Pablo Picasso, Venus and Cupid after Cranach the Elder (Venus and Cupid, the Honey Thief), c. 1957 |
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| Artist: | Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973) |
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| Title: | Venus and Cupid after Cranach the Elder (Venus and Cupid, the Honey Thief), c. 1957 |
| Medium: | Original Color Lithograph on Arches wove Watermarked Paper |
| Image Size: | 25 1/4 in x 19 3/4 in (64.1 cm x 50.2 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 30 in x 22 5/8 in (76.2 cm x 57.5 cm) |
| Framed Size: | 43 in x 37 in (109.2 cm x 93.4 cm) |
| Signature: | This work is hand-signed by Pablo Picasso (Malaga, 1881 - Mougins, 1973) in blue crayon in the lower right margin. |
| ID # | w-3920 |
A story from Ancient Greece, Cupid and the Bee offers a warning of seeking transitory pleasures. In the story, Cupid indulges himself in honey and ends up in pain for his wantonness. In Picasso's playful and complex interpretation, Venus and Cupid emerge from a fantastical wilderness. Venus, in her Cubist form mastered by Picasso, is shown in unnatural proportions with voluptuous hips and breasts, thin limbs, a shrunken head, and an unscrupulous pregnant belly. Modestly covering herself with a diaphanous scarf, she consoles her son, Cupid. Cupid is shown in anguish, as he looks to Venus guiltily with the stolen hive in hand, suffering for his offense. The large scale of this work allows us as the viewer to examine the finer details, analyze the style, and truly appreciate the genius of Picasso.
Created 1960, this original lithograph is based on an earlier gouache painting from 1957. Printed on Arches wove paper with the Arches watermark, this work was printed by Mourlot, Paris, and published by Paul Rosenburg. Hand-signed by Pablo Picasso (Malaga, 1881 - Mougins, 1973) in blue crayon in the lower right margin. The reverse contains the following printed inscription from an additional plate: 'Venus et l'amour voluer de miel, collection Lehman, le 12.6.57, fait. 13.6.57, Cranach l'Ancien.' This text was printed in script on a second plate to reflect the original paintings provenance association in the Lehman collection. Cranach l'Ancien is Lucas Cranach the Elder, a fifteenth century German Renaissance artist who portrayed his own interpretation of the story in his oil on oak panel Cupid and the Bee (1526-27), and whom Picasso dedicated this work to.
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
This work is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work).
1. The Picasso Project, Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture, The Fifties II. The original gouache painting is listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 57-050 on page 114.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.
About the Framing:
This work is framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, presented in a complementary moulding and finished with linen-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.
