Description:Created on January 29, 1970, this work is an intaglio, dry-point etching created from an engraved, transparent Rhodoïd plastic (similar to Plexiglas only with a celluloid, non-combustible base) and painted in black ink. Annotated E.A. (epreuve d’artiste, or artist’s proof) in pencil in the lower left margin and hand signed by Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973) in red pencil in the lower right margin. Date in the plate in the upper right, ‘le 29.1.70’ (or, January 29, 1970). This Rhodoïd plate was originally given to writer Charles Feld as an illustration for his book, Picasso, Vallauris et les enfants (Edition La Farnadole, 1970); no numbered edition of this plate was known to exist, only a limited number of artist’s proofs were created. Featuring a clearly defined plate mark with full margins on all sides.
This playful and expressive portrait is a testament to Picasso’s range and genius as a master of creative printmaking. Each line and stroke has a distinct purpose and character, adding to his subject’s personality and disposition. Here, we see a middle-aged man, giving us a subtle grin, with his eyes holding our gaze in a charismatic and lighthearted manner. His goatee, eyebrows, and hairline all add to a hilarity of expression; Picasso’s acute sense of bringing out the most charming qualities of the friends and family he depicts is also a testament of the artist’s own manner of connecting with both his audience and his portraits.
PROVENANCE:
~ From the estate of Roland Balay, New York
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. Baer, B. (1996). Picasso, Peintre-Graveur Tome VII: Catalogue Raisonné de l’œuvre grave 1969 – 1972. Editions Kornfeld: Berne. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 2024 on pg. 282.
2. The Online Picasso Project, Texas A&M University. Dr. Enrique Mallen, 2007. http://picasso.csdl.tamu.edu/picasso/. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. OPP.70:159.
About the Framing:
Conservation framed in a beautiful and decorative gold and bronze moulding. The delicate organic shapes within the frame are the perfect compliment to this beautiful work. Framing is completed with white, linen-wrapped mats, a matching gold inner fillet, set behind an archival Plexiglas® cover. All materials are museum quality and archival.
