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Portrait of a Doctor c.1935–1947, by Francis Picabia – Tate Papers | Tate

tate.org.uk · 6,647 words · saved by 1 readers

Portrait of a Doctor is actually two paintings: one was painted on top of the other at a later date. This paper reveals the very different techniques Picabia used to make the two iterations of the painting, and that the first version developed from his earlier ‘transparency’ series. Picabia’s choice of materials is also discussed in relation to the date at which the work was re-painted, which remains open to speculation. Fig.1 Francis Picabia Portrait of a Doctor c.1935–1947 92 cm x 72.8 cm Tate T05804 © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2017 Portrait of a Doctor (fig.1) is thought to have been begun around 1935 and was painted in two distinct campaigns separated by a number of years. Photographs of the painting exist in the album of the artist’s second wife, Olga Mohler Picabia, and show a disarmingly simple portrait of a pensive figure pointing to a table bearing a skull in the manner of a memento mori. It was exhibited in Chicago in 1936 but without critical and commercial success, whic

ISSN 1753-9854 Portrait of a Doctor c.1935–1947, by Francis Picabia Annette King, Joyce H. Townsend and Bronwyn Ormsby Portrait of a Doctor is actually two paintings: one was painted on top of the other at a later date. This paper reveals the very different techniques Picabia used to make the two iterations of the painting, and that the first version developed from his earlier ‘transparency’ series. Picabia’s choice of materials is also discussed in relation to the date at which the work was re-painted, which remains open to speculation. Fig.1 Francis Picabia Portrait of a Doctor c.1935–1947 9

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