Nature Morte au Poron

Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

National Museum Cardiff

1948

This late Picasso still life develops Cardiff's outstanding collection of late nineteenth and early twentieth century French paintings and give a sense of Picasso's impact on British artists in the postwar period. Oil paintings by Picasso from 1948 are relatively uncommon. At this time Picasso's chosen subjects were portraits of his partner François Gilot, their son Claude, and still life. These paintings share a flat angularity and are more brightly coloured than the sombre palette employed during the War years. In Nature Morte au Poron the elements of the still life - a lemon, a lobster and a ‘poron' (from porrón - a traditional Spanish wine pitcher) – have been placed on a table, tipped towards the picture plane in typical cubist device. Lobsters and crabs were a subject often used by the artist, while he employed the porrón as a sexually charged symbol as early as 1906.

• Medium: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 50.3 x 61cm
• Art Fund Grant: £100000 ( Total: £1,435,000)
• ArtFunded in: 2009
• Vendor: Through E & R Cyzer

Provenance

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris by 1949; Svensk-Franska Konstgalleriet, Stockholm by 1953; Gerard Bonnier, Stockholm; Galerie Beyeler, Basel; Private Collection, New York; James Goodman Gallery, New York by 1981; private collection, Europe; Sotheby's, 2007; Haaken Christensen; Sotheby's, 2008; Swiss based consortium. The work has been vetted by the Art Loss Register.

Add your comments about this artwork Hide this form

Have your say