Picasso's paintings have always caused a stir in the art market, and this one is no exception. In this painting, Picasso sold a painting of his "goddess" as an octopus for 450 million yuan.
The Lying Down
A huge "octopus" stood there, its tentacles stretched out against the blue background. But it's not a giant octopus. It was Marie Teresa Walter, Picasso's lover.
Picasso
According to CNN, Picasso's painting The Lying Down debuted at Sotheby's in New York on May 18. The painting sold for $67.5 million at the first auction, exceeding the $60 million estimate.
Created in April 1932, the painting is one of many works Picasso painted for his lover Walter. Walter was Picasso's muse and the mother of his second child, Maya. Picasso was 45 and Walter was 17 when they met.
After falling in love with her, Walter became Picasso's most important model, often appearing as a sexy figure in Picasso's bold, abstract style.
Walter
But why is Walter portrayed as an octopus in The Lying?
The Lying Down
Brooke Lampley, chairman of Sotheby's and head of global art sales, said the reclining nude was Picasso's "radical departure from tradition."
"This striking painting is a painter's affectionate ode to Mother Mary Teresa." Brooke said in an auction statement: "This enchanting portrait perfectly captures Picasso's muse, giving her fin-like, infinitely flexible limbs, the ultimate expression of his genius."
The auction house said the painting was one of Picasso's last paintings. After Picasso's death in 1973, the painting was preserved for decades and bought in 2006 by an anonymous seller directly from Picasso's descendants.
Picasso's portrait of Walter has been highly sought after, and Walter's "Woman At the Window," also based on Walter, sold for $103.41 million in 2021.
The Woman by the Window
Picasso Profile:
Pablo Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter and sculptor who was a member of the French Communist Party.
He is the founder of modern art and the main representative of Western modernist painting. Picasso was one of the most creative and influential artists of the contemporary West and one of the greatest artistic geniuses of the 20th century.
Picasso
Representative works: "Guernica", "Peace Dove", "Avignon Girl", "Life".
Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain, in 1881. In 1897, Picasso studied at the Prado Museum in Madrid.
In 1900, Picasso went to Paris to live and work. In 1903, he completed his painting career. In 1907, the completion of The Woman of Avignon became a milestone in his creation of Cubism. In 1937, Picasso created Guernica to commemorate the Nazi bombing of Guernica. In 1949, his work "Peace Dove" was selected as the poster for the International Peace Conference.
Guernica
Picasso died in Moulins, France, in 1973 at the age of 91.
Picasso was a prolific painter who, according to statistics, has nearly 37,000 works, including: 1885 paintings, 7089 drawings, 20,000 prints, 6121 lithographs. In December 1999, a French newspaper conducted a poll in which he was named one of the ten greatest painters of the 20th century with a whopping 40% approval rating.