Picasso Painting Depicting Lover As A Tentacled Sea Creature Sells For $67.5M
Image via Sotheby’s
A cartoon-like portrayal of Pablo Picasso’s lover Marie-Thérèse Walter, imagining her naked form as a sea creature, went off the market for US$67.5 million on Tuesday. This was the first time the painting had been offered for auction, according to Sotheby’s in New York.
Femme nue couchée (1932), meaning naked woman reclining, presents the young lover with flexible limbs,—her exposed body leaning back and alluding to fertility, sexuality, and grace, says the auctioneer.
The painting acknowledges Walter’s passion for swimming and her elegance in the water, which contrast with Picasso’s aversion as he himself could not swim.
Walter was only 17 when she was sighted by the married 45-year-old artist in Paris. In their secret romance, she served as the muse for several of his paintings and sculptures. They had a daughter together, named Maya Widmaier-Picasso. Later, as his affections shifted toward photographer Dora Maar, she would share the spotlight with the new lover.
The piece remained in Picasso’s estate until 2008, when the artist’s descendants handed the work down to the anonymous seller. Femme nue couchée sold for above its estimated price of US$60 million.
Reuters names the buyer to be Amy Cappellazzo, the former head of global fine art at Sotheby’s, who left her post at the auction house last year.
