Picasso: OLGA KHOKHLOVA IN AFRICAN HEADRESS (27.03.1969)

Original artwork on paper signed and dated by Pablo Picasso ink & mixed media PORTRAIT OF OLGA PICASSO. Dated 1969 in ink, this is an ink-lined watercolour & dye portrait on paper. Mixed media watercolour on white paper by Pablo Picasso of his first wife the Russian dancer Olga Khokhlova in the African head-dress she wore as a famous dancer in the 1920's. A retrospective piece for Picasso working on the theme of his oldest muse at the tail end of his life. A typical re-expression here while keeping Olga's staring eye as the central focus, adding a deep blue dye (applied to rear of paper) at her neck, as well as radiating fields behind and before her head, each with a spot or point of focus. Olga was Picasso's first great muse and wife from 1917-55 when she passed away. Their relationship is well documented. The signature is neat and authentic. It can be checked against other examples of Picasso's known lithographs and paper medium artworks. His variable signatures were of one range of styles with a brush and another range with pen or pencil. This signature being in pen means it should be compared with others signed by the same method (ie. not with a brush). The base image of Olga Khokhlova-Picasso is drawn in pen with the same black ink as the signature and date. Watercolours of green gold (may be fine golden sand) form the base, with more colour decorations painted with what looks like a pen dye applied in faint lines and dots. The jagged line at the base of the image denotes this muse had by now lost her place in the Artist's heart, though not his fascination for her as an object of art. Supplied in suitable frame with bespoke border. No certificates, this work came indirectly from an art dealer in Spain. The work is not a print, it is an entirely original artwork signed and dated in Picasso's styles as seen in other examples like image 8 here, a signature from a proven work by Picasso. There are photos of his signature published on the internet and you will find this one is authentic and the styling of his numbers particularly the 3, 6 and 9 numerals seen here is repeated in other examples of his dated lithographs and original art. With a certificate this work will be worth over £100k, but its owner will need to pay for authentification. With such certification you can put any price tag on this work, and it is guaranteed to be genuine based on close analysis. This artwork has a very important place in Picasso's canon, being a late renewal of an early subject still fondly recalled.