Estate of the artist
Marina Picasso
Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva (acquired from the above) 
Acquired from the above by the present owner

New York, Paul Rosenberg Gallery, The Primacy of Design, 1983, no. 55, illustrated in the catalogue
Geneva, Galerie Jan Krugier, Picasso - Dessins et aquarelles, 1987

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, œuvres de 1942 et 1943, Paris, 1961, vol. XII, no. 289, illustrated pl. 143
The Picasso Project, Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture. Nazi Occupation, 1940-1944, San Francisco, 1999, no. 43-092, illustrated p. 210

Executed on cream wove paper, laid down on thin supporting paper, attached to the mount in all four corners and at the centre of the upper and lower edges, floating in the mount. There is an artist's pinhole to the lower right corner. There is a small paper loss to the upper right corner, a 2cm. repaired tear and two further minor repaired tears to the lower edge, each with associated spots of retouching. There is a 1.5cm. crease to the left of the upper edge and a tiny tear to the upper left edge. Apart from several minor nicks to the upper edge and two pinhead-sized nicks to the right edge, this work is in overall good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The figure in the present work is immediately reminiscent of the style of a younger Picasso and of his groundbreaking portraits from 1906-07. These portraits were the result of a highly influential trip to Gosol in Spain, where Picasso was inspired by the Iberian sculpture of his homeland. It is testament to Picasso's formidable aptitude of 'picking things up, consciously or unconsciously, where he had left them long before' (David Sylvester, 'End Game', Late Picasso: Paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints 1953-1972, London, 1988, p. 142). Nearly 40 years later the influence that the artist's trip to Gisors had on his work is still tangible, with the boy's mask-like face comparable to the dramatic changes made to his portrait of Gertrude Stein in 1906.

Painted on 24^th March 1943, while Europe was still in the grip of World War II, the present work demonstrates the exaggerated, muted colours that Picasso had begun to use since the outbreak of civil war in Spain 1937. Although this work does not directly relate to the war in subject, this is not at all unusual as very few of his works did. Instead he continued with his repertoire of traditional themes, such as portraiture, still life and the nude, adding a heightened degree of exaggeration depending on the individual message each work served. The deep black orbs of the young man's eyes hold a mesmeric and somewhat tragic power, with their size and intensity not dissimilar to the artist's own. They capture a sense of exhaustion that reflects the long Nazi occupation of Paris from 14^th June 1940 until its liberation on 25^th August 1944, an experien🎉ce that P🍎icasso endured personally.

When questioned by an American war correspondent just days after Paris' liberation Picasso explained: 'I have not painted the war because I am not the kind of painter who goes out like a photographer for something to depict. But I have no doubt that the war is in these paintings I have done. Later on perhaps the historians will find them and show that my style has changed under the war's influence. Myself, I do not know.' (Peter D. Whitney, 'Picasso is Safe', San Francisco Chronicle, no. 3, Sept 1944).