This small pen drawing shows a cruet set—oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper—like those still seen in Parisian cafés. Picasso made the work preparatory to a painting he completed in January 1911. Like all Cubist still lifes, it depicts familiar objects from everyday life.
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Inscription: Signed (verso, upper left, in gray ink): Picasso
[probably with Moderne Galerie (Heinrich Thannhauser), Munich, by 1913–14; 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. 108 (as "L'huilier") [probably this picture].
Cologne. Rheinische Kunstsalon (Otto Feldmann). "Pablo Picasso," March 15–April 15, 1913, no. 63 (as "L'huilier") [probably this picture].
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. 188 (as "Abstraction").
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "History of an American, Alfred Stieglitz: '291' and After, Selections from the Stieglitz Collection," July 1–November 1, 1944, no. 97 (as "Composition").
Art Institute of Chicago. "Alfred Stieglitz: His Photographs and His Collection," February 2–29, 1948, no catalogue.
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.51.700; as "Construction"; loan extended to June 9, 1958).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings from the Alfred Stieglitz Collection," September 9–November 12, 1967, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971, not in catalogue (as "Abstraction"; added to the exhibition on November 24, 1970).
Stockholm. Moderna Museet. "Pablo Picasso," October 15, 1988–January 8, 1989, no. 166 (as "Stilleben: Bordsställ (Abstraktion)").
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Boccioni: The Lydia Winston Malbin Bequest," June 15, 1990–January 15, 1991, no catalogue (as "Still Life: Cruet Set").
London. Tate Gallery. "Picasso: Sculptor/Painter," February 16–May 8, 1994, no. 53 (as "Still Life: The Cruet Set").
New York Studio School. "Image and Eye: The Art of Goya and Picasso," October 24–November 11, 1995, unnumbered cat.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 27–August 1, 2010, no. 53.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde," November 27, 2012–September 2, 2013, no catalogue (on view from April 12, 2013).
291 no. 1 (March 1915), p. 3, ill.
Ester Coen. Umberto Boccioni. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1988, p. 148, ill.
Josep Palau i Fabre. Picasso: Cubism, 1907–1917. New York, 1990, p. 203, fig. 562.
Pepe Karmel inModern Art and America: Alfred Stieglitz and His New York Galleries. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, D. C., 2000, p. 189.
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. 152–54, no. 53, 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. 154.
Malcolm Daniel. Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand: Masterworks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, p. 19, fig. 7.
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. 57, 250, no. 28, ill. (color).
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
1921
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