4 things you didn’t know about Picasso’s ‘Marie-Thérèse Walter’
You are looking at more than one woman in this painting, here’s why
There’s a reason why Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter) is set to be the star at Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in London on February 28.
Even from afar, the 55x46cm canvas captured visitors’ attention when it was unveiled in Hong Kong from January 30 to February 2, before it was shipped off to Taipei (February 6-7), New York (February 12-14) and London (February 22-28).
With its playful form and intense colour contrast, we could almost see Picasso toying with geometric shapes and bold black outlines in the 1937 painting.
The women in Picasso’s life were often the muse for his work, and Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée is one of the pinnacles in the artist’s legacy. There is more than what meets the eye in the painting. Here are four things you didn’t know about Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée.
1. There is more than one woman in this painting
Perhaps a reflection of the many women in Picasso’s life, the painting camouflages a lurking presence behind the depiction of Marie-Thérèse Walter in the foreground. The looming silhouette of Dora Maar, Picasso’s new mistress from the late 1930s to early 1940s, is visible in the artwork. By the time the painting was created in 1937, Walter was – as quoted by Picasso – “on the way out”.
“While substantially this is a portrait of Walter, it’s also a painting about duality,” says James Mackie, Sotheby’s head of Impressionist & Modern Art, referring to the “vivid, glorious palette” set against the dark background. “It’s an indication that he’s thinking about the Spanish Civil War [while painting this].”
While substantially this is a portrait of Walter, it’s also a painting about duality