PABLO PICASSO

(1881-1973)

Jeune Sculpteur au travail, from La Suite Vollard, 1933

Footnotes

Literature
Georges Bloch, Catalogue de l'oeuvre gravé et lithographié, Volume I, 1904-1967, Berne, 1968 (Bl.156).
Geiser & Baer, Picasso Peintre-graveur, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre gravé, Volume II, 1932-1934, Berne, 1992 (B.309.B.d).

The Suite Vollard is regarded as one of Picassos' greatest printmaking
achievements. It was commissioned by, and named in honour of,
Ambroise Vollard, one of the most influential art dealers of the late
19th and early 20th centuries, who had given the young Picasso his
first exhibition in Paris in 1901 and would play a fundamental role
in the artist's career. Their close association meant that no formal
contract was drawn up for the suite. Instead, Vollard agreed to give
Picasso two paintings by Renoir and Cézanne in exchange for the
copperplates.

The suite is composed of 100 etchings executed between 1930 and
1937. Vollard may have been proposing to publish the collection as a
book, which would explain the large edition size of 50 on large paper
and 260 on small paper. Rather than illustrating one subject, Picasso
explored several themes of particular interest to him: the sculptor's
studio, the battle of love, Rembrandt, the Minotaur and the blind
Minotaur. There were also three portraits of Vollard.

The auction contains both signed and unsigned impressions. The
plan was for the whole edition to be signed by Picasso, but this task
was never completed, due mainly to the untimely death of Ambroise
Vollard in a car crash in July 1939. At this point, Picasso had only
signed a few impressions. The Parisian art dealer, Henri Petiet,
purchased the prints and took on the task of publishing the edition
and Picasso agreed to sign one complete set of the suite. Petiet
began sending Picasso packages containing 100 or 200 prints at a
time for him to sign, paying the artist 100 francs per signature, but
eventually Picasso abandoned the practice and it is not recorded
exactly how many impressions were signed.

The series was a tour de force, exploring the themes of artistic
creativity, ambition, sexuality and obsession through classical and
mythological references. The extended period of execution meant
that events in Picasso's personal life and concerns arising from world
events, such as the rise in fascism and the outbreak of civil war in
Spain, were absorbed into the creation of the etchings, so it can be
viewed as an autobiographical work, with a historical and political
resonance.