The 1932 portrait of Marie-ThĂ©rèse Walter, Picasso’s mistress and “golden muse,” will go on show for 2 days earlier than heading to Hong Kong and London, a boon to the United Arab Emirates’ try to determine itself as a cultural powerhouse.
The viewing “marks the primary time a portray of this caliber by the world-renowned artist has ever been exhibited within the UAE,” Sotheby’s Dubai stated in a press release, noting that it’s the first time the portrait has been exhibited in half the time was proven exterior the US. a century.
“Through the years, the UAE has achieved the standing of a world artwork vacation spot, which is given additional impetus as this uncommon Picasso is unveiled right here,” stated UAE Minister of Tradition Sheikh Salem bin Khalid al-Qassimi.
The portray, titled “Femme a la montre,” will likely be offered in November as a part of a two-day public sale of the celebrated assortment of the late New Yorker Emily Fisher Landau.
Walter met Picasso in Paris in 1927, when the Spaniard was nonetheless married to the Russian-Ukrainian ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova, and whereas Walter was 17.
Walter, whose daughter with Picasso died final yr, additionally appeared in “Femme assise pres d’une fenetre (Marie-ThĂ©rèse),” which was offered for $103.4 million by Christie’s public sale home in 2021.
Fifty years after his loss of life in 1973 on the age of 91, Picasso stays one of the vital influential artists of the trendy world, typically hailed as a dynamic and artistic genius.
However within the wake of the #MeToo motion towards sexual harassment and assault, this workaholic with a prolific output of work, sketches and sculpture has had his popularity tarnished by accusations that he exerted a violent grip on the ladies who shared his life and his life impressed. artwork.
© 2023 AFP
