Pablo Picasso, 1956. Image: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo Pablo Picasso’s Fumeur avec un homme of 1964 presents a powerful dual portrait, blending frontal and profile perspectives to striking effect. The central figure’s intense gaze, rendered in bold, gestural strokes, is counterbalanced by the shadowy profile on the left, as though the subject confronts his own reflection. In May 1964, when Picasso was 83, he began a new period of self-reinvention, immersing himself in imagined portraits of versions of himself at different stages of life. Here, the rugged, unshaven visage hints at both vitality and introspection, capturing the essence of a man reflecting on his past while confronting the realities of age.
“Age has forced us to abandon smoking, but the desire remains. It’s the same with love.”
—Pablo PicassoSmoking men feature often in Picasso’s works from this period. A lifelong smoker, supposedly when Picasso was born, he was weak and thought to be stillborn, so doctors blew cigar smoke into his face, prompting a furious bellow that proved he was very much alive. Smoking was a constant throughout much of Picasso’s life, however he had to give up the habit after a surgery in 1965. Therefore, the fumeurs in his work from this period can be seen as a wistful farewell to a cherished ritual. For Picasso, smoking symbolised desire – he likened his abandonment of smoking to the loss of desire in old age, observing that both leave an indelible craving behind. This portrait, steeped in atmosphere and longing, exudes a quiet defiance, embodying both the artist’s undiminished creative power and his contemplation of life’s inevitable passage.Literature
Georges Bloch 1174
Brigitte Baer 1174Artist Biography
Pablo Picasso
Spanish • 1881 - 1973
One of the most dominant and influential artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso was a master of endless reinvention. While significantly contributing to the movements of Surrealism, Neoclassicism and Expressionism, he is best known for pioneering the groundbreaking movement of Cubism alongside fellow artist Georges Braque in the 1910s. In his practice, he drew on African and Iberian visual culture as well as the developments in the fast-changing world around him.
Throughout his long and prolific career, the Spanish-born artist consistently pushed the boundaries of art to new extremes. Picasso's oeuvre is famously characterized by a radical diversity of styles, ranging from his early forays in Cubism to his Classical Period and his later more gestural expressionist work, and a diverse array of media including printmaking, drawing, ceramics and sculpture as well as theater sets and costumes designs.
68
Fumeur avec un homme (Smoker with a Man) (Bl. 1174, Ba. 1174)
1964
Aquatint with drypoint, on Richard de Bas laid paper, with full margins.
I. 41.3 x 31.3 cm (16 1/4 x 12 3/8 in.)
S. 57.1 x 41.2 cm (22 1/2 x 16 1/4 in.)
Signed and numbered 41/50 in pencil (there were also 15 artist's proofs), published by Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, 1965, framed.
Estimate
£4,000 - 6,000 ‡♠
Sold for £6,985
EditionsLondon@phillips.com
+44 20 7318 4024
Rebecca Tooby-Desmond
Specialist, Head of Sale, Editions
rtooby-desmond@phillips.com
Robert Kennan
Head of Editions, Europe
rkennan@phillips.com
Anne Schneider-Wilson
Senior International Specialist, Editions
aschneider-wilson@phillips.com
Louisa Earl
Associate Specialist, Editions
learl@phillips.com
Evening & Day Editions
London Auction 23 - 24 January 2025
59
This lot is no longer available.
