Rodolphe Staechelin Foundation, Basel
Sale: Christie's, New York, November 15, 1988, lot 117
Stanley J. Seeger, London (acquired at the above sale and sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 4, 1993, lot 411)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Basel, Kunstmuseum, Collection R. Staechelin, 1956, no. 52, illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Collection R. Staechelin, 1964, no. 48, illustrated in the catalogue

Pierre Daix & Georges Boudaille, Picasso: The Blue and Rose Periods, Greenwich, 1966, no. XV.12, illustrated p. 295
Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Supplément aux Années 1903-1906, vol. 22, Paris, 1970, no. 340, illustrated pl. 123
Josep Palau i Fabre, Picasso: The Early Years, 1881-1907, Barcelona, 1985, no. 1259, illustrated p. 451

Work is in good condition. Executed on brown colored japan paper laid down on a white sheet. There is a crease extending (somewhat irregularly) along the length of the sheet, approximately 2 ½ inches from the right edge, and another smaller crease (approximately 5 inches) along the lower left edge. There is one small possible fill in the upper left corner, and 2 small dots of foxing in the upper center.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

During the summer of 1906, Picasso, along with his lover and companion, Fernande Olivier, visited Gosol, a small village in the Pyrenees. There Picasso used only the humble, rustic utensils immediately available to him to create a number of still lifes, including Coupe, cruche et boite à lait, as he tentatively explored the symbolic potential of simplicity as theme. The austerity of this work is remarkable, and contrasts with examples such as Nature Morte (Fig.&🉐nbsp;1 ) in which the form of the porrón provides a visually🎃 distinctive focus.

Coupe, cruche et boite à lait was once owned by Stanley J. Seeger, whose prominent collection John Richardson described as: "especially strong in works of 1906, that annus mirabilis, when Picasso first emerged as the mesꦕsiah of modern art." Although Picasso would not maintain the stark essentialism exhibited in this still life throughout his career, it is perhaps because of it that, like Richardson, we are at this moment able to recognize a seminal expression of the artist's genius.

 

Fig. 1 Pablo Picasso, Nature Morte, 1906, watercolor on paper