 248, no. 24, ill. (color).
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
1922
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