A Picasso painting “Fillette à la corbeille fleurie” subjected a nude young girl has kicked up a controversy as it sold for $115 million at Christie’s auction house on Tuesday night.
Breaking several world auction records, the purchase has been described by some experts experts as “the sale of the century”.
The canvas, painted by the Malaga-born artist in 1905, was sold during a three-day sale of iconic art pieces from the collection of the late Peggy and David Rockefeller.
On the first night of bidding resulted in $646 million in sales which include items from 19th- and 20th-century artists like Juan Gris, Paul Gauguin, Edouard Manet, Henri Matisse and Claude Monet. But the highest bid went for “Fillette à la corbeille fleurie” which was $115.
Though the true identity of the portrayed girl is still unknown, the painter refer the girl as Linda who lived on the “mean streets” of Paris’ bohemian Montmartre district. Also she supported herself financially through sex work and flower sales and posing for other artists, including Amedeo Modigliani and Kees van Dongen.
According to a report, Linda’s is a paradoxical position many women deemed ‘muses’ occupy, their images iconic and their identities irrelevant.
“For centuries, women like Linda, who pose for and collaborate with powerful male artists, have been seen but not heard, objectified rather than humanized”, said a reporter.
>Shatabdi Sarker Poushi
