Lithograph on wove paper
France, 1953
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) – Spanish Cubist painter and printmaker
‘Portrait of Max Jacob’ (frontispiece) from the illustrated book ‘Chronique des Temps Héroïques’
Signed in red crayon lower right ‘Picasso’
Numbered in pencil lower left ‘IV/X’
Signed, inscribed and dated in stone ‘Picasso 23.9.53.’
Printed by Desiobert, Paris
Published by Louis Broder, Paris
Cramer 78
Full margins with deckled edges; framed and matted, floating in mat
Image dimensions: 9 ½ x 7 in. (24.1 x 17.8 cm.)
Sheet dimensions: 19 ½ x 12 ¾ in. (49.5 x 32.4 cm.)
Overall dimensions: 36 ¼ x 30 ¼ in. (92.1 x 76.8 cm.)
Very good condition

Max Jacob was a French writer and one of the first friends Picasso made in Paris and helped Pablo learn French. Sharing a room with Jacob, Picasso was introduced to a new circle of friends, eventually meeting George Braque, Jean Cocteau and Amodeo Modigliani. Almost immediately recognizable in this lithograph is Max Jacobs’ notable bald head, something he shared with Picasso. Jacob died 10 years before Picasso created this illustrated book after a life-long friendship.

This lithograph was executed as the frontispiece for illustrated book ‘Chronique des Temps Héroïques’ an homage to Max Jacob. Published by the famed French poster publisher Louis Broder in Paris in 1953 this print is signed in red crayon and numbered in pencil in the lower margin and measures 19 ½ x 12 ¾ inches. It is in overall good condition with no stains, toning, tears or repairs.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)

A prolific and tireless innovator of art forms, Pablo Picasso impacted the course of 20th-century art with unparalleled magnitude. Inspired by Primitivism and developments in the world around him, Picasso contributed significantly to a number of artistic movements, notably Cubism, Surrealism, Neoclassicism, and Expressionism. Along with Georges Braque, Picasso is best known for pioneering Cubism in an attempt to reconcile three-dimensional space with the two-dimensional picture plane. Picasso’s sizable oeuvre includes over 50,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, theater sets, and costume designs which can be found in public and private collections worldwide.