Pablo Picasso- Le Peintre (after)
Collotype with pochoir in colors, on Arches- cadastre paper(with Watermark), 1963
Hand signed in blue crayon; Picasso and bearing an extensive dedication by hand in blue crayon: "Pour Henri Creuzevault, le 23.7.64, Picasso” (the second e inserted in pencil)
Numbered "8/12 H. C.” In pencil. One of 12 hors commerce (H.C.), apart from the edition of 350 prints
On the verso, bottom right, the stamp of the publisher Guy Spitzer with the mention "8/12 H. C." added in blue ballpoint pen and with the blindstamp of Spitzer.
Image size: 76.2 x 59.7 cm (30 x 23 1/2 in.)
Paper size: 98.1 x 74.6 cm . (38 5/8 x 29 3/8 in.)
Frame size: 122.0 x 102.0 cm (48 x 40.1 in.)
Provenance: Collection of Colette Creuzevault.
In beautiful original condition with deep, bright colors and full margins. Slight undulations and very faint spots at the margins (see last picture). Two strips of old traces of adhesive at the upper edge. Otherwise a very beautiful impression of this large print.
Literature: Susan Greenberg Fisher, Picasso and the Allure of Language, Yale University Art Museum, New Haven, 2009, illustrated p. 230
Framed to museum standard in a handmade wooden frame with gold and 99% uv-resistant museum glass.
This print is based after Picasso’s oil on canvas, Le Peintre, from March 30, 1963, listed in Volume XXIII of Christian Zervos’ catalogue raisonné no. 198, p. 93.
It is common to use the term ‘after’ when referring to prints that were created based on an already existing painting. Picasso painted the oil on canvas referenced above and then worked with a master printmaker/publisher (Guy Spitzer) to reproduce the print in order to sell commercially. It is done with the artist’s involvement and final hand signature on the work.
Picasso took the project further, spending two weeks heavily embellishing 29 of the prints with gouache and ink to create a new series of unique works (see Zervos Volume XXIV, nos. 215-243) creating a cast of new painters. These subjects, some sporting a large straw hat and beard, begin to resemble Vincent van Gogh; others appear in Picasso’s distinctive striped shirt and all with exaggerated hands.
