HELENE BAILLY gallery is delighted to present a monograph dedicated to Pablo Picasso. Regarded as the greatest genius of the 20th century, Picasso consistently drew major inspiration from his companions, who left a profound mark on both his life and his work.
One of the works on view for this occasion is a quintessential example. In Femme agenouillée se coiffant (1906), the young woman’s face is believed to be a portrait of Fernande Olivier, Picasso’s companion and muse from 1904 to 1912. She played a key role in his representations and in the evolution of his style, especially in his treatment of the female portrait and body—from the end of the Blue Period to the invention of Cubism.
Influenced by Degas, Rodin, and Medardo Rosso, Picasso discovered the work of Gauguin and non-Western art through Gertrude Stein. This decisive encounter led him to experiment with bold stylizations of form and volume.
In this work, the influence of Gauguin’s sculptures is evident; through the use of distortion, Picasso gives the figure a robust body reminiscent of primitive sculpture, while maintaining a classical pose. The schematized face, however, already anticipates Cubism.
Edition 1/10 is part of our collection. Another copy, number 9/10, is held by the Musée Picasso, highlighting the significance of these experiments. Our model was gifted in 1968 by Picasso to the collector Raoul Pellequer, the brother of Max Pellequer—Picasso’s financial advisor for over thirty years, but above all, his friend and one of his most important collectors.