PROVENANCE:
Collection of Charles Feld, Paris
Sotheby's Taipei, October 15, 1995, lot 167
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, January 20, 2015, lot 062
Private collection, Asia

The authenticity of this work is confirmed by Claude Picasso, the son of the artist.

Pablo Picasso is considered as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, along with Joan Miró and Salvador Dali are the three great Spanish masters of the modern art history. Being a son of an art professor at the school of Fine Arts, and a curator of a museum, Picasso’s talent in arts was revealed at an early age, even towards the later periods, he continued to be a prolific artist. Although painting was Picasso’s principal medium, his works of creativity extends to sculptures, ceramics, glass, etc, once again validates his status as a brilliant artist and master.

Throughout the 92 years of his prolific life, Picasso is among the very few of the artists that have continued to evolve. For Picasso, there was “The Blue Period” (1900-1904), with most of his works are painted in blue, as a reflection of melancholy; the development of “Cubism” (1907-1917), with inspirations derived from the themes of African masks; to the rise of “Cubism and Surrealism” (1924-1936), where Picasso threw himself into experimentation with number of styles, as his marriage came to an end. Finally towards the middle periods of “Post World War II” (1937-1946) to the “Late Period” (1946- 1973), Picasso have continued developing distinct styles of his from time to time, and have been a pioneer in many areas.

The current set of works of “Roi et Reine” are Picasso’s works on paper painted in late decades. The King was inscribed with “for Jacqueline” on the top, while the Queen was inscribed with “to my dear friend, Feld”. As for this friend of Picasso, Charles Feld, he was the founder of a reputed publisher founder of Editions du Cercle d'art in Paris, which was founded in 1949. In 1969, Feld edited a catalogue for Picasso, “Picasso: His Recent Drawings 1966-1968”, included nearly 400 works of Picasso. In the next year, the portrait of “Le Roi” was born, and perhaps as a reciprocal gift, a pair of the King and the Queen was given to Mr. and Mrs. Feld.