Mar 05, 2019 - Sale 2500

Sale 2500 - Lot 438

Price Realized: $ 7,500
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 8,000 - $ 12,000
PABLO PICASSO (after)
Bethsabée.

Color aquatint, 1966. 265x375 mm; 10 1/2x14 3/4 inches, full margins. An hors commerce impression, aside from the edition of 300. Signed and inscribed "H.C." in pencil, lower margin. Published by Crommelynck, Paris, with the blind stamp lower left. A superb impression with vibrant colors.

Based on one of a series of works Picasso executed circa 1963 that focused on the Biblical narrative of Bethsheba and King David. The current lot captures the scene from the story of Bethsheba reading a letter from King David, declaring his love for her and summoning her to the palace. Picasso may have drawn inspiration for this work from Rembrandt's (1606-1669) oil painting Bathsheba at Her Bath, 1654, which features the same subject matter and a similar composition.