Picasso painted this work in Céret, a small town in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, where he worked alongside Georges Braque (1882–1963). Their joint development of the painterly style called Cubism has become the stuff of legend. Made during the most abstract phase of Cubism, known as "high" or Analytic Cubism (1910–12), this work—which depicts a round tabletop with a stemmed glass at left, the bottle of rum at center, and a pipe in the right foreground—is among the first of Picasso's pictures to include letters. These may refer to the town, Céret, or, alternatively, to the title of a poster or newspaper.
Inscription: Signed and inscribed on verso in dark gray paint, upper center: Picasso/ ceret
[Galerie Kahnweiler, Paris, 1911–14; acquired from the artist, stock no. 794; sequestered Kahnweiler stock, Paris, 1914–21; sale, "Vente de biens allemands ayant fait l'objet d'une mesure de Séquestre de Guerre: Collection Henry Kahnweiler [sic], Tableaux Modernes, deuxième vente," Hôtel Drouot, Paris, November 17–18, 1921, no. 189, for Fr 370, to Ozenfant]; Amédée Ozenfant, Paris (1921); Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret), Paris (ca. 1921–63); Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris (1963–69; sale, "Ancienne Collection Le Corbusier," Palais Galliera, Paris, December 9, 1969, no. A, to Hahn and Thaw); [Stephen Hahn and E. V. Thaw & Co., Inc., New York, 1969–70; sold by Thaw on September 23, 1970, partially in exchange for a painting by Picasso (Z 11a.249), to Gelman]; Jacques and Natasha Gelman, Mexico City and New York (1970–his d. 1986); Natasha Gelman, Mexico City and New York (1986–d. 1998; her bequest to MMA)
Munich. Moderne Galerie Heinrich Thannhauser. "Ausstellung Pablo Picasso," February 1913, no. 61.
Zurich. Moderne Galerie (Gottfried Tanner). "Pablo Picasso," opened April 4, 1914, no. 27.
Kunsthalle Basel. "Pablo Picasso," May 1914, no catalogue [possibly this picture].
London. Zwemmer Gallery. "Chirico, Picasso," June 1–30, 1937, no. 24.
New York. Saidenberg Gallery. "Homage to Picasso for His 90th Birthday: Joint Exhibition of Paintings and Works on Paper. Years: 1901–1924," October 6–30, 1971, no. 13.
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective," May 22–September 16, 1980, unnumbered cat. (p. 143).
London. Tate Gallery. "The Essential Cubism, 1907–1920: Braque, Picasso & their friends," April 27–July 10, 1983, extended to July 31, 1983, no. 125.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Twentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection," December 12, 1989–April 1, 1990, unnumbered cat. (p. 114).
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Twentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection," April 19–July 15, 1990, unnumbered cat.
Mexico City. Centro Cultural Arte Contemporáneo. "La Colección de Pintura Mexicana de Jacques y Natasha Gelman," June 23–October 11, 1992, unnumbered cat. (p. 12, fig. 1).
Martigny. Fondation Pierre Gianadda. "De Matisse à Picasso: Collection Jacques et Natasha Gelman," June 18–November 1, 1994, unnumbered cat. (p. 139).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Painters in Paris: 1895–1950," March 8–December 31, 2000, extended to January 14, 2001, unnumbered cat. (p. 71).
New York. PaceWildenstein. "Picasso, Braque and Early Film in Cubism," April 20–June 23, 2007, unnumbered cat. (p. 84).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 27–August 1, 2010, no. 54.
Centre Pompidou, Paris, Galerie 1. "Le Cubisme," October 17, 2018–February 25, 2019, unnumbered cat. (p. 66).
Kunstmuseum Basel. "Kosmos Kubismus: Von Picasso bis Léger / The Cubist Cosmos. From Picasso to Léger," March 30–August 4, 2019, extended to August 18, 2019, unnumbered cat. (p. 66).
Maurice Raynal. Picasso. Munich, 1921, pl. 40.
Christian Zervos. Pablo Picasso. Vol. 2a, Works from 1906 to 1912. Paris, 1942, p. 132, no. 267, ill.
Jacques Lassaigne. Picasso. Paris, 1949, pl. 44.
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler. Les Années héroïques du Cubisme. Paris, 1950, no. 28, ill.
Victor Crastre. Naissance du cubisme: Céret 1910. Geneva, 1950, p. 56, fig. 5.
Julio E. Payró. Picasso y el ambiente artístico-social contemporáneo. Buenos Aires, 1957, fig. 21.
Art News 68 (December 1969), p. 13, ill. (advertisement).
"Conseils aux acheteurs: Le Cubisme a la grande cote." Connaissance des arts 222 (August 1970), p. 79, fig. 2.
"International Salesroom." Connoisseur 173 (March 1970), p. 193, fig. 27.
Lode Seghers. "Mercado de las artes en el extranjero." Goya no. 94 (January–February 1970), pp. 257–58, ill.
Françoise Will-Levaillant. "La Lettre dans la peinture cubiste." Travaux IV: Le Cubisme, Actes du premier colloque d'Histoire de l'Art Contemporain tenu au Musée de l'art et de l'industrie, Saint-Étienne, les 19, 20, 21 novembre 1971, Centre Interdisciplinaire d'Études et de Recherche sur l'Expression Contemporaine. Saint-Étienne, 1971, p. 46.
Hilton Kramer. "Double Show Salutes Picasso at 90." New York Times (October 7, 1971), p. .56.
Franco Russoli and Fiorella Minervino. L'opera completa di Picasso cubista. Milan, 1972, pp. 107–8, no. 415, ill.
Donald E. Gordon. Modern Art Exhibitions, 1900–1916: Selected Catalogue Documentation. Vol. 2, Munich, 1974, pp. 664, 794.
Pierre Cabanne. Le Siècle de Picasso, I: La Jeunesse, le cubisme, le théâtre, l'amour, 1881–1937. Paris, 1975, p. 16.
Pierre Daix. La Vie de peintre de Pablo Picasso. Paris, 1977, pp. 113, 116 n. 33.
Pierre Daix and Joan Rosselet. Picasso, The Cubist Years, 1907–1916: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings and Related Works. Boston, 1979, p. 268, no. 414, ill.
Malcolm Gee. Dealers, Critics, and Collectors of Modern Painting: Aspects of the Parisian Art Market Between 1910 and 1930. PhD diss., Courtauld Institute of Art. New York, 1981, appendix F, section 2, p. 42, no. 113.
Pablo Picasso. Tokyo, 1981, pl. 45.
Pierre Daix. Cubists and Cubism. Geneva, 1982, pp. 63, 169.
Pierre Daix in Isabelle Monod-Fontaine with E. A. Carmean Jr. Braque: The Papiers Collés. Exh. cat., Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. Washington, D.C., 1982, pp. 28, 43 n.10.
Dennis Farr. "Quintessential Cubism: A New Look." Apollo 117 (June 1983), pp. 508–9, ill.
Jeremy Wood. "London, Tate Gallery Exhibition: The Essential Cubism, Braque, Picasso & Their Friends, 1907–1920." Pantheon 41 (July–September 1983), p. 276, ill.
John Dorsey. "New Wing Lifts the Met Into the 20th Century." Sun (Baltimore, Md.) (February 1, 1987), p. 12K, calls it "Bottle of Rum".
Lewis C. Kachur. "Themes in Picasso's Cubism, 1907–1918." PhD diss., Columbia University, 1988, pp. 131–32.
Roger Bevan. "Exhibition Reviews: The Metropolitan Museum: A New Wing for Modern Art." Apollo 127 (January 1988), p. 40, calls it "Bottle of Rum".
Judith Cousins inPicasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism. Ed. William Rubin. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1989, p. 377.
John Russell. "20th-Century Works Collected By a Couple With a Shared Vision." New York Times (December 12, 1989), p. C24.
Josep Palau i Fabre. Picasso: Cubism, 1907–1917. New York, 1990, pp. 221, 505, no. 603, ill.
Carsten-Peter Warncke. Pablo Picasso, 1881–1973. Ed. Ingo F. Walther. Vol. 1, The Works 1890–1936. Cologne, 1992, p. 193, ill.
Christian Geelhaar. Picasso: Wegbereiter und Förderer seines Aufstiegs, 1899–1939. Zürich, 1993, p. 62.
Pierre Daix. Dictionnaire Picasso. Paris, 1995, pp. 172, 851.
John Richardson with the collaboration of Marilyn McCully. A Life of Picasso. Vol. 2, 1907–1917. New York, 1996, p. 319, ill.
Judith H. Dobrzynski. "20th Century Art Treasures Are Left to Met." New York Times (May 6, 1998), p. B6.
William S. Lieberman. "Donation Gelman: l'École de Paris au Metropolitan." Connaissance des arts no. 554 (October 1998), p. 106.
Andrew Decker. "Metropolitan: Une Exceptionnelle donation." Beaux Arts no. 170 (July 1998), p. 24.
Grace Glueck. "When One City Was the Heart of Art's Youth." New York Times (March 10, 2000), p. E39.
William S. Lieberman. "Les Peintres de Paris à New York." Connaissance des arts no. 578 (December 2000), p. 129.
Roberta Smith. "In a Brash Yet Refined School, Everyone Belongs Together." New York Times (June 15, 2001), p. E37.
Tobias G. Natter. Die Galerie Miethke: Eine Kunsthandlung im Zentrum der Moderne. Exh. cat., Jüdisches Museum der Stadt Wien. Vienna, 2003, p. 140 n. 190, ill. p. 141 (reprint of Exh. Vienna 1914).
Bernice B. Rose, ed. Picasso, Braque, and Early Film in Cubism. Exh. cat., PaceWildenstein. New York, 2007, pp. 100–102, ill. p. 84.
Gary Tinterow inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, p. 13, fig. 16 (color, installation photo, Gelman apartment, 1989).
Sabine Rewald inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, pp. 154–56, no. 54, ill. (color).
Isabelle Duvernois inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, p. 156.
Claire Barry and Bart J. C. Devolder inPicasso and Braque: The Cubist Experiment 1910–1912. Exh. cat., Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth. Santa Barbara, 2011, p. 108 n. 5, pp. 115–17, 121–22, 131, no. 30, ill. pp. 104, 130, fig. 20 (color, overall and details).
Jacques Villeglé. "Georges Braque's and Pablo Picasso's Paintings." The Artist Project: What Artists See When They Look at Art. Ed. Chris Noey. New York, 2017, pp. 238–39, ill. (color).
Ariane Coulondre inThe Cubist Cosmos: From Picasso to Léger. Ed. Brigitte Leal, Christian Briend, and Ariane Coulondre. Exh. cat., Centre Pompidou, Paris, Galerie 1. Munich, 2019, pp. 64, 314, ill. p. 66 (color).
Vérane Tasseau. "Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler’s International Partnerships, 1907–1937." Pioneers of the Global Art Market: Paris-Based Dealer Networks, 1850–1950. Ed. Christel H. Force. London, 2020, pp. 80, 88 nn. 16, 17.
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
1955, printed 1961
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