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La Vie, 1903
La Vie is another so called exorcism painting. It depicts two females, one who is naked and in a partial embrace with her lover, and the other, clothed and carrying a baby in her arms. Between them stands the artist Casagemas pointing at the baby. In the background are two canvases, one shows a grieving couple and the other a crumpled figure in a state of misery. From the preparatory studies for this painting it becomes evident that the depicted artist was originally Picasso, whose lover appears heavily pregnant.
La Vie, 1903

In one of the studies, the male figure, who is identifiable with Picasso, has upraised arms in a gesture of crucifixion. There are compositional elements in the 1934 drawing which are without doubt reworkings of the imagery in "La Vie". The depicted artist in the drawing is positioned between two female figures and confronted by a pregnancy. He is also pointing his finger in the direction of his pregnant lover. Although these pregnancy motifs are not immediately apparent, they are alluded to in the drawing by the female on the left holding her slightly convex belly and by the concealed baby's bottle in the upper centre of the drawing.

Baby

In both La Vie and the 1934 Drawing, the figures appear to be victims of their attraction for each other. Likewise, on the right in each composition, there appears a threat, in the guise of an aggrieved partner exposing the act of infidelity. In "La Vie," the female on the right, may even be a gloomy vision of the future.

Attachments...
JPG image (25 K) La Vie, 1903
JPG image (16 K) Baby
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