Lot 82 N

The "Femme au fauteuil", originally planned by Picasso as a colour lithograph, is one of his prints with the most variants; the motif was particularly close to his heart. The first draft in November 1948 was in five colours, but did not meet his expectations. In the weeks and months that followed, he therefore reworked each colour plate into a black plate, varying the motif of the seated woman over and over again on each one. By April 1949, Fernand Mourlot counted 30 versions. Picasso also developed the theme in several oil paintings.
The sitter is Françoise Gilot, his partner at the time and his favourite model. Her embroidered, fur-trimmed leather coat with its wide sleeves, with its ornamental quality, takes the leading role in many variations. In the version presented here, which was formerly in the possession of Fernand Mourlot, Picasso concentrated on the finely shaded face, however, and the rest of the depiction is reduced to a few abstracted details.