Ring designed by Picasso for his angry lover to be sold at auction
A RING designed and crafted by Pablo Picasso to appease his angry lover is expected to fetch up to £500,000 at an auction this month.
The artist gifted the jewellery to his muse, painter and poet Dora Maar, after she impulsively threw her own ring into the River Seine during a lovers’ tiff in the 1930s.
Picasso was said to be angry she had persuaded him to swap a piece of artwork for the cabochon ruby ring, so she took it off her finger and launched it into the water.
Feeling guilty, Picasso created a replacement featuring her portrait, which she kept until her death in 1997.
It is going under the hammer at the Sotheby’s Actual Size sale on June 21 following the sale of her estate.
Curator Thomas Bompard said: “Picasso has depicted a world on a scale so intimate you can hold an entire artistic vision on your finger.
“Sometimes the smallest of things can contain a universe of thought and emotion, and so it is with this ring – an intimate piece that allows us a captivating glimpse into secrets that might otherwise not be shared.”
Meanwhile, comedian Billy Connolly has said he is “overjoyed” with three giant murals in his honour. The tribute portraits have been created in his native city of Glasgow to mark the Big Yin’s 75th birthday.
Visiting the murals, he said: “I’m truly amazed at the effect these have had on me. They’ve just completely stunned me.
“I thought I’d be all light-hearted on seeing them and jokey – but they’re so big – the effect on me is so profound. You know, people going to that length for me, it’s just taken my breath away.
“I’m just flabbergasted, overjoyed, it’s been a brilliant experience – being painted and otherwise by these genius people taking the time to do it. It just takes my breath away, I love it.”
The murals are more than 50ft high.