Bottle of Bass and Calling Card

1914

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Calling cards displaying the name of the artist or that of a notable peer are featured in many trompe l’oeil still lifes. Following suit, Picasso included the actual engraved cards of his patrons Gertrude Stein and André Level. A bent corner signified that the owner had delivered it personally; though here, the corners are simply not there: Picasso cut them off and drew in duplicitous doubles. The conjoined dice may allude to Stein’s intimate relationship with Alice B. Toklas, one stated openly on their shared card. As to Level, he headed the consortium of investors that sold Picasso’s painting Family of Saltimbanques (1905) at auction in 1914 for a staggering sum, creating a whole new market for Picasso and modern art.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Bottle of Bass and Calling Card
Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
Date: 1914
Medium: Cut-and-pasted wove and laid papers, printed packaging, and graphite on paper
Dimensions: 9 7/16 × 12 in. (24 × 30.5 cm)
Classification: Collages
Credit Line: Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Donation of Louise and Michel Leiris, 1984
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art