On May 20, 2020, an Italian woman won the Pablo Picasso painting titled “Nature morte,” worth 1 million euros. The painting was a prize of a charity raffle held in Paris, France, to raise money for water projects in Africa. Participants purchased 100 euro lottery tickets to enter the raffle.
“Nature morte” was painted in 1921 and is an abstracted still life featuring a table, newspapers, and a glass of absinthe. The charity raffle was held at Christie’s auction house in Paris. Christie’s is one of the largest collectors of Picasso’s work.
In the 1920s, Picasso was delving into Neoclassicism, gravitating back towards more traditional naturalistic subjects, like the still life. While maintaining his deconstructed abstraction, Picasso combines his prolific artistic style and neoclassical subjects.
Read more about Picasso's artistic style periods and his inspiration.