PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973)

In a room flooded with moonlight a handsome and god-like faun unveils a sleeping woman. Based on Rembrandt's etching Jupiter and Antiope, 1659 (B., Holl. 204), it contains many autobiographical allusions to the artist's passionate relationship with his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter, whose powerful physical allure is so evocatively portrayed in the curvaceous figure of the sleeper. Unlike Rembrandt's Jupiter, who leers lecherously at the nubile Antiope, this faun gazes upon her, transfixed by her beauty and reaching out to caress the object of his desire.
At the time this aquatint was made, Marie-Thérèse had given birth to their daughter, Maya, and it has been suggested that this aquatint is Picasso's nostalgic evocation of a passion now passing, irrevocably changed with the advent of parenthood. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful examples of the artist's graphic work, both poetic and mysterious - and a dazzling display of his draughtsmanship and his command of the sugar-lift etching technique.