Footnotes

Provenance
The Estate of H.M. Petiet, Paris.
Acquired from the above by the current owner.

Literature
Georges Bloch, Catalogue de l'oeuvre gravé et lithographié, Volume I, 1904-1967, Berne, 1968 (Bl.226).
Geiser & Baer, Picasso Peintre-graveur, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre gravé, Volume II, 1932-1934, Berne, 1992 (B.440.III.B.c).


''In front of your copper plate you are always the voyeur. That is why I have engraved so many embracing couples''
PABLO PICASSO

Created in November 1934, this work is one of 100 etchings from
Pablo Picasso's Suite Vollard produced between 1930 and 1937. The
series commissioned and consequentially named after one of the most
influential dealers of European art, Ambroise Vollard, remains one of
Picasso's most celebrated works.

The sombre scene shows a young man gazing at the sleeping form
of a woman, her voluptuous figure illuminated by the soft light of a
candle. The figure, who is thought to resemble Picasso's lover and
muse at the time, Marie-Thérèse Walter, is unaware of her transfixed
male admirer, deep in thought. The etching presents a complex
depiction of iconography and phycological turmoil; the model asleep
was a common motif at the time of Picasso's relationship with MarieThérèse Walter and would reoccur throughout his later works.

The candle that appears in this etching, appears again in one of
Picasso most admired works of art, La Minotauromachie. Held out
in front of her by a girl, the intricate piece is full of symbolic content
while representing both turmoil and hope. In both works, the candle
becomes a powerful focal point within the composition bringing
a sense of hope through the darkness in La Minotauromachie
whilst projecting a feeling of foreboding in Garçon et dormeuse à la
chandelle.

It was around this time that Marie-Thérèse became pregnant, and
some scholars have suggested that this etching was created after
she had broken the news to Picasso. It has been said that the young
man lost in thought could represent Picasso himself and his initial
contemplations on hearing that he was to become a father.