In the portrait, Picasso draws on the bright summer light, rendering Marie-Thérèse in vibrant, sweeping colours. She is depicted at rest, her arms overlapping on top of a pillow. Her face, tilted back, is tranquil and her body slack with sleep. With the curves of her figure occupying most of the canvas, Picasso offers a deeply personal and intimate view of his lover.
‘He paints these three glowing portraits, each of which shows her in a slightly different manner,’ says Carter. ‘He’s working at speed and working on the three canvases concurrently, so he’s using some of the same colours, but he’s really heightened them in the Reitman portrait. He’s softened and rounded the forms in the sinuous lines of her hair and her figure.’
An ‘amazing, joyous oasis’
Purchased by Reitman in 1992, this painting speaks to the broader ethos underpinning the famous director’s art collection. Throughout his life and his career, Reitman drew on humour and positivity to probe deeper questions of humanity. As someone dedicated to optimism and the magic of possibility, the appeal of this portrait is evident, heightened only by the backstory of its unexpected creation.
