Pablo Picasso

(Spain, France 1881–1973)

Title

The frugal repast

Other titles:

The frugal meal

Alternative title:

Le repas frugal

Year

1904

Media category

Materials used

etching

Edition

from the edition of 250 on van Gelder paper

Dimensions

46.3 x 37.7cm platemark; 64.4 x 50.6cm sheet

Signature & date

Not signed. Not dated.

Credit

Winifred Vere Hole Bequest Fund 1994

Accession number

223.1994

Copyright

Location

Not on display

Further information

The sentimentality in certain of Picasso's images from his Rose and Blue periods at the beginning of the twentieth century is unmistakable. It is also strategic. The Spanish painter had a native interest in emotive themes, especially those arising from the bohemia in which he was steeped in both Barcelona and Paris. 'The frugal repast' makes a powerful psychological appeal to the viewer. A thin-lipped woman of brittle demeanour and physique rests her head on a rigid hand as if it were a shelf. Her blind companion palpates her with fleshless fingers. The setting before them is as sparse as a desert landscape. For all this desolation, however, Picasso's self-consciously mannerist style makes it plain that this is not a slice of life but a work of art - a contrived one at that. Old Masters such as El Greco and Rosso Fiorentino were his models as much as the living ones Picasso doubtless observed.

Art Gallery Handbook, 1999.

Bibliography (9)

John McPhee (Author), Great collections, New South Wales, 2008, 97 (colour illus.).

National Touring Exhibitions, England (England), Picasso and Printmaking in Paris, London, 1998, 9-10.

Marilyn McCully (Editor), Picasso: The early years, 1892-1906, Milan, 1997, 229.

'Paris Blue' by Renée Free, pg. 19., Look Sep 1994, Sep 1994, 3 (illus.), 19 (illus.). The image appearing on page 3 is in detail.

Renée Free (Australia) (Author), Modernism 1900-1950 - Prints and Drawings from the Collection, Sydney, 1994, cover (illus.).

Ewen McDonald (Australia) (Editor), The Art Gallery of New South Wales collections, Sydney, 1994, 144 (colour illus.).

Rex Irwin Art Dealer (Australia, estab. 1976) (Author), Les peintres graveurs de Paris, Woollahra, 1994, (illus.). cat.no. 19

Brigitte Baer, Picasso the printmaker: Graphics from the Marina Picasso Collection, Unknown, 1983, 30- 33.

Ebria Feinblatt, Picasso: 60 years of graphic works, Unknown, Sep 1966, 18.

Exhibition history (4)

Modernism 1900-1950 - Prints and Drawings from the Collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 23 Jul 1994–25 Sep 1994.

Les Peintres Graveurs de Paris, Rex Irwin Art Dealer, 16 Aug 1994–10 Sep 1994.

Great collections (2009), Campbelltown Arts Centre, 12 Dec 2008–18 Jan 2009.

Great collections (2009), Tweed River Regional Art Gallery, 06 Feb 2009–15 Mar 2009.