Pablo Picasso
Man Unveiling a Woman, 1931 (Vollard Suite, B.138)
1931

Name: Man Unveiling a Woman, 1931 (Vollard Suite, B.138)
Brand: Pablo Picasso
Price: 48850 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

"Man Unveiling a Woman" is a drypoint from Picasso's Vollard Suite, image size 14.5 x 11.5 inches, signed 'Picasso' lower right and framed in a Spanish-style, closed-corner, black and gold frame. From the edition of 303, one of the 250 on Montval with the Picasso watermark. Catalogues - Bloch vol. 1 #138; Baer vol. I, #203 LITERATURE B. Geiser, Picasso Peintre-Graveur, Catalogue Raisonné de l’œuvre Gravé et des Monotypes, 1932 – 1934, Switzerland, 1968, Tome I, no. 203 (illustrated) The Vollard Suite takes its name from Ambroise Vollard, the foremost Parisian art dealer of the early twentieth century. From 1893 – 1914, his gallery at 6 Rue Laffitte was the center of the Paris avante-garde, the meeting place of artists and collectors. In time, the publication of prints became one of Vollard’s chief interests and today his publications are considered among the great cultural achievements of the century. The Vollard Suite etchings, reflecting the neoclassical component of Picasso’s work, span the years between 1930 and 1936 with themes that include the “Battle of Love,” “The Sculptor’s Studio,” “Rembrandt,” “The Minotaur,” and “The Blind Minotaur,” plus, 27 non-grouped sheets and 3 portraits of Vollard. They are also a reflection of Picasso’s crucial and developing relationship with the highly skilled master printer, Roger Lacouriere. The technical complexity of the prints increased in the later years, most notably with the inclusion of the sugar-lift aquatint technique which Picasso learned from Lacouriere, and which allowed for subtle tonal variations, and a painterly effect. Like bookends, the Vollard Suite from the thirties and the 347 Series from the end of his life represent the first and last of Picasso’s major printmaking achievements. The Vollard Suite represents Picasso’s superb exploration of classicism. Many of the themes that reveal Picasso’s obsessions (the Minotaur, the story of Pygmalion) are first revealed at length in the Vollard Suite. These sheets seem to explore both Picasso’s sense of empowerment (related to his new mistress, Marie-Therese, and his success as an artist) and his emotional tribulations (the situation between Olga, he, and Marie-Therese as well as the developments in Spain and Europe). Suite 347 on the other hand shows Picasso in an introspective, at times confessional, frame of mind, as he reviews his life, his failing powers, and his place in history with both irony and ribald humor.

Creator:

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973, Spanish)

Creation Year:

1931

Dimensions:

Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 25.5 in (64.77 cm)

Medium:

Paper,Drypoint

Movement & Style:

Modern

Period:

20th Century