Galerie Kahnweiler, Paris
Sale: Kahnweiler, Paris, 1921, lot 72
Galerie Heinrich Thannhauser, Munich
André Lefèvre, Paris (acquired by 1964)
Galerie Beyeler, Basel
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Collection André Lefèvre, 1964, no. 217
Munich, Moderne Galerie (Heinrich Thannhauser), no. 30
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Picasso - Werke von 1900-1932, 1966-67, no. 12, illustrated in colour in the catalogue (titled as Fleurs Exotiques)

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, 1906-1912, Paris, 1942, vol. II, no. 37, illustrated pl. 20
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (exhibition catalogue), Musée Picasso, Paris, 1988, no. III.35, illustrated p. 524

The canvas is not lined. There is a layer of varnish preventing the UV light from fully penetrating, however there are some small scattered retouchings in places, including several to the black pigments of the table, the largest of which are between the tall rightmost leaves with associated fine lines covering craquelure, and to the top of the leaf in the upper right corner. There are some further fine spots and lines in the background in the upper left quadrant. There are a few areas of stable craquelure, mainly to the black pigments of the table and in the leaves. Otherwise this work is in good condition, Please note that the restoration has been quite crudely applied and could be considerably improved and reduced by a restorer.
"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."

Painted in 1907, the vivid colours and pure application of paint mark Bouquet dans un vase as a rare example of a Fauve influence in Picasso’s work during this period. By 1907 Picasso was socially if not aesthetically linked with a number of the Fauves having met André Derain and Kees Van Dongen in 1905, and seen their revolutionary canvases on view at the Salon des Indépendants the same year. Shortly after this Gertrude Stein introduced him to Matisse who, following the exhibition of his celebrated canvas Le Bonheur de vivre at the 1906 Salon des Indépendants, was at the time the undisputed leader of the Fauves and of the avant-garde in Paris. Their meeting and subsequent relationship was to be of considerable significance to both artists; Picasso later recalled of this period: ‘You’ve got to be able to picture side by side everything Matisse and I were doing at that time. No one has ever looked at Matisse’s painting more carefully than I; and no one has looked at mine more carefully than he’ (quoted in Pierre Daix, Picasso. Life and Art, London, 1994, p. 64). Following their introduction, the two artists saw each other often, making frequent studio visits that were born as much out of curiosity as competitiveness.

The results of this curiosity are evident in the present work. Abandoning the saltimbanques that had previously dominated his œuvre, Picasso began a period of wide-ranging and audacious experimentation. He had initially been excited by the Fauves bold use of colour, Pierre Daix writes: ‘the uproar of the 1905 Cage aux Fauves was directly and immediately interesting to him as he had already – in 1901 – anticipated these paintings of strident colour’ (P. Daix, ibid., p. 51) and in Bouquet dans un vase he experiments with a markedly Fauve idiom, applying pure colour in broad brushstrokes. The energy of the composition comes from Picasso’s skillful juxtaposition of the bold black outlines and decorative elements of the jug against the monochromatic space of the background. These intersecting planes of colour, mixing broad horizontal and vertical brushstrokes, convey a sense of depth but they also create a shifting perspective that reflects Picasso’s interest in the problems of representing objects in space and anticipates the Cubist paintings that would follow over the next decade. A lively and vivid composition, Bouquet dans un vase is undoubtedly the product of the dynamic creative atmosphere that Picasso experienced in Paris at this time, but it is also a masterful illustration of the ceaseless artistic experimentation that would characterise his career and lead him to become the most celebr♛ated of Modern painters.