Oil paintings by Picasso from 1948 are relatively uncommon. At this time PicassoÂ’s chosen subjects were portraits of his partner François Gilot, their son Claude, and still life. These paintings share a flat angularity and are more brightly coloured than the sombre palette employed during the War years. In Nature Morte au Poron the elements of the still life - a lemon, a lobster and a ‘poronÂ’ (from porrón - a traditional Spanish wine pitcher) – have been placed on a table, tipped towards the picture plane in typical cubist device. Lobsters and crabs were a subject often used by the artist, while he employed the porrón as a sexually charged symbol as early as 1906.

Provenance

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris by 1949; Svensk-Franska Konstgalleriet, Stockholm by 1953; Gerard Bonnier, Stockholm; Galerie Beyeler, Basel; Private Collection, New York; James Goodman Gallery, New York by 1981; private collection, Europe; Sotheby's, 2