Picasso's 'forgotten muse' returns after more than 80 years.

A portrait of Dora Maar, the muse and lover of the renowned painter Picasso, has just sold for 32 million euros at an auction in Paris after being absent from the public eye for more than 80 years.

The painting Buste de femme au chapeau fleuri (Dora Maar), measuring 80x60cm, was created by Picasso using oil paints - Photo: EPA

The painting titled Buste de femme au chapeau fleuri (Dora Maar) was painted by Picasso in July 1943, during World War II.

According to Reuters , the painting was acquired by a French family in 1944 and kept hidden for decades, meaning the art world only knew about it through a black-and-white photograph from the 1940s.

The painting depicts Dora Maar wearing a brightly colored floral hat, her face distorted in Picasso's characteristic Cubist style.

Critics have noted that the work simultaneously displays a proud beauty and contains complex emotions, reflecting the passionate yet fractured relationship between the Spanish painter and his lover.

Picasso and Dora Maar - Photo: The Times

The auction, held at the Drouot auction house in Paris, attracted a large number of collectors. The hammer price stopped at 27 million euros, and after adding fees, the total value reached over 32 million euros (nearly 978 billion VND). Previously, the painting was only valued at 8 million euros. - Photo: LP

Auctioneer Christophe Lucien said: "Without a doubt, this is Picasso's most moving work featuring his 'muse,' because he was about to leave Dora Maar for the French painter Francoise Gilot."

"And through this portrait, we see a woman trying to hold back tears. So, it's fortunate for an auctioneer to witness such a historically significant work of art firsthand."

This is the first time the public has been able to admire the painting since it disappeared from the art scene in the 1940s.

Dora Maar, whose real name was Henriette Theodora Markovitch, was a French surrealist photographer and painter. She was a major source of inspiration during Picasso's turbulent creative period and documented his work on his masterpiece, Guernica (right), in 1937.

In Picasso's eyes, Dora embodied intellectual beauty and melancholy, emotions often found in his portraits of her.

The reappearance of Buste de femme au chapeau fleuri after more than eight decades is considered a rare event by the art world, not only for its commercial value, but also for its historical significance, as Picasso's "forgotten muse" has finally returned to the public eye.

Art expert Agnes Sevestre-Barbe said the heirs decided to sell the painting because the proceeds could not be divided equally among them.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nang-tho-bi-lang-quen-cua-picasso-tro-lai-sau-hon-80-nam-20251026194117407.htm