Lot 36 D

The drawing “Bouquet de fleurs”, which conveys a thoroughly poetic effect, reveals itself upon closer inspection to be a splendidly colourful bouquet of long-stemmed flowers – with a small excursion into the world of birds; it is also referred to as “Thématique florale”. Zigzagging lines and triangular forms open up a sense of space enhanced through the sense of volume which emerges in the mutual interplay of the bold colours. The pictorial space is developed accordingly through form and colour. Almost completely filling the sheet in their V-shaped composition, the flowers practically explode in their upward surge and are crowned by the name “Louis Fort”.
Louis Fort was the printer of several of Picasso’s most important graphic works and had been his friend for many years. Picasso, who was drawn to the south of France after World War II, lived with Louis Fort in his house in Juan les Pins, Vallauris. That is where Picasso would meet the Ramiés, leading to decades of collaboration in the Madoura pottery workshop. The colourful splendour of Picasso’s large-format drawing gives expression to his return from the depression of occupied, wartime Paris to a cheerful and light-filled existence in the French Riviera, where he would spend the remaining years of his life.