Tete de femme (Dora Maar)
Encyclopedia
Tete de femme is a plaster-modelled, bronze-cast sculpture
by Pablo Picasso
. Dora Maar
, Picasso's lover at the time, was the subject of the work which was originally conceived in 1941. Four copies of the bust were cast in the 1950s, several years after the relationship ended.
and Greco-Roman sculptors.
Picasso modelled the piece on lover Dora Maar during World War II, making the original from plaster in his Paris studio. Completed in 1941, the plaster model is now housed in the Museum Ludwig
in Cologne
. The difficulties in obtaining an adequate supply of metal meant that the work was put on hold until the early 1950s, with four copies being made when Picasso had the supplies. One copy of the sculpture was donated in 1959 to a memorial for Guillaume Apollinaire
, a friend of Picasso who died in 1918, and can be found on his grave behind the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
. This copy was stolen in 1999 but was eventually recovered and returned to the church. A second casting belongs to the Beyeler Foundation
, a museum in Riehen
near Basel
. Two others remained with the Picasso family, one of which was with the artist's granddaughter Marina Picasso until she sold it in 2006 to an unknown buyer. This edition appeared in auction the following year.
. It was one of the most valuable works featured at the event and failed to sell. The decision was taken to offer the sculpture at auction with Sotheby's
chosen to handle the deal. The piece was on view in London in October before moving to New York in November ready for the sale.
The Impressionist and Modern Art auction was held on 7 November 2007 featuring works by Vincent van Gogh
, Paul Gauguin
, Egon Schiele
, and a second piece by Picasso. La Lampe, an oil on canvas
painting from 1931, depicts Picasso's previous lover, Marie-Thérèse Walter
. Neither of his works had been auctioned before. While La Lampe failed to sell when it was unable to reach the low estimate of £25 million, Tete de femme (Dora Maar) was sold for a record price. Private dealer Franck Giraud paid $29.1 million for the sculpture, nearing the top end of the $20–$30 million estimate and setting a new record for the price of a sculpture at auction. The record lasted just under a month, being easily beaten by the ancient Guennol Lioness
. However, it remained the most valuable modern work until Constantin Brâncuși
's Madame LR (Portrait de Mme LR) was sold in February 2009.
Bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply a "bronze".Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mold. Then, as the bronze cools, it...
by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
. Dora Maar
Dora Maar
Dora Maar was a French photographer, poet and painter, best known for being a lover and muse of Pablo Picasso.-Life:...
, Picasso's lover at the time, was the subject of the work which was originally conceived in 1941. Four copies of the bust were cast in the 1950s, several years after the relationship ended.
Description
The bronze bust focusses on the head and neck with only a brief shoulder-line visible before the squared-off base. At a height of 31.5 inches (80 cm) it is a particularly large and heavy sculpture. It has been noted as being an "almost goddess-like" depiction of the model, sharply contrasting the usual dark, distorted, and aggressive. It is reminiscent of the work of Auguste RodinAuguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
and Greco-Roman sculptors.
Picasso modelled the piece on lover Dora Maar during World War II, making the original from plaster in his Paris studio. Completed in 1941, the plaster model is now housed in the Museum Ludwig
Museum Ludwig
Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from PopArt, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It also features many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein....
in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. The difficulties in obtaining an adequate supply of metal meant that the work was put on hold until the early 1950s, with four copies being made when Picasso had the supplies. One copy of the sculpture was donated in 1959 to a memorial for Guillaume Apollinaire
Guillaume Apollinaire
Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki, known as Guillaume Apollinaire was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic born in Italy to a Polish mother....
, a friend of Picasso who died in 1918, and can be found on his grave behind the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
The Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, just beyond the outskirts of early medieval Paris, was the burial place of Merovingian kings of Neustria...
. This copy was stolen in 1999 but was eventually recovered and returned to the church. A second casting belongs to the Beyeler Foundation
Beyeler Foundation
The Beyeler Foundation or Fondation Beyeler with its museum in Riehen near Basel owns and oversees the art collection of Hildy and Ernst Beyeler that was built up by the couple over five decades and placed under the aegis of the foundation in 1982. The collection was first publicly exhibited in its...
, a museum in Riehen
Riehen
Riehen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton....
near Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. Two others remained with the Picasso family, one of which was with the artist's granddaughter Marina Picasso until she sold it in 2006 to an unknown buyer. This edition appeared in auction the following year.
Auction
Jan Krugier, a dealer from Geneva, acquired the sculpture for an unidentified party from Marina Picasso and displayed it in December 2006 at Art Basel Miami BeachArt Basel
Art Basel is an international contemporary art fair held each June in Basel, Switzerland. Similar to the Venice Biennale, it has been called "the Olympics of the art world". Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa...
. It was one of the most valuable works featured at the event and failed to sell. The decision was taken to offer the sculpture at auction with Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
chosen to handle the deal. The piece was on view in London in October before moving to New York in November ready for the sale.
The Impressionist and Modern Art auction was held on 7 November 2007 featuring works by Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
, Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
, Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter. A protégé of Gustav Klimt, Schiele was a major figurative painter of the early 20th century. His work is noted for its intensity, and the many self-portraits the artist produced...
, and a second piece by Picasso. La Lampe, an oil on canvas
Oil on Canvas
Oil on Canvas is a live album by the British band Japan, released in 1983 by Virgin Records. Although it is a live recording of their established material, the album also contains three new studio tracks , recorded separately by Sylvian, Sylvian/Jansen and Barbieri respectively...
painting from 1931, depicts Picasso's previous lover, Marie-Thérèse Walter
Marie-Thérèse Walter
Marie-Thérèse Walter was the French mistress and model of Pablo Picasso from 1927 to about 1935, and the mother of his daughter, Maya Widmaier-Picasso. Their relationship began when she was seventeen years old; he was 45 and still living with his first wife, Olga Khokhlova...
. Neither of his works had been auctioned before. While La Lampe failed to sell when it was unable to reach the low estimate of £25 million, Tete de femme (Dora Maar) was sold for a record price. Private dealer Franck Giraud paid $29.1 million for the sculpture, nearing the top end of the $20–$30 million estimate and setting a new record for the price of a sculpture at auction. The record lasted just under a month, being easily beaten by the ancient Guennol Lioness
Guennol Lioness
The Guennol Lioness is a 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian statue found near Baghdad, Iraq. Depicting a well-muscled anthropomorphic lioness, it sold for $57.2 million at Sotheby's auction house on December 5, 2007...
. However, it remained the most valuable modern work until Constantin Brâncuși
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
's Madame LR (Portrait de Mme LR) was sold in February 2009.