Les Noces de Pierrette

Les Noces de Pierrette (English:The marriage of Pierrette) is a 1905 painting by the Spanish artist and sculptor Pablo Picasso. While belonging chronologically to Picasso's Rose Period, it is artistically characteristic of the Blue Period, when the artist faced poverty and depression following the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas in 1901.

The painting was acquired in 1907 by Josef Stránský, an art dealer and a friend of Picasso's. From 1945 to 1962, the painting was owned by Picasso's son Paulo Picasso.

The painting was owned by Joan Whitney Payson, and it was consigned by her daughter, Lorinda de Roulet. The painting was owned by the Swedish investment banker and mecenat Fredrik Roos when it was sold at Binoche et Godeau in Paris on November 30, 1989. The buyer, Tomonori Tsurumaki, a real-estate developer, investment banker and owner of Autopolis racetrack, purchased the painting for the sum of $51,670,000, making it one of the world's most expensive paintings.

With the collapse of Tsurumaki's company, Nippon Tri-Trust, the painting ended up in the hands of the construction company Hazama, which had constructed Tsurumaki's racetrack. Hazama, having run into financial difficulties, put the painting up as collateral when the firm took a loan from Lake Credit Company. Thus, Lake Credit Company came into possession of Les Noces de Pierrette. When Lake Credit Company sold its stake in the mainline consumer loan business to GE Capital, Les Noces de Pierrette (along with 500 other paintings worth approximately $200 million) became the property of GE Capital. Presently, Les Noces de Pierrette is secured in the vault of Mitsui Trust Bank.

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