A sensuous depiction of Pablo Picasso’s muse and lover as a multi-limbed sea creature, completed during the most prolific year of the artist’s life, is to appear at auction for the first time.
Femme nue couchée (Naked woman reclining) is expected to sell for more than $60m next month, a reflection of the desirability among collectors of Picasso’s images of Marie-Thérèse Walter.
“Picasso’s portraits of his golden muse Marie-Thérèse are undeniable hallmarks of 20th century art,” said Brooke Lampley, chair and head of global fine art sales at Sotheby’s, which is selling the painting.
Femme nue couchée was “a deeply lyrical ode to the artist’s unbound desire for Marie-Thérèse; with her fin-like, endlessly pliable limbs, the portrait continues to enchant as it perfectly captures Picasso’s muse as the ultimate expression of his genius”.
Picasso’s relationship with Walter – considered one of the great love affairs of the 20th century – was for many years a closely guarded secret.
At the age of 45 and unhappily married, the artist fell for the 17-year-old Walter when he noticed her through the window of Galeries Lafayette in Paris in 1927. “I’m sure we shall do great things together. I’m Picasso,” he told the teenager, who had no idea who he was.
She inspired paintings, drawings and sculptures, some of which are considered the greatest works from Picasso’s eight-decade-long career.
An exhibition at Tate Modern four years ago was devoted to Picasso’s output in 1932, in particular his intense portraits of Walter.
“There were many notable years in the long, dramatic career of Pablo Picasso, but 1932 stands out as particularly momentous,” said Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s co-head of modern art in New York.
“In this ‘year of wonders’, Picasso produced the most sensuous depictions of his great muse and lover Marie-Thérèse Walter, who would inspire some of the artist’s most iconic images.”
In Femme nue couchée, Walter is depicted with the sensuous limbs of a sea-creature. She was an enthusiastic and proficient swimmer, whose grace in the water was an enduring fascination for Picasso, who never learned to swim.
The lovers had enjoyed trysts by the sea in the summer of 1928, when Picasso secretly installed Walter in a holiday camp close to where the artist, his then wife, Olga Khokhlova, a Russian-Ukrainian dancer, and their son Paulo were staying.
Last year, Picasso’s Femme assise près d’une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse) sold for $103.4m at auction in New York.
