Presumably aware that this painting might seem impenetrable at first glance, Picasso provided a literal reference that he thought would be recognizable to anyone: the masthead of L’Indépendant, the local newspaper of Céret, the French town in the foothills of the Pyrenees where he was staying. The reproduction of the folded newspaper provides information about the scale and subject matter of the painting and may prompt a viewer to seek out other identifiable objects, such as the curve of the café table at right or the five-petal flower on a curved stem, bottle, and glass at center. The individual gray and blond brushstrokes lend an optical vibrancy and contrast with the dark contour lines in the painting’s center.
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Inscription: Signed (lower right, in black paint): Picasso [underlined after P] Signed and inscribed (verso, upper center, in black paint): Picasso [underlined] / Ceret [sic]
the artist, Paris (sold before 1922, for Fr 400, to Vollard); [Ambroise Vollard, Paris, before 1922; inv. no. 3357]; [Paul Guillaume, Paris, in 1929; inv. no. 517]; [Valentine Gallery (Valentine Dudensing), New York, in 1938]; Henry C. and Esther Clifford, Radnor, Pennsylvania (by 1947–72; sold in 1972 to Koerfer); Dr. Jacques C. Koerfer, Ascona, Switzerland (1972–d. 1990); his heirs, Switzerland (1990–95; their sale, Christie’s, New York, November 7, 1995, no. 4; sold to Lauders); Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder, New York (1995–2012; in September 2012 to Leonard A. Lauder); Leonard A. Lauder, New York (from 2012)
Paris. Galerie Bernheim-Jeune. "La Grande peinture contemporaine à la collection Paul Guillaume," May 25–June 27, 1929, unnumbered cat. (p. 129; as "Nature morte").
New York. Valentine Gallery. "Picasso: 21 Paintings, 1908 to 1934," November 7–26, 1938, no. 4 (as L'Indépendant").
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Philadelphia Private Collections," May 20–September 15, 1947, no. 56 (as "The Fan").
New York. Sidney Janis Gallery. "Cubism, 1910–1912," January 3–February 4, 1956, no. 31 (as "L'Indépendant," 1911–12).
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Picasso: A Loan Exhibition of His Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture, Ceramics, Prints and Illustrated Books," January 8–February 23, 1958, no. 57a (as "L’Indépendant").
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Summer Exhibition: Loans from Private Collections," June 15–September 11, 1962.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Special Exhibitions: Private Collections," June–September 1965.
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. "Picasso: Two Concurrent Retrospective Exhibitions," February 8–March 26, 1967, no. 19 (as "L’Indépendant").
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Summer Loans, 1972: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Paintings," summer 1972, unnumbered cat.
Kunstmuseum Basel. "Picasso: Aus dem Museum of Modern Art, New York und Schweizer Sammlungen," June 15–September 12, 1976, no. 21 (as "Der Fächer [L'Indépendant]").
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective," May 22–September 16, 1980, unnumbered cat. (p. 144).
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism," September 24, 1989–January 16, 1990, unnumbered cat. (p. 197; as August 1911).
Kunstmuseum Basel. "Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism," February 25–June 4, 1990, unnumbered cat. (fig. 177).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection," October 20, 2014–February 16, 2015, no. 64.
Waldemar George. La Grande peinture contemporaine à la collection Paul Guillaume. Exh. cat., Galerie Bernheim-Jeune. Paris, 1929, p. 189, ill. p. 129.
Les Arts à Paris: Actualités critiques et littéraires des arts et de la curiosité no. 18 (July 18, 1931), ill. p. 40, as "Abstraction".
René Edouard-Joseph. Dictionnaire biographique des artistes contemporains 1910–1930. Vol. 3, Paris, 1934, ill. p. 131, as "Nature morte".
Picasso: 21 Paintings, 1908 to 1934. Exh. cat., Valentine Gallery. New York, 1938, unpaginated, no. 4.
Christian Zervos. Pablo Picasso. Vol. 2a, Works from 1906 to 1912. Paris, 1942, unpaginated (list of plates), no. 264, pl. 131, as "L’Éventail".
"Masterpieces of Philadelphia Private Collections." Philadelphia Museum Bulletin 42, no. 214 (May 1947), p. 74, no. 56.
Cubism, 1910–1912. Exh. cat., Sidney Janis Gallery. New York, 1956, unpaginated, no. 31, ill.
Antonina Vallentin. Pablo Picasso. Paris, 1957, p. 194, as "Éventail".
Carl Zigrosser. Picasso: A Loan Exhibition of His Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture, Ceramics, Prints and Illustrated Books. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 1958, p. 17, no. 57a, ill.
Guy Habasque. Cubism: Biographical and Critical Study. New York, 1959, pp. 49, 76, 170, ill. p. 50, as "L’Indépendant".
Fernando Reyna. "Un museo de arte moderno se incorpora al Louvre." La Nación (August 23, 1959), p. 3, as "Nature morte".
Douglas Cooper. Picasso: Two Concurrent Retrospective Exhibitions. Exh. cat., Fort Worth Art Center Museum and Dallas Museum of Art. Fort Worth, 1967, p. 94, no. 19, ill. p. 29.
Jean Leymarie. Picasso: Métamorphoses et unité. Geneva, 1971, ill. p. 36, as "L’Indépendant".
Franco Russoli and Fiorella Minervino. L'opera completa di Picasso cubista. Milan, 1972, p. 107, no. 412, ill. p. 108, as "L’Indépendant".
Summer Loans, 1972: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Paintings. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 1972, unpaginated.
Jean-Luc Daval. Journal de l'art moderne, 1884–1914: texte, notices explicatives, déroulement synoptique à travers le témoignage des contemporains. Geneva, 1973, ill. p. 242, as "L’Indépendant".
Roland Penrose and John Golding, ed. Picasso in Retrospect. New York, 1973, p. 276, ill. no. 126.
Robert Rosenblum. "Picasso and the Typography of Cubism." Picasso in Retrospect. Ed. Roland Penrose and John Golding. New York, 1973, p. 74, ill. no. 126.
Manuel Gasser. "Bilder aus einer Privatsammlung." Du 34 (December 1974), ill. pp. 26, 34 (on display in the residence of Dr. Jacques C. Koerfer, Ascona, ca. 1974), as "L’Indépendant".
Pierre Joly. "Ascona: La collection cachée dans la maison Breuer." L'Oeil no. 232 (November 1974), ill. p. 25 (on display in the residence of Dr. Jacques C. Koerfer, Ascona).
Josep Palau i Fabre. Picasso en Cataluña. 2nd ed. Barcelona, 1975, pp. 188, 268, no. 230, ill. p. 184, as "El abanico".
Franz Meyer inPicasso: Aus dem Museum of Modern Art, New York, und Schweizer Sammlungen. Exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Basel. Basel, 1976, p. 48, no. 21, ill. p. 49.
Françoise Cachin and Fiorella Minervino. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Picasso, 1907–1916. Paris, 1977, p. 107, no. 412, ill. p. 108, as "L’Indépendant" or "L’Éventail".
Stanley Abercrombie. Marcel Breuer: Koerfer House... Stillman House III... Gagarin House II. Ed. Yukio Futagawa. Tokyo, 1977, ill. p. 19 (on display in the residence of Dr. Jacques C. Koerfer, Ascona, ca. 1974).
Pierre Daix and Joan Rosselet. Picasso, The Cubist Years, 1907–1916: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings and Related Works. Boston, 1979, pp. 89, 267, no. 412, ill., as "The Fan (L’Indépendant)" (French ed., as "L’éventail ['L’Indépendant']).
Robert Rosenblum. "Picasso and the Typography of Cubism." Picasso in Retrospect. Ed. John Golding and Roland Penrose. New York, 1980, p. 45.
William Rubin, ed. Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1980, pp. 123, 144, ill.
Josep Palau i Fabre. Picasso en Catalogne. Paris, 1980, p. 184, fig. 230, as "L’éventail".
Pierre Daix. Cubists and Cubism. Geneva, 1982, pp. 63, 164, ill.
Georges Braque, 1882–1963. Exh. cat., Museu Picasso. Barcelona, 1986, ill. p. 120, as "L’eventail [sic] (L’Indépendant)".
Pierre Daix. Picasso créateur: La Vie intime et l'oeuvre. Paris, 1987, p. 112.
William Rubin, ed. Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1989, ill. p. 197 (French ed., 1990, ill. p. 191 [as "L’Éventail (L’Indépendant]"; German ed., 1990, fig. 177; Spanish ed., 1991, ill. p. 191 [as "El abanico (L’Indépendant)"], as August 1911.
Judith Cousins inPicasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism. Ed. William Rubin. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1989, p. 377 (German ed., 1990, p. 363; French ed., 1990, and Spanish ed., 1991, pp. 362–63).
Josep Palau i Fabre. Picasso: Cubism, 1907–1917. New York, 1990, p. 505, no. 595, ill. p. 216, as "The Fan" or "L’Indépendant".
Pierre Cabanne. Le siècle de Picasso. Vol. 1, La naissance du Cubisme (1881–1912). Rev. ed. (1st ed., 1975). Paris, 1992, p. 377.
Edward F. Fry. "Convergence of Traditions: The Cubism of Picasso and Braque." Picasso and Braque: A Symposium. Ed. Lynn Zelevansky. New York, 1992, p. 98.
Pierre Daix. Picasso: Life and Art. New York, 1993, p. 104.
Villads Villadsen inPicasso & Braque: Kubisme, 1907–1914. Ed. Villads Villadsen et al. Exh. cat., Statens Museum for Kunst. Copenhagen, 1993, ill. p. 18, as (August) 1911.
Robert S. Lubar. "Fields of Vision." Christie’s International Magazine 12 (October–November 1995), p. 28, ill. p. 29 and cover.
Impressionist and Modern Paintings, Watercolours and Sculpture (Part I). June 25, 1996, p. 61, fig. 3, under no. 22.
Anne Baldassari. Picasso and Photography: The Dark Mirror. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Paris, 1997, p. 103, fig. 123, as "The Fan (L’Indépendant)".
Andrew Butterfield. The Jacques Koerfer Collection. London, 1999, pp. 11, 86, 110, ill. pp. 58–59, 86 (on display in the residence of Dr. Jacques C. Koerfer, Ascona, ca. 1974), p. 87, unpaginated (timeline).
Brigitte Leal, Christine Piot, and Marie-Laure Bernadac. The Ultimate Picasso. New York, 2000, pp. 155–56, 509, fig. 340, as "The Fan (L’Indépendant)".
Elizabeth Cowling. Picasso: Style and Meaning. London, 2002, pp. 221, 225, ill. no. 191.
Bernice B. Rose, ed. Picasso, Braque, and Early Film in Cubism. Exh. cat., PaceWildenstein. New York, 2007, p. 100, ill. p. 85.
Lawrence Rainey. "Introduction: F. T. Marinetti and the Development of Futurism." Futurism: An Anthology. Ed. Lawrence Rainey, Christine Poggi, and Laura Wittman. New Haven, 2009, p. 13.
Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies. (video recording). Produced by Martin Scorsese and Robert Greenhut, Produced and directed by Arne Glimcher. New York: Arthouse Films, 2010, ill. (color).
Carol Vogel. "Billion-Dollar Cubist Gift to the Met." International Herald Tribune (April 11, 2013), p. 12.
Carol Vogel. "$1 Billion Gift Gives Met a New Perspective (Cubist)." New York Times (April 10, 2013), p. A18.
Armand Israël. Georges Braque: Père du Cubisme, initiateur de l'art contemporain. Paris, 2013, pp. 163, 177, ill. p. 161, as "L’Éventail (L’Indépendant)," mid-August 1911.
"Objects Promised to the Museum during the Year 2012–2013." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, One Hundred Forty-third Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013 (2013), p. 47.
Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 233–34, 321(2)n.18.
Jack Flam inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 136–37, 139, no. 64, ill. p. 138 (color).
Anna Jozefacka and Luise Mahler inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 286–88, fig. 64 (on display in the residence of Dr. Jacques C. Koerfer, Ascona, ca. 1974).
Alan Hyman, ed. The Picasso Project: Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings, and Sculpture, A Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue, 1885–1973. Vol. 1909–1912, Analytic Cubism. San Francisco, 2015, pp. xl, 155, 322, 331, no. 1911-064, ill. p. 155, as "The Fan (L'Independant)".
Emilia Philippot. "Céret." Dictionnaire du Cubisme. Ed. Brigitte Leal. Paris, 2018, p. 141, erroneously listed as in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Julia May Boddewyn. "Picasso's American Valentine." Ojo (Online Journal of the Picasso Administration). no. 36, May 2020, p. 12.
Jason Farago. "Close Read: An Art Revolution, Made with Scissors and Glue." nytimes.com. January 29, 2021, ill. (color).
William Jeffett inPicasso and the Allure of the South. Exh. cat., Dalí Museum. St. Petersburg, Fla., 2021, pp. 27, 235, fig. 11 (color), as "Nature morte à l’éventail (L’Indépendant)".
Emilia Philippot inPicasso and the Allure of the South. Exh. cat., Dalí Museum. St. Petersburg, Fla., 2021, p. 63.
Pepe Karmel. Looking at Picasso. London, 2023, p. 70, fig. 3.13 (color).
Between 1850 and 1950, when art collecting in France stalled due to the devastating effects of two world wars, revolution, and economic uncertainty, it accelerated internationally, gaining interest from foreign collectors. In this discussion, curators, scholars, and experts in provenance research consider the historical market for modern art as the root of the globalized art world of today.
Professor of Art History Christopher Green discusses Picasso’s foray into Cubism before his invention of collage primarily through his figure drawings.
The Met's engagement with art from 1890 to today includes the acquisition and exhibition of works in a range of media, spanning movements in modernism to contemporary practices from across the globe.
