Francis Picabia (1879-1953)

In a statement about the Transparencies that Picabia made for the introduction of these works at his exhibition at Rosenberg's gallery in December 1930, Picabia humorously suggested that these works, as expressions of 'inner desire', were, ultimately, fiercely personal visions to be read and understood only by himself alone.

'I worked for months and years making use of nature, copying it. Now it is my nature that I copy, that I try to express. I was once feverish over calculated inventions, now it is my instinct that guides me... these transparencies with their corner of oubliettes permit me to express for myself the resemblance of my interior desires... I want a painting where all my instincts may have a free course... Those who have said ... that "I do not enter the line of account" are right. I take no part in no addition and recount my life to myself alone' (F. Picabia, introduction to the catalogue of the exhibition Francis Picabia, Léonce Rosenberg, Paris, 9-31 December 1930).