PICASSO rejoices in the "Negro sculptures" in the presence of COCTEAU.

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Autographed letter signed to Jean Cocteau.

One large octavo page in brown ink. Unpublished letter.
Rome. Hotel de Russie. April 24, 1917.

"I found a museum in Rome (full of African sculptures) that nobody here knew about."

Staying in Rome for the preparations of the ballet Parade – written by Jean Cocteau – Picasso rejoiced with his friend in the Italian dolce vita and the “Negro sculptures” discovered in a museum in the eternal city.

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"My dear Jean, I am back in Rome. I am walking around all day in the sun. The men are working. I found a museum in Rome (full of African sculptures) that no one here knew about. Write to me as you have done until now. Yours truly, Picasso"

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Pablo Picasso first set foot in Italy, in Rome, in February 1917. Jean Cocteau had asked him to accompany him to work on the production of the ballet Parade , inspired by one of his poems; Picasso was in charge of designing the sets. The piece was to be staged by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, whose company was based in Rome.

This Italian journey (Rome, Naples, Pompeii) was a kind of initiatory journey for Picasso who, in addition to the "Negro sculptures" mentioned here, discovered, fascinated, the works of the Italian Renaissance in situ which inspired him to create a monumental painting: the stage curtain of Parade , a true visual signature of the ballet, marking the beginning of his neo-classical period (work now kept at the Centre Pompidou).

It was also in Rome that Picasso met the artist Olga Khokhlova, who was rehearsing the role of Felicita in the studios on Piazza Venezia. Captivated by her beauty, the artist began a persistent courtship of the woman who became his wife in July 1918.

Finally, it should be noted that Picasso had created a portrait of his friend Cocteau a few days earlier in Rome, on Easter Sunday 1917 (also kept at the Centre Pompidou).

Provenance: Ange Teodori Collection, then private collection.