Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Paris
Justin K. Thannhauser, Munich, Berlin, Paris, New York & Bern (acquired from the above before 1925)
Mrs. Justin K. Tannhauser, Bern (by descent from the above and sold: Christie's, New York, November 19, 1998, lot 543)
Acquired by the present owner in 2007

Bern, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Sammlung Justin K. Thannhauser, 1978, no. 31, illustrated in the catalogue
Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, Picasso, The Saltimbanques, 1980-81, no. 46b, illustrated in the catalogue
Barcelona, Museu Picasso & Bern, Kunstmuseum, Picasso, 1905-1906: From the Rose Period to the Ochres of Gósol, 1992, no. 213, illustrated in the catalogue
Munich, Haus der Kunst, Pierrot: Melancholie und Maske, 1995, no. 59, illustrated in the catalogue
Martigny, Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Picasso et le Cirque, 2007, no. 79

Christian Zervos, Picasso: Supplément aux volumes 1 à 5, vol. VI, Paris, 1954, no. 697, illustrated pl. 85
Pierre Daix & Georges Boudaille, The Blue and Rose Periods: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, 1900-1906, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1967, no. D.XII.19, illustrated p. 271
Pierre Daix, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Picasso, périodes bleue et  rose, Paris, 1968, no. 188, illustrated p. 102
M. Teresa Ocaña & Hans Christoph von Tavel, Picasso 1905-1906, Barcelona, 1992, no. 213
Roland Doschka, Pablo Picasso: Metamorphoses of the Human Form, Munich, 2000, no. 37
The Picasso Project, ed., Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculptures, The Rose Period 1905-1906, San Francisco, 2012, no. 1905-269, illustrated p. 76

Executed on cream wove paper, laid down on card, which is in turn hinged to the mount at the upper two corners. There are a few tiny dots of discoloration towards the lower left corner, and possibly a tiny repaired nick to the lower corner. There is a minor repaired tear, 1mm length, towards the lower left edge. Otherwise 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.
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.

The intimate scene that Picasso depicts in the present work represents a singular period of the artist's career, referred to as the Rose Period. His most individual and distinctive series, this period gave rise to some of the most important masterpieces he would ever create. After the ineffable melancholic atmosphere of his Blue Period, the Rose Period marked a notable shift in Picasso's art. Executed in it's first stages in 1905, Saltimbanque et jeune fille provides a rare glimpse into the profound artistic sensibility of this artistic genius.

The male figure which dominates this scene appears in many of Picasso's works from this time. Josep Palau i Fabre describes the appearance of this figure in the oeuvre of Picasso: "The second avalanche of characters in the Pink Period, with a specific personality that distinguished them quite clearly from the previous ones, is that of the circus acrobats. And their irruption is even more tumultuous than that of the harlequins or the traveling acrobats. It may be supposed that their appearance on the scene coincides with one of Picasso's visits to the Cirque Medrano, where he went both to see the show and to observe the acrobats in their life out of the ring... what we see in these works is, in effect, a family or clan of eleven people, ranging from an old woman to a child in swaddling clothes and revolving around a strong, corpulent man who presides over the whole group" (Josep Palau i Fabre, Picasso, The Early Years, 1881-1907, Paris, 1981, pp. 412-13).