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Introduction - Installation at
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Forty rare “before steel facing” etchings by the 20th century master, Pablo Picasso, are featured in a new exhibition organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions. Picasso follows Rembrandt, Durer and Goya, in extending and developing the etching tradition. Etching was the favorite printmaking method of these masters, and was especially favored by Picasso. Picasso’s principal biographer, John Richardson, describes the themes of Picasso’s late drawings and prints as follows: “As a result of an ulcer operation in November 1965, Picasso had given up traveling and become something of a recluse. Except for his wife Jacqueline, her daughter Catherine, the Bresnus [his chauffeur and the chauffeur’s spouse] and a few professional associates (notably the Crommelynck brothers who worked on his prints), he saw very few people. To extend the cast of characters in his imagery, Picasso was obliged to invoke figures from his past as well as from his pantheon of favorite painters. Hence, former mistresses, Barcelona whores, harlequins and circus folk from the Rose period rub shoulders with personages from the work of Raphael, Rembrandt, Goya, Ingres, Degas and van Gogh, and sometimes the artists themselves.” It is a testament to Picasso’s love of printmaking that he created a plethora of prints in his final years. The breadth and depth of Picasso’s expression in these etchings is representative of his importance as not only the preeminent 20th century master, but also as the artist who more than any other assumed the mantle of Western aesthetic traditions by absorbing and then combining those traditions into a new modernity. The Picasso engravings in the exhibition were done between 1966 and 1971 are rare “before steel facing” proofs. They are early proofs printed long before their respective editions were pulled, and are richer in contrast than the regular editions. They were kept by Picasso for his personal collection in the course of creating his 60, 156 and 347 Series. Examples of these etchings are in the permanent collections of the Bibliotheque Nationale and Musee Picasso, Paris, the Museo Picasso in Barcelona, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Art Institute of Chicago and other major institutions around the world. The works in this exhibition come from the collection of Leslie Sacks Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA. |
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Contents: Supplemental: Dates Available: Loan Fee: Contact: |
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