Paint-splattered palette used by Pablo Picasso is expected to fetch up to £6,000 at auction
- The relic is one of more than 60 lots in a Sotheby’s online auction from June 8-18
- Experts say the colours relate to Picasso’s 1961 work Le dejeuner sur l’herbe
- A rare woodcut print of a chick Picasso gave to a French poet will also be sold
Some artists are only feted after their death, but Pablo Picasso was different – and he was acutely aware of it according to this piece.
A paint-splattered palette, which he took the time to date after using it, is expected to sell for £4,000 to £6,000.
The extraordinary relic, pictured, is one of more than 60 lots in a forthcoming Sotheby’s online Picasso auction.
Experts say its colours correspond to the painter’s 1961 work Le dejeuner sur l’herbe (after Manet).
A paint-splattered palette owned by Pablo Picasso, which he dated after using it, is expected to sell for £4,000 to £6,000 in a Sotheby’s online auction from June 8 until June 18. Experts say its colours correspond to his 1961 work Le dejeuner sur l’herbe (after Manet)
A Sotheby’s spokesman said: ‘Ever aware of his own legacy, Picasso dated the palette, elevating its status and significance with his signature wit.
‘Picasso enjoyed his celebrity status, with one notorious anecdote telling of the artist’s refusal to sign a drawing that he had been asked to leave for a restaurant manager in lieu of payment, quipping “I’m buying a meal, not the whole restaurant”.’
Other unusual items in the auction include a rare woodcut print of a chick which Picasso gave to his friend Guillaume Apollinaire, the French poet and novelist whom he first met when they were both in their mid-20s around 1904.
An early pastel on cardboard work from circa 1900 titled Autour des arènes has an estimate of £250,000 to £350,000.
Created shortly before Picasso relocated to Paris from Spain, it depicts the façade of the Barcelona bull-ring and a well-heeled crowd gathered around its entrance.
Also among the most expensive lots is a pen and brush and ink on paper work from 1933 titled Le Voyeur, which has an estimate of £400,000 to £600,000.
Dating to a summer holiday in Cannes with his wife Olga and son Paolo, it reveals the artist’s preoccupation with his beautiful mistress and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter.
Holly Braine, Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Specialist said: ‘This sale allows the viewer to explore the full gamut of his production.’
Bidding opens on June 8 and lasts until June 18.
The works will be exhibited from June 15 to 18 at Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries in London.