Picasso Magnum Opus "Woman with a Watch" Sold for £113 million At Sotheby's

Femme a la Montre, translated to “Woman with a Watch”, a masterpiece of Picasso, succeeded in raising £113m at Sotheby’s auction.

The portrait by Picasso had been set with a net value of £120 at the auction. Emily Fisher, the art collector, who is now no more, had owned the classic portrait of Picasso’s “Golden Muse”, an expression with which he addressed his French lover. Marie-Therese was a dainty maiden of divine beauty when she met the artist in Paris. The forty-five-year-old artist entered into a secret liaison with the seventeen-year-old French model, and made her the muse of several of his artworks, during his marriage with Olga Khokhlova.

The beautiful French model had been the subject of the renowned work of art titled Femme Nue Couchee. Reports reveal that the portrait “Femme Nue Couchee” was auctioned off for $67.5 million in 2022. Another outstanding artwork titled Femmes d’Alger was sold for $179.3 million in 2015 at Christie’s auction.


Known for pioneering the themes of surrealism, symbolism, and cubism, the Spanish artist, Picasso, was known to have explored a wide variety of styles in his paintings. He had romanced many women and had been one of the most eminent artists of the 20th century. The artist worked on almost 150,000 brilliant pieces of artwork during his career to leave behind a glorious legacy of art.

Acclaimed for his works on Cubism, which depict humans and objects from various angles simultaneously, Pablo Picasso inherited his mastery of art from his father. Picasso’s father, Ruiz, had been a lecturer at a School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. Picasso learned to create art from his father and then marveled one and all with his work from the tender age of 13. At 16, Picasso joined the Royal Academy of San Fernando, one of Spain's most celebrated art schools. Even though his work is worth millions now, his life has been etched with bitter struggles and financial hardships. Today, his corpus of work includes drawings, paintings, ceramics, sculptures, and even theater sets.

FAQs:

Q: Which artists influenced and inspired Picasso?
The artists Cezanne, El Greco, Matisse, and Rousseau deeply inspired Picasso in his artwork.

Q: What is a primary feature of Picasso’s artworks on Cubism?
Picasso’s artworks on Cubism represent fragmented reality by portraying objects and people from myriad angles on a two-dimensional canvas.