Picasso, Pablo, Original Linocut / Linoleum Cut

Joyous and playful in mood and design, this work illustrates the artist’s mastery of skill and technique in printmaking and with drawing as a whole.  Using rich hues and lyrically gestural lines, Picasso gives the viewer a sense of the ease with which he creates his complex compositions.  

Created on January 28, 1967, this color linocut was printed and published by Arnéra, Vallauris on Arches velin paper.  Lettered ‘H.C.’ in the lower left, this work is signed by Picasso in pencil in the lower right and in the plate with the date in the upper left.  

In contrast with his cubist aesthetic, this work features a vibrant, playful assortment of carnival characters dancing and laughing. Picasso uses a rich brown in the background and creates his characters in peach. The images in the frame almost seem to move around and draw the viewer in as one studies at the work.  At first glance, the immense details are not immediately apparent to the viewer.   Upon closer inspection, dancing figures holding hands emerge out of what once just seemed like flowing lines. Exaggerated dancers faces peer in from the bottom corners of the frame.  The lines seem to almost vibrate and undulate, and yet each one purposefully describes and element of the scene.  

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
It is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work) :

1) Bloch, Georges, Pablo Picasso, Tome I, Catalogue de l’oeuvre grave et

   lithographié, 1904-1967, 1984, listed as cat no 1242 on pg 265.

2) Baer, Brigitte, Picasso Peintre-Graveur, Tome VI, Catalogue Raisonné de

   l’oeuvre grave et des monotypes, 1966-1968, listed as cat no 1852 on pg 590.

3) Lieberman, William S., Picasso Linoleum Cuts, 1985, listed as cat no 117 on

   pg 113.

About the Framing:
Conservation framed with archival materials and museum quality, this work is set in a robust, Spanish-style frame with black and gold moulding.  The undulating ribboning of the sculptural elements compliment the loose, linear quality of this work.  The tonality of the moulding contrasts and enhances the hues of this piece.  Completed with white, linen-wrapped mats and a matching, gold inner fillet, this work is set behind a Plexiglas cover.  All materials used in the framing are archival to ensure lasting quality and protection.

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