PICASSO, Pablo (1881-1973)

PICASSO, Pablo (1881-1973)

Autograph letter signed « votre Picasso » to Max Pellequer
« La Californie », Cannes, 22 August 1956, 1 p. in-4° in colored oil pastels
Watermark: « BFK Rives »
Very slight traces of transfer from a previous letter, not serious.
Minor signs of folding from the period, with tiny losses at the corners.

PICASSO OR THE EPISTOLARY ART

Elegant letter by the master, handwritten in blue and red oil pastels, to his friend Max

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« Mon cher Max
Voici encore une autre feuille des contributions ne serait ce pour mon fils [Paulo or Claude] ? Vous verrez bien.
Je vous embrasse et vous envoi[e] mes meilleurs amitiés.
Votre Picasso »

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Settled at La Californie, on the heights above Cannes, Picasso benefited from the assistance of his secretary Jaume Sabartés in drafting the bulk of his correspondence. Max Pellequer, a close friend of the painter, was, however, among the rare privileged recipients of letters entirely written by Picasso himself. With oil pastels in hand, the artist played with his flowing handwriting, alternating colors like graphic elements that respond to and harmonize elegantly within the space of the sheet—when the prosaic task of a short epistle is elevated to the level of a letter-work of art.

A banker and discerning art collector, Max Pellequer began assembling a substantial collection of modernist works as early as the 1920s. In 1920, he married Francine Level, niece of the dealer and businessman André Level. Through the latter, he made the acquaintance of Picasso in 1914. This meeting marked the beginning of an enduring friendship between the two men. Pellequer became not only one of the artist’s closest confidants but also his banker and financial advisor. Over more than thirty years, he acquired from the master a remarkable collection of paintings and sculptures.