pablo picasso - catalogue

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P U C K E R G A L L E RY • B O S T O N

Pablo Picasso | Selections from the Vollard Suite

Minotaure Aveugle Guidé par Une Petite Fille au Pigeon, 1934

Etching on Montval paper with Picasso watermark, Unsigned Edition of 260 9 5/16 x 11 3/4” Bloch 224, Baer 436 IV B.d.

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Picasso’s Life

Pablo Picasso is best known as one of the most influential painters in the history of art. Born in �88� in Málaga, Spain, Picasso was the son of academic painter José Ruiz y Blasco and exhibited artistic talent at an early age. This talent was encouraged and developed at Barcelona’s academy of fine arts, La Lonja, in �985. Picasso’s first exhibition took place in Barcelona in �900. Soon after, in �90�, the artist relocated to Paris where he met art dealer, critic, and collector Ambroise Vollard as well as Max Jacob and André Breton.

Picasso’s oeuvre can be broken down into a number of different periods. The Blue Period began in �90�, lasted through �904, and was followed by the Rose Period (�905) and a group of works influenced by African art. Cubism followed (ca. �908-�9��), evolving from an Analytic phase to its Synthetic phase (beginning in �9��–��) and it was during this period that Picasso was most significant in the radical re-structuring of the way that a work of art constructs its meaning. In �9�6, the artist began to collaborate on ballet and theatrical productions. Soon thereafter, his work was character-ized by elements of neoclassicism and a renewed interest in drawing and figural representation.

In �9�8, Picasso married dancer Olga Khokhlova and together they lived in Paris and traveled frequently. From �9�5 to the �9�0s Picasso was involved to a certain degree with the Surrealists, and in the fall of �9�� he became especially interested in making sculpture. In �9��, with large exhibitions at the Galeries Georges Petit in Paris and the Kunsthaus in Zürich, and the publication of the first volume of Christian Zervos’s catalogue raisonné, Picasso’s fame increased markedly.

By �9�6 the Spanish Civil War had profoundly affected Picasso, the expression of which culminated in his painting Guernica (�9�7, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid). Picasso’s association with the Communist Party began in �944. From the late �940s he lived in the south of France. Among the enormous number of exhibitions that were held during the artist’s lifetime, those at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in �9�9 and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, in �955 were most significant. In �96� the artist married Jacqueline Roque, and they moved to Mougins, France, where Picasso continued his prolific work in painting, drawing, prints, ceramics, and sculpture until his death in �97�.

The History of the Vollard Suite

Picasso’s long relationship with Ambroise Vollard began soon after his move to Paris in �90� when Vollard arranged the artist’s first Paris show. Vollard was an influential and intuitive art dealer who also worked with Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

In �9�6, Picasso agreed to give Vollard a group of 97 printing plates created since �9�0 and the rights to publish them in exchange for two paintings, a Cézanne and a Renior. In early �9�7, Picasso completed three portraits of Vollard, making the completed suite a group of one hundred plates.

With Vollard’s sudden death in �9�9, the project was interrupted and the completed works remained in his apartment until the mid-�940s when they were purchased by print dealer Henri Petiet. In the �950s, Petiet began to pay Picasso to sign some of the prints, sending batches of one or two hundred prints at a time.

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This arrangement ended in the late �960s when the artist began to work on a new series, leaving many prints unsigned. Very few editions were actually sold as a complete set and, of those that were, many have since been broken up.

Imagery in the Vollard Suite

Since Picasso’s original intention for these works was not for them to be combined into a suite and the plates were only brought together for Ambroise Vollard, there isn’t a single theme that dominates the prints. It can, however, be argued that most of the one hundred visually vibrant and emotionally incisive works are either blatantly or surreptitiously autobiographical.

A large number of the works in the Vollard Suite are characterized by Neoclassical elements and subject matter. This theme was probably inspired by Picasso’s travels to Rome, Florence, and Naples. As a result of these trips and his �9�0s illustrations for Ovid’s Metamorphoses, many of the works are mythological. The Minotaur repeatedly appears in the Suite in various states of emotion, often acting as an alter ego for the artist.

A second theme in many of the plates, particularly those created between March and May of �9��, is the sculptor in his studio which directly reflects the artist’s �9�� purchase of a chateau near Gisors, where he devoted himself to sculpture. Often classical statues surround the sculptor in these prints, once again exploring his interest in the Neoclassical.

Of course, one of the most present themes throughout the Suite is the women with whom Picasso was intimately involved, particularly his mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter. These relationships are evident in most of the plates in the Vollard Suite, illustrating the connections and competitions that Picasso had with the women and the conflicts that the artist imagined between the women.

Picasso’s Printing Techniques

Picasso’s influence on twentieth century art extends beyond his painting career – the artist was a very accomplished and inspired printmaker.

Printer Roger Lacourière was responsible for the printing of all of the Picasso plates in the Vollard Suite and also taught the artist a number of printing and engraving techniques. Most of the intaglio prints in the suite are etchings or drypoint on watermarked Montval paper, usually in editions of �60.

Drypoint is a method of printmaking in which a sharp instrument is used to scratch a groove directly into a metal plate. When the metal plate is inked and paper is pressed against the surface, the resulting line has a rich velvety quality. As this process is repeated and the plate is worn, the lines become less defined in later prints.

When etching, the plate is first covered with an acid- resistant ground and the image is incised into the ground with an etching needle. When the plate is dipped into acid, the solution only bites into the incised areas. When the plate is inked, the ink is captured in the bitten areas and, when pressed into paper, the incised design is transferred to the paper.

Picasso also used aquatint in latter plates of the Suite – a more graphic method of etching which produces a richly textured result. Rather than scratch the ground away, the printmaker paints an acid-resistant substance onto the plate and repeatedly dips the plate into acid. The longer the plate has been submerged, the deeper the acid bites and the more ink the plate will hold, creating a darker imprint. By covering different areas at different stages, there is a variation in the darkness of the print. The resulting images are less linear than etchings and drypoint prints.

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Pablo Picasso dominated �0th-century European art and was central to the development of the image of the modern artist. Episodes of his personal life were recounted in intimate detail, his comments on art were published, and his working methods recorded on film. Painting was his principal medium, but his sculptures, prints, theatre designs, ceramics and cinematic endeavors all had an impact on their respective disciplines. Even artists not influenced by the style of his work had to come to terms with its implications. During his long life Picasso instigated or responded to most of the artistic dialogues taking place in Europe and North America, registering and transforming the developments that he found most interesting.

His marketability as a unique and enormously productive artistic personality, together with the distinctiveness of his work and methodology, have made him the most extensively exhibited and discussed artist of the �0th-century. The Vollard Suite is an integral part of the sizeable and diverse body of work that Picasso created in his lifetime, illustrating his impressive mastery of printmaking techniques, his attention to the multiple meanings of a work, and his understanding of the potential power of art.

– Kate LincolnPucker Gallery, Boston

This exhibition is presented in cooperation with John Szoke Editions, New York.

Sculpteur avec un Groupe Sculpte (Hommage a Carpeaux), 1934

Etching on Montval paper with Picasso watermark, Unsigned Edition of 260 8 7/8 x 12 5/16” Bloch 217, Baer 421 B.d.

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Le Repos du Minotaure: Champagne et Amante, 1933


|7Femme au Voile, Modele Assis et Tete de Rembrandt, 1934

Etching on Montval paper with Vollard watermark, Unsigned Edition of 260 10 7/8 x 7 3/4” Bloch 215, Baer 414 B.d.

8|Femme nue Assise Devant un Rideau, 1931

Etching with a Picasso watermark, Unsigned Edition of 260 12 1/8 x 8 3/4” Bloch 137, Baer 202 B.d.

|9Homme Dévoilant une Femme, 1931

Drypoint on Montval paper with Vollard watermark, Signed Edition of 260 14 3/8 x 11 3/4” Bloch 138, Baer 203 II B.d.

�0|Femme nue Devant une Statue, 1931


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Sculpteur au Repos avec son Modele Anemones et Petit Torse (Le Repos du Sculpteur Devant le Petit Torse), 1933

Etching on Montval paper with Vollard watermark, UnsignedEdition of 2607 5/8 x 10 1/2”Bloch 162, Baer 315 B.d.

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Sculpteurs, Modèles et Sculpture, 1933

Etching on Montval paper, Signed Edition of 50 with large margins 10 1/2 x 7 5/8” Bloch 149, Baer 301 B.d.

|��Deux Femmes Regardant une Tete Sculptée (Duex Modèles Vetus), 1933


�4|Sculpteur, Modèle, Sculpture et Poisson Rouge, 1933

Etching on Montval paper with Montgolfier watermark, Unsigned Edition of 50 with large margins 10 1/2 x 7 5/8” Bloch 152, Baer 304 II B.c.

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Vieux Sculpteur et Jeune Modele Avec le Portrait Sculpted du Modele, 1933

Etching on Montval paper with Montgolfier watermark, SignedEdition of 50 with large margins7 5/8 x 10 1/2”Bloch 172, Baer 325 B.c.

�6|Jeune Sculpteur Finissant un Platre, 1933


|�7Sculpteur au Repos avec Modèle Demasque et sas Representation Sculptee, 1933


�8|Sculpteur au Repos avec Marie-Therese et sa Representation en Venus Pudique, 1933

Etching on Montval paper with Montgolfier watermark, Signed Edition of 50 with large margins 10 1/2 x 7 5/8” Bloch 160, Baer 313 B.c.

|�9Rembrandt Tenant par la Main une Jeune Femme au Voile, 1934

Etching on Montval paper, Unsigned Edition of 50 with large margins 10 15/16 x 7 13/16” Bloch 214, Baer 413 B.c.

�0|Flûtiste et Jeune Fille au Tambourin, 1934

Etching and drypoint on Montval paper with Picasso watermark, Signed Edition of 260 10 15/16 x 7 13/16” Bloch 213, Baer 412 B.d.

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Garcon Pensif Veillant une Dormeuse à la Lumiere d’une Chandelle, 1934

Etching, drypoint and aquatint on Montval paper with Picasso watermark, Signed Edition of 260 9 5/16 x 11 11/16” Bloch 226, Baer 440 III. B.d.

��|Femme au Fauteuil Songeuse la Joue Sur la Main, 1934


|��Sculpteur et Modèle se Regardant Dans un Miroir Cale Sur un Autoportrait Sculpte, 1933

Etching on Montval paper with Vollard watermark, Signed Edition of 260 14 7/16 x 11 3/4” Bloch 178, Baer 331 B.d.

�4|Marie-Therese Regardant son Corps Sculpte, 1933

Etching on Monval paper with Picasso watermark, Unsigned Edition of 260 10 9/16 x 7 9/16” Bloch 186, Baer 345 IV B.d.

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Harpye a Tete de Taureau et Quatre Petites Filles Sur une Tour Surmontee d’un Drapeau Noir, 1934


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Minotaure et Remme Derrière un Rideau, 1933

Etching on Montval paper, Unsigned Edition of 260 7 5/8 x 10 1/2” Bloch 199, Baer 367 B.d.

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Autoportrait Sous Trois Formes: Peintre Couronne, Sculpteur en Buste et Minotaure Amoureux, 1933

Etching on Montval paper, Signed Edition of 50 with large margins 11 3/4 x 14 1/2” Bloch 191, Baer 350 B.c.

�8|Au Bain Femme au Chapeau a Fleurs et Femme Drapée Dans une Serviette, 1934


|�9Jeune Bacchus au Tambourin avec une Bacchante, 1934

Etching with Picasso watermark, Unsigned Edition of 260 10 15/16 x 7 13/16” Bloch 212, Baer 411 B.d.

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Sculpteur et con Modele avec un Buste sur une Colonne, 1933

Etching on Montval paper with Montgolfier watermark, UnsignedEdition of 50 with large margins7 5/8 x 10 1/2”Bloch 169, Baer 322 B.c.

Le Repos du Sculpteur, 1933

Etching on Montval paper with Picasso watermark, UnsignedEdition of 2607 5/8 x 10 1/2”Bloch 171, Baer 324 B.d.

|��Scupteur avec son Modèle et sa Sculpture, 1933

Etching on Montval paper with Vollard watermark, UnsignedEdition of 26010 1/2 x 7 5/8”Bloch 154, Baer 307 B.d.

�9 July – � September �008Opening Reception: �9 July �:00-6:00 pm

P U c K E R G a l l E RY �7� Newbury StreetBoston, MA 0��6Phone: 6�7.�67.947�Fax: 6�7.4�4.9759E-mail: [email protected]

This catalogue and other Gallery publications can be viewed at www.puckergallery.com.

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A D D R E S S S E R V I C E S R E q U E S T E D .

CreditsDesign: Deborah McSorley KeryEditors: Kate Lincoln and Destiny M. BarlettaImages courtesy of John Szoke Editions, New York

© 2008, Pucker Art PublicationsPrinted in China by Cross Blue Overseas Printing Co.

Cover Image:Marie-Thérèse Considérant son Effifie Surréaliste Sculptée, 1933 Etching on Montval paper with a Vollard watermark, UnsignedEdition of 26010 9/16 x 7 9/16”Bloch 187, Baer 346 B.d.

Vieux Sculpteur Crec Avec Modele Vase Aux Trois Anemones et Autoportraits Sculpte (Le Repos Du Sculpteur IV), 1933Etching on Montval paper with Picasso watermark, UnsignedEdition of 2607 5/8 x 10 1/2”Bloch 174, Baer 327 B.d.Bloch 174 Baer 327 B.d.


pablo picasso - catalogue

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