''Jeune Fille Endormie'' is a 1935

oil on canvas Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest o ...

painting by Spanish painter

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

depicting his model and lover,

Marie-Thérèse Walter Marie-Thérèse Walter (13 July 1909 – 20 October 1977) was a French model and lover of Pablo Picasso from 1927 to about 1935 and the mother of their daughter Maya Widmaier-Picasso. Their relationship began when she was seventeen years old; he ...

, as she slept. It was sold at Christie's auction house in London in 2011 for nearly £13.5 million after being donated to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

by an anonymous American donor.

Background

''Jeune Fille Endormie'' is rarely seen in public. The only time it has been previously available for viewing was in 1939 when owner Walter P. Chrysler Jr. lent it to the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York City for a retrospective of Picasso's work. It was donated to the

by an anonymous American donor and was sent to be sold at Christie's auction house in London in June 2011. While it was expected to sell for up to £12 million, it actually sold for nearly £13.5 million, with the proceeds going toward a A$400m (£260m) research center. The donor had made his donation conditional upon the painting being immediately sold with proceeds going toward research; he delivered it personally, having flown from overseas with the painting in his hand-luggage. An additional ten paintings were also donated, along with items of jewelry. Tim Dolan, director of development for the university reported that as the donor handed over the painting, he said, "When you own a valuable painting like this, it sort of owns you back. For the first time in a long, long while, I finally feel free."

Description

''Jeune Fille Endormie'' is one of many paintings Picasso made of his lover,

. It is tightly focused on the sleeping head of Marie-Thérèse, with her body painted in an incandescent array of colors. It was completed and signed by Picasso on 3 February 1935. The painting is signed by Picasso on the upper left and measures 46.3 cm x 55 cm.

References

{{Pablo Picasso Paintings by Pablo Picasso 1935 paintings Portraits of women