©Pablo Picasso - Portrait of Bibi la Puree 1901
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Portrait of Bibi la Puree 1901
oil/canvas
Private Collection
The image is only being used for informational and educational purposes
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From the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London:
This arresting portrait of Bibi la Purée, a famous reprobate in turn-of-the century Paris, was painted by the 20-year-old Picasso when he returned to Paris in 1901 to prepare his first exhibition in the city at Galerie Vollard.
Bibi la Purée was a picturesque figure in the bohemian circles of Montmartre and the Latin Quarter. A former actor turned vagabond, he was affable and eccentric and survived by shining shoes, stealing umbrellas and drinking absinthe. He occasionally acted as private secretary to the poet Paul Verlaine, who dedicated a sonnet to his friend. Picasso probably met the ragged dandy in the brasseries and seedy bars they both haunted, and would have been fascinated by his elderly, grimacing features. The portrait is brushed in broad, gestural strokes vigorously applied, which capture Bibi’s grin with uncompromising energy. This expressionistic treatment, combined with Picasso’s use of harsh colours, enhances the tramp’s grotesque energy.