PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) El campanar de l'església... Lot 16

PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) El campanar de l'església del Pi signed 'Picasso' (upper right) oil on canvas Painted circa 1900 signed 'Picasso' (upper right) oil on canvas Painted circa 1900 25.5 x 40.5 cm. 10 1/16 x 15 15/16 in. Footnotes: The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Monsieur Claude Picasso. The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Mr Claude Picasso. Provenance Jaume Sabartés Collection (gift of the artist). Private collection, Spain. Private collection, Barcelona (by descent in 1991). Exhibitions Salerno, Pablo Picasso: I Luoghi e i Riti del Mito, December 18, 2004 - March 13, 2005, (illustrated p. 56-57) (titled Vista delle terrazze e della chiesa di Santa Maria del Pi di Barcelona). Como, Picasso: La Seduzione del classico, March 19 - July 17, 2005. (illustrated p. 50-51), (titled Vista delle terrazze e della chiesa di Santa Maria del Pi di Barcelona). Bibliography Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, The Picasso Project, A Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue 1885-1973, Turn of Century 1900-19001, Barcelona, Madrid and Paris, San Francisco, 2010, no. 1900-118, (illustrated p. 33), (titled Catalan Village). El Campanar de l'esglesia del Pi is a sentimental landscape of Pablo Picasso's adopted hometown, where he grew up and which held a special place in his heart and work. A work of youth yet of great maturity, this painting, from which emerges a striking depth, reflects the soul of the young Pablo at a pivotal period in his life. In 1901, Casagemas, his great friend, took his own life in a Parisian café, plunging the painter into grief and profound sadness. A few weeks after his death, he completed La Mort de Casagemas (The Death of Casagemas), a work combining red and yellow, which marked the temporary end of his use of warm hues. Picasso, in a state of destitution, found in blue pigments, a less expensive color, a means of expressing his feelings and his interpretation of the world. From then on, Picasso's paintings were covered with a chromatic uniformity for the next three years: blue. With its gentle melancholy, this introspective color poetically embodies the painter's state of mind during this very special period. Developing his distinctive style, he experimented with new techniques, depicting themes of solitude and misery. Works from this period are monochromatic, composed of simplified lines set in effective compositions colored in cool blue tones. They generally bear no indication of time or place, as if representing a universal constancy: human suffering. Imbued with Spanish culture, they refer to Spanish literature, and recall the miserabilism of classical painters. Picasso painted most of his Barcelona landscapes between 1895 and 1903. He depicted a modern city turned towards Europe, but also one where tradition has stood the test of time. This work depicts the church of Santa Maria del Pi, considered one of Barcelona's most emblematic and recognizable medieval Gothic architectural structures. Majestically overlooking the Catalan capital, the bell tower dominates the roofs of the Gothic quarter, offering a privileged view of the city center and the surrounding hills of Collserola and Serralada de Marina. An ancestral place of fervour and art, Santa Maria del Pi is steeped in Barcelona's legends and popular traditions. This work is much more than a real, historical representation of a monument; it's the starting point for the Blue Period. It heralds the beginning of an intense and dramatic artistic period. This cityscape was painted from the balcony of his studio, which he shared with his friends Ángel Fernández de Soto and Josep Rocarol, on a street near the Nou de la Rambla. Here we find the same taste for simplified lines and efficient composition, punctuated by successive planes. The foreground, composed of rooftops, is executed in rapid, confident strokes. Rendered synthetic if not abstract, they give way to a more simplified second plane, from which the bell tower of Santa Maria del Pi emerges. Finally, the master uses atmospheric perspective to distance the last shot, that of the hills, bluish and vaporous. The sky takes up half the composition. A cameo of intense and subtle blues, the sky is adorned with deep, elusive shades, leaving the viewer to choose between a bright or stormy horizon. Far from being uniform, this composition stands out for its use of vivid, primary touches: beige, ochre and red stand out against the cool tones of the port.