Cubist Reclining Woman. Picasso Attr. Godard Foundry.

PABLO PICASSO (Attr.)
Cubist Reclining Woman. Godard Foundry. Circa 1950.

I am proud to propose an important bronze sculpture from my personal collection.

DESCRIPTION :

A bronze sculpture on marble base
Dimension.
With marble base L 25. l 11.3 .H 11
Bronze only L 23.5 l. 6.4 H . 7.7
Weight about 3kg with base. 1kg bronze only.
A reclining cubist woman. Indubitably inspired by "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" and definitely connected to cubist - africanist Picasso period. Circa 1907.
Lost wax process.
Signed "Pπ" in the bronze.
Inscribed "E Godard Fond"
Numbered EA 2/2
With intentional fingerprints near monogram printed in the wax and cast in the bronze.

NOTICE : A couple of comments about description :

- Bronze sculpture numbered 2/2 by Godard foundry.

Picasso even if more famous for his graphic works was also a sculptor. More than 650 sculptures are registered in the Picasso official catalogs.
Many of these sculptures were edited by "Fonderie Godard". Always in two specimens. One unnumbered and the second one numbered 2/2.
Picasso used to work with Godard Foundry mostly from 1948 to 1953 with more than 100 pieces edited each time in 2 specimens.

- Fingerprints near signature.

Fingerprinting works of art was a technique that Picasso sometimes employed.
In 1914, the French criminologist, Alphonse Bertillon, proposed that artists fingerprint their work in order to prevent the fraud. An article about this appeared in Le Matin under the title 'Bertillonage, on ne truquera plus les d'oeuvres d'art,' in which a number of famous artists, including Rodin, were said to have ascribed to the system. A cutting of the article later appeared in Juan Gris' cubist painting, 'Figure Seated In A Cafe'.
At this time Gris and Picasso were in close communication, therefore it seems probable that Picasso learned about fingerprinting at around this time.
Jean Gluck, a former secretary of Picasso, responsible for cataloguing the artist's work, claimed in 1994, that there were a number of Picasso drawings signed with a fingerprint
- Signature P. π.
Hypothesis is of course that P. is for "Pablo" and π = "Pi" Greec letter = Picasso
Picasso have signed drawings with Pi letter.
Below a picture of a signature on a study by the master. (Ref. Musée Picasso Paris.) You can see Pi letter near the date.

- Undeniable relation between the sculpture and "The Demoiselles D'avignon" + Africanist Cubist period. Please see pictures below.


CONCLUSION

I have contacted "Fondation Picasso" to try to obtain informations about this sculpture. The answer by Claude Picasso was, at this point, they don't have found any documents that prove that this sculpture is by Pablo Picasso. There are no more archives at Godard Foundry that do not exist any more.
By my side, I know well XXth century sculpture world and I must admit that if not Picasso, I don't have any other hypothesis for this sculpture. In addition, I cannot imagine that Godard Foundry would accept to produce a sculptor who would be so inspired by Pablo Picasso... if not Picasso. Even at the time the sculpture was cast, Picasso was already famous artist and nobody would have played with integrity of his work.
So, as conclusion, my hypothesis is simple. This sculpture was made by Picasso in wax and edited by Godard. Just normal process at this point. The signature "Pπ" and the fingerprints are just coherent with artist practices. The foundry quality is incredible. (fingerprints in the wax are visible).
My opinion is that this bronze was cast circa 1950 at the same time a large series was ordered at Godard Foundry by Picasso. (more than 100).
At this time we can find, edited by Godard or Valsuanis, many different bronze sculptures that are not in a strict stylistic line. Picasso, involved more than never in sculpture decided to cast many different pieces, from different periods of his life. This is not anormal to get, edited in 1950's a 1907 sculpture that Picasso had perhaps never wanted to cast before.
The last step for authentification is to try to get a copy of Pablo Picasso fingerprints and compare to the ones on the bronze. But I don't know where to find them now ! I will give the chance to next owner to do that job !
The only clue I have for that is to find a 1950's Ceramic piece edited by MADOURA. I know that on few of them, fingerprints are visible. I have tried to find such a piece in the last 5 years but no chance !
My asking price is very small portion of what the price would be if the sculpture is in the Official Catalogue Raisonné.
REFERENCE: pic0905
sold 06 2019 (EU)
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