Prints by Picasso
1904-1905 Le Repas Frugal
1
2022 SOLD for £ 6M by Christie's
Back in Paris from Barcelona in 1904, Picasso moves to the Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre, a workshop of experimental art in which the residents, whose destiny was to become famous artists, met the harsh realities of life.
Picasso appreciates that the saltimbanques cannot escape poverty. Le Repas Frugal (Frugal Meal) is his first trial in his mature period to print a pathetic image with a universal impact. Its technical and emotional success is total.
The figure for the blind clown is modeled from an acquaintance in Barcelona. The woman is Madeleine, Pablo's mistress who was already being superseded by Fernande Olivier. Their sharply rendered emaciated bodies and arms that increase the poignant effect are inspired from El Greco. This starving couple is featured in a wine shop which immediately evokes alcoholism.
The 46 x 37 cm images were printed individually from September 1904 to March 1905 by Auguste Delâtre on request by the artist. The total number is about 35. Only one is known from the first state. It is kept at the Musée Picasso in Paris.
A copy from the second state on a 65 x 50 cm laid Arches paper was sold by Christie's for £ 620K on November 30, 2004, lot 251, and for £ 6M on March 1, 2022, lot 69.
When Vollard took over the plate and inserted it into the series of Saltimbanques in 1913, he strengthened it by electroplating so that it can support a production run of 250. This operation eroded the definition, depth and clarity of the etched lines, reducing the graphic intensity.
Picasso appreciates that the saltimbanques cannot escape poverty. Le Repas Frugal (Frugal Meal) is his first trial in his mature period to print a pathetic image with a universal impact. Its technical and emotional success is total.
The figure for the blind clown is modeled from an acquaintance in Barcelona. The woman is Madeleine, Pablo's mistress who was already being superseded by Fernande Olivier. Their sharply rendered emaciated bodies and arms that increase the poignant effect are inspired from El Greco. This starving couple is featured in a wine shop which immediately evokes alcoholism.
The 46 x 37 cm images were printed individually from September 1904 to March 1905 by Auguste Delâtre on request by the artist. The total number is about 35. Only one is known from the first state. It is kept at the Musée Picasso in Paris.
A copy from the second state on a 65 x 50 cm laid Arches paper was sold by Christie's for £ 620K on November 30, 2004, lot 251, and for £ 6M on March 1, 2022, lot 69.
When Vollard took over the plate and inserted it into the series of Saltimbanques in 1913, he strengthened it by electroplating so that it can support a production run of 250. This operation eroded the definition, depth and clarity of the etched lines, reducing the graphic intensity.
2
2023 SOLD for $ 4.65M by Christie's
A copy of the second state on laid Arches 58 x 46 cm was sold for $ 4.65M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 55A.
A copy on a laid Arches 55 x 42 cm sheet inscribed by Picasso to a friend in December 1904 was sold for £ 1.95M by Christie's on June 20, 2012, lot 16. Most copies are undated. Only one other is attested from 1904.
A copy on a laid Arches 55 x 42 cm sheet inscribed by Picasso to a friend in December 1904 was sold for £ 1.95M by Christie's on June 20, 2012, lot 16. Most copies are undated. Only one other is attested from 1904.
1930-1937 La Suite Vollard
Intro
The Vollard Suite (also known as La Suite Vollard) is widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements in 20th-century printmaking and Pablo Picasso's supreme mastery of etching. This set of 100 etchings (primarily line etchings, with some drypoint, aquatint, and engraving) was produced between 1930 and 1937, with the bulk created in an intense burst in spring 1933 and completed in 1937. Commissioned by the legendary Parisian art dealer and publisher Ambroise Vollard—who had given Picasso his first Paris exhibition in 1901 and later traded paintings by Renoir and Cézanne for the plates—the suite was printed in 1939 by master printer Roger Lacourière in editions of around 260–300 sets (on Montval paper, some watermarked "Vollard" or "Picasso"). Vollard's death in a 1939 car accident and World War II delayed distribution until the 1950s, after which many sets were broken up for individual sales.
The suite functions as a visual diary of Picasso's inner world during a pivotal, turbulent decade: his passionate affair with Marie-Thérèse Walter (his young muse since 1927), marital strains with Olga Khokhlova, fears of aging and blindness, creative virility at mid-life, and the darkening political climate (rising fascism in Europe, the Spanish Civil War looming). Stylistically, it revives a neoclassical clarity—clean, precise lines, balanced compositions, and references to ancient Greek art—contrasting Picasso's earlier Cubism while allowing mythological and erotic depth. The emotional arc shifts from idyllic sensuality to violence, guilt, and tragic vulnerability, mirroring Picasso's psyche and the era's anxieties.Major Thematic GroupsScholars (e.g., Hans Bolliger's 1956 categorization) divide the suite into overlapping themes, with no strict chronological order but a narrative progression:
The suite begins in sunlit arcadia (serene studios, idyllic nudes) and descends into a shadowed emotional universe (violence, blindness, isolation), paralleling Picasso's personal turmoil and Europe's descent toward war. Marie-Thérèse's features recur as muse/victim/guide, linking erotic joy to tragic consequences. Technically astonishing—Picasso sometimes etched multiple plates in a day—the line work is confident, economical, and expressive, mastering neoclassical restraint while conveying intense psychological depth.
Art historians view it as an extended self-portrait: the suite explores the artist's creative power, moral ambiguity, and vulnerability through myth and autobiography. Exhibitions (e.g., British Museum 2012, National Gallery of Australia) often present it chronologically or thematically to highlight this narrative arc. It remains a cornerstone of modern printmaking for its technical brilliance, thematic richness, and unflinching introspection.
The suite functions as a visual diary of Picasso's inner world during a pivotal, turbulent decade: his passionate affair with Marie-Thérèse Walter (his young muse since 1927), marital strains with Olga Khokhlova, fears of aging and blindness, creative virility at mid-life, and the darkening political climate (rising fascism in Europe, the Spanish Civil War looming). Stylistically, it revives a neoclassical clarity—clean, precise lines, balanced compositions, and references to ancient Greek art—contrasting Picasso's earlier Cubism while allowing mythological and erotic depth. The emotional arc shifts from idyllic sensuality to violence, guilt, and tragic vulnerability, mirroring Picasso's psyche and the era's anxieties.Major Thematic GroupsScholars (e.g., Hans Bolliger's 1956 categorization) divide the suite into overlapping themes, with no strict chronological order but a narrative progression:
- The Sculptor's Studio (about 46 etchings, the dominant motif)
Picasso idealizes the artist as a bearded, nude classical sculptor (often self-referential, crowned with ivy like a Greek hero) in a serene atelier, contemplating or creating busts and figures. Marie-Thérèse appears as the beautiful, passive model—often reclining, sleeping, or admired—her Grecian profile and voluptuous form echoing the sculptures. These prints celebrate creativity, Pygmalion-like possession (artist "bringing life" to art), and erotic harmony. Examples include serene scenes of the sculptor and model admiring a sculpted head, blending autobiography with classical reverie. The workshop setting draws from Picasso's 1931–1934 Boisgeloup château sculptures, emphasizing sculpture as the "highest" art (per ancient ideals). - The Minotaur (a central, evolving arc across many plates)
The half-man, half-bull becomes Picasso's alter ego: primal virility, lust, brutality, and inner monstrosity. Early appearances show the Minotaur as a gentle lover or bacchic reveler in orgiastic scenes. It darkens into a rapist and devourer (violent encounters with women, often Marie-Thérèse figures), reflecting guilt over destructive relationships and unchecked desire. Later plates transform it into a tragic, pathetic figure—wounded, dying, or blind (symbolizing fear of losing sight/creativity), led by a gentle girl (Marie-Thérèse as innocent guide). Iconic examples: Minotaure Aveugle Guidé par une Fillette dans la Nuit (Blind Minotaur led by a little girl), evoking pathos and dependence; scenes of the Minotaur in the arena or caressing a sleeping woman. This motif links to bullfighting symbolism, Surrealist subconscious exploration, and prefigures political anguish in later works like Guernica (1937). - The Battle of Love / Erotic Conflicts
Interwoven throughout, these depict power dynamics in intimacy—seduction, domination, voyeurism, and violence between men (fauns, bearded figures) and women. Some echo bacchic excess or mythological rape scenes, revealing darker drives amid the suite's sensuality. - Rembrandt and Artist-as-Observer
A smaller group pays homage to Rembrandt (bearded, contemplative figures) or shows artists watching scenes, emphasizing reflection, legacy, and the gaze. - Portraits of Vollard (3 plates, added in 1937)
Picasso included three etched portraits of his patron as a capstone—Vollard insisted on portraits from his artists.
The suite begins in sunlit arcadia (serene studios, idyllic nudes) and descends into a shadowed emotional universe (violence, blindness, isolation), paralleling Picasso's personal turmoil and Europe's descent toward war. Marie-Thérèse's features recur as muse/victim/guide, linking erotic joy to tragic consequences. Technically astonishing—Picasso sometimes etched multiple plates in a day—the line work is confident, economical, and expressive, mastering neoclassical restraint while conveying intense psychological depth.
Art historians view it as an extended self-portrait: the suite explores the artist's creative power, moral ambiguity, and vulnerability through myth and autobiography. Exhibitions (e.g., British Museum 2012, National Gallery of Australia) often present it chronologically or thematically to highlight this narrative arc. It remains a cornerstone of modern printmaking for its technical brilliance, thematic richness, and unflinching introspection.
1
2019 SOLD for $ 4.8M by Christie's
When Vollard agrees with Picasso for the edition of one hundred original etchings, he defines the final quantity to print : 50 deluxe copies with wide margins 51 x 39 cm and 260 copies with small margins 44 x 34 cm. It should be consistent with Vollard's practice that the purpose of the smaller format was to publish a livre d'artiste but it has not been made for that series.
97 images were engraved by Picasso between 1930 and 1934. While admiring the gentle Marie-Thérèse, Pablo finds back the fiery impulses of his youth. Far away from Cubism, minotaurs and fauns approach with brutality or delicacy the snoozing women with appealing curves. The theme of the sculptor's studio is also abundant. The supplement up to the requested figure of 100 is assured in 1937 with three portraits of Vollard by Picasso.
At some time before 1934 the meeting of Picasso with Roger Lacourière changes the quality of graphics and printing. The drawings are getting richer. Picasso loves to experiment and he follows the instructions from his new printer who teaches to him the varied possibilities of chisel, aquatint and drypoint.
On November 14, 2016, Sotheby's sold at lot 11 for $ 2.53M the full wide margin set owned by Lacourière. The printer had retained proofs with beautiful tones executed before and during his participation. It is the rare case of a set that was not owned by Petiet but the plates are not signed.
Vollard died in 1939 in the same death as Aeschylus, reportedly because a jolt unbalanced a statue that fell on his neck in the back seat of a car in which he was sleeping. The series of the hundred pictures had no title and will never have one. It will be known as La Suite Vollard.
Vollard had just started dealing with the Suite. In the 1940s the dealer Henri M. Petiet acquires the stock. Picasso then signed prints for cash as and when Petiet got orders for full sets, from his first sale in 1950 until the artist withdraw from that process in 1969. These Petiet sets were not serialized. Petiet also offered single prints for sale.
A complete set with wide margins, fully signed by Picasso for Petiet, was sold for $ 4.8M from a lower estimate of $ 3M on November 11, 2019 by Christie's, lot 55 A.
Petiet was a competent dealer but also a demanding collector. Curiously the Vollard Suite he had kept for his own collection is with small margins. It has been entirely signed by Picasso. It was sold for € 1.94M by Ader-Nordmann on November 25, 2017, lot 317.
97 images were engraved by Picasso between 1930 and 1934. While admiring the gentle Marie-Thérèse, Pablo finds back the fiery impulses of his youth. Far away from Cubism, minotaurs and fauns approach with brutality or delicacy the snoozing women with appealing curves. The theme of the sculptor's studio is also abundant. The supplement up to the requested figure of 100 is assured in 1937 with three portraits of Vollard by Picasso.
At some time before 1934 the meeting of Picasso with Roger Lacourière changes the quality of graphics and printing. The drawings are getting richer. Picasso loves to experiment and he follows the instructions from his new printer who teaches to him the varied possibilities of chisel, aquatint and drypoint.
On November 14, 2016, Sotheby's sold at lot 11 for $ 2.53M the full wide margin set owned by Lacourière. The printer had retained proofs with beautiful tones executed before and during his participation. It is the rare case of a set that was not owned by Petiet but the plates are not signed.
Vollard died in 1939 in the same death as Aeschylus, reportedly because a jolt unbalanced a statue that fell on his neck in the back seat of a car in which he was sleeping. The series of the hundred pictures had no title and will never have one. It will be known as La Suite Vollard.
Vollard had just started dealing with the Suite. In the 1940s the dealer Henri M. Petiet acquires the stock. Picasso then signed prints for cash as and when Petiet got orders for full sets, from his first sale in 1950 until the artist withdraw from that process in 1969. These Petiet sets were not serialized. Petiet also offered single prints for sale.
A complete set with wide margins, fully signed by Picasso for Petiet, was sold for $ 4.8M from a lower estimate of $ 3M on November 11, 2019 by Christie's, lot 55 A.
Petiet was a competent dealer but also a demanding collector. Curiously the Vollard Suite he had kept for his own collection is with small margins. It has been entirely signed by Picasso. It was sold for € 1.94M by Ader-Nordmann on November 25, 2017, lot 317.
2
2013 SOLD for £ 2.66M by Sotheby's
A complete set with wide margins was sold for £ 2,66M by Sotheby's on June 19, 2013, lot 47. It had been acquired by Petiet and was fully signed by Picasso.
3
2012 SOLD for CHF 2.3M before fees by Kornfeld
When Vollard died in 1939, a first batch of 15 printed sets with wide margins had been assembled, and Picasso had signed and numbered 10 prints within each of them..
The set with the ten numbers 8/15 was sold for CHF 2.3M before fees on June 15, 2012 by Galerie Kornfeld from a lower estimate of CHF 1.5M. It is complete, and all prints have been signed by Picasso.
The set with the ten numbers 8/15 was sold for CHF 2.3M before fees on June 15, 2012 by Galerie Kornfeld from a lower estimate of CHF 1.5M. It is complete, and all prints have been signed by Picasso.
1935 La Minotauromachie
2016 SOLD for $ 2.63M by Christie's
Picasso said it all and did it all. In his career which lasted three quarters of a century, he was the most prolific of artists. Yet his private life is a long series of secrets. We will never know why in 1901 he suddenly plunged into the blue period, nor why Guernica drifted onto the moral torture of Dora Maar personalizing war.
His meeting with Marie-Thérèse in 1927 is a triumph for his virility. He chooses a young woman by reference to a canon of beauty that will compete with Matisse's odalisques, he invites her to follow him and she gives herself to him lastingly. He is so proud that he portrays himself as a sexual bully, the Minotaur, from the early 1930s.
In August 1934, Pablo attends bullfights. Olga who accompanies him on this trip certainly did not anticipate the lustful passions that this experience was to generate to her husband in his fifties. Conceived in December 1934, the plate 97 of the Suite Vollard is a blind Minotaur guided by a young girl at night, a confrontation between the artist's sexual brutality and the lost innocence of Marie-Thérèse.
How did he come not to manage or even foresee what will happen next ? Marie-Thérèse is pregnant and Olga leaves him. At the beginning of 1935 he is so taken aback that he nearly stops working.
His restart takes place in July 1935, by practicing copperplate engraving with Roger Lacourière. He must concentrate on mastering this technique, for which he designs an image that synthesizes his questioning on the three ages of life and on death.
The most visible character in La Minotauromachie is the enormous mythological brute with the head of a bull on a human body, the Pablo of today. It has just defeated the pregnant woman, a dying torera on a gutted horse. In a theater box, two young women watch this weird corrida, with a remaining hope symbolized by two doves. The innocent little girl stops the bull with a candle of peace and a bouquet. The old man, Picasso tomorrow, flees on a ladder that leads to nowhere.
The final state of the Minotauromachie is the seventh, 50 x 69 cm on a 57 x 77 cm sheet. It is printed by Lacourière in 50 copies. Picasso intended these images to be presented sparingly to his best friends, away from the trade. The copy 2/50 was sold for $ 2.63M by Christie's on May 12, 2016, lot 18 C. An unnumbered copy was sold for $ 2.06M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2025, lot 23 in the sale of the Lauder collection.
Some artist's proofs had also been printed. Picasso did not dare to part with them, certainly because for once he had revealed his most intimate feelings. About 25 of them remained in his deceased estate. Here are some results on prints from that provenance :
- by Christie's for $ 2.1M on November 16, 2016, lot 42 B and for £ 950K on March 7, 2024, lot 60)
- £ 1.27M by Sotheby's on September 16, 2010, lot 27.
- by Sotheby's for £ 1.02M on June 23, 2014, lot 25 and for $ 1.14M on May 13, 2025, lot 48.
- $ 1.33M by Christie's on May 13, 2019.
- £ 975K by Phillips on January 23, 2020, lot 1.
- £ 635K by Christie's on October 16, 2025, lot 323.
The tragic characters of the Minotauromachie precede by fourteen months the beginning of the Spanish civil war. In 1937 with Guernica, Picasso's anti-war message suddenly appears as an equal to Goya's. Nevertheless Guernica's Minotaur and horse have the same roles as in the Minotauromachie, and the weeping woman is the sister of the slaughtered women of the former artwork.
His meeting with Marie-Thérèse in 1927 is a triumph for his virility. He chooses a young woman by reference to a canon of beauty that will compete with Matisse's odalisques, he invites her to follow him and she gives herself to him lastingly. He is so proud that he portrays himself as a sexual bully, the Minotaur, from the early 1930s.
In August 1934, Pablo attends bullfights. Olga who accompanies him on this trip certainly did not anticipate the lustful passions that this experience was to generate to her husband in his fifties. Conceived in December 1934, the plate 97 of the Suite Vollard is a blind Minotaur guided by a young girl at night, a confrontation between the artist's sexual brutality and the lost innocence of Marie-Thérèse.
How did he come not to manage or even foresee what will happen next ? Marie-Thérèse is pregnant and Olga leaves him. At the beginning of 1935 he is so taken aback that he nearly stops working.
His restart takes place in July 1935, by practicing copperplate engraving with Roger Lacourière. He must concentrate on mastering this technique, for which he designs an image that synthesizes his questioning on the three ages of life and on death.
The most visible character in La Minotauromachie is the enormous mythological brute with the head of a bull on a human body, the Pablo of today. It has just defeated the pregnant woman, a dying torera on a gutted horse. In a theater box, two young women watch this weird corrida, with a remaining hope symbolized by two doves. The innocent little girl stops the bull with a candle of peace and a bouquet. The old man, Picasso tomorrow, flees on a ladder that leads to nowhere.
The final state of the Minotauromachie is the seventh, 50 x 69 cm on a 57 x 77 cm sheet. It is printed by Lacourière in 50 copies. Picasso intended these images to be presented sparingly to his best friends, away from the trade. The copy 2/50 was sold for $ 2.63M by Christie's on May 12, 2016, lot 18 C. An unnumbered copy was sold for $ 2.06M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2025, lot 23 in the sale of the Lauder collection.
Some artist's proofs had also been printed. Picasso did not dare to part with them, certainly because for once he had revealed his most intimate feelings. About 25 of them remained in his deceased estate. Here are some results on prints from that provenance :
- by Christie's for $ 2.1M on November 16, 2016, lot 42 B and for £ 950K on March 7, 2024, lot 60)
- £ 1.27M by Sotheby's on September 16, 2010, lot 27.
- by Sotheby's for £ 1.02M on June 23, 2014, lot 25 and for $ 1.14M on May 13, 2025, lot 48.
- $ 1.33M by Christie's on May 13, 2019.
- £ 975K by Phillips on January 23, 2020, lot 1.
- £ 635K by Christie's on October 16, 2025, lot 323.
The tragic characters of the Minotauromachie precede by fourteen months the beginning of the Spanish civil war. In 1937 with Guernica, Picasso's anti-war message suddenly appears as an equal to Goya's. Nevertheless Guernica's Minotaur and horse have the same roles as in the Minotauromachie, and the weeping woman is the sister of the slaughtered women of the former artwork.
1937 La Femme qui Pleure
Intro
In May 1937 Picasso designed his large mural commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for the pavilion of the Universal Exhibition of Paris. He chose the unsustainable horror of the bombing of Guernica that had happened on April 26, 1937.
Picasso's sensitivity is exacerbated in 1937. The softness of Marie-Thérèse is no more sufficient to provide him the ideal vision of the woman. He refuses the divorce requested by Olga. His new muse met in the previous year, Dora, active, aggressive, politically engaged, has another behavior.
Pablo said later that Dora always symbolized for him the weeping woman, basically meaning the suffering woman. She thus became a model for the mater dolorosa, understood by the artist as an attitude ranging from a passive sentimentality to an activist rage against oppression.
Dora accompanies the gradual creation of Guernica and produces a photographic report of the preparation of the artwork. A crying woman could be a candidate to enter this terrible scene. He sketched and painted various figures of La Femme qui pleure.
He gave up featuring the weeping woman within Guernica, probably after appreciating that the image of victimized women based on Marie-Thérèse will better reinforce his political message on the horror of war.
He was nevertheless still haunted by that image. During a single day with Roger Lacourière, July 1, he executed seven consecutive printed states of La Femme qui pleure, 69 x 49 cm on 77 x 57 cm sheet size. Satisfied by the third and by the last state, he printed and numbered fifteen copies each from both of them. He completed Guernica three days later.
With a veil of aquatint, the anguish is stronger in the State 3. Afterward the lines become darker and stronger, especially in the hair. In the final state, the rage expressed by Dora matches in intensity the message of Guernica.
This work is designated as La Femme qui pleure I to differentiate it from a later image. Picasso presented prints to friends and retained more than half of the run until his death.
Picasso's sensitivity is exacerbated in 1937. The softness of Marie-Thérèse is no more sufficient to provide him the ideal vision of the woman. He refuses the divorce requested by Olga. His new muse met in the previous year, Dora, active, aggressive, politically engaged, has another behavior.
Pablo said later that Dora always symbolized for him the weeping woman, basically meaning the suffering woman. She thus became a model for the mater dolorosa, understood by the artist as an attitude ranging from a passive sentimentality to an activist rage against oppression.
Dora accompanies the gradual creation of Guernica and produces a photographic report of the preparation of the artwork. A crying woman could be a candidate to enter this terrible scene. He sketched and painted various figures of La Femme qui pleure.
He gave up featuring the weeping woman within Guernica, probably after appreciating that the image of victimized women based on Marie-Thérèse will better reinforce his political message on the horror of war.
He was nevertheless still haunted by that image. During a single day with Roger Lacourière, July 1, he executed seven consecutive printed states of La Femme qui pleure, 69 x 49 cm on 77 x 57 cm sheet size. Satisfied by the third and by the last state, he printed and numbered fifteen copies each from both of them. He completed Guernica three days later.
With a veil of aquatint, the anguish is stronger in the State 3. Afterward the lines become darker and stronger, especially in the hair. In the final state, the rage expressed by Dora matches in intensity the message of Guernica.
This work is designated as La Femme qui pleure I to differentiate it from a later image. Picasso presented prints to friends and retained more than half of the run until his death.
1
State 3 8/15
2013 SOLD for $ 2.63M by Christie's
The number 8/15 from the third state was sold for $ 2.63M by Christie's on November 5, 2013, lot 8.
The 15/15 was sold for $ 1.65M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2023, lot 15. The 14/15 was sold for £ 1.1M by Sotheby's on September 16, 2010, lot 28.
The 15/15 was sold for $ 1.65M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2023, lot 15. The 14/15 was sold for £ 1.1M by Sotheby's on September 16, 2010, lot 28.
2
State 7 3/15
2011 SOLD for $ 5.1M by Christie's
The number 3/15 of the seventh and final state was sold for $ 5.1M by Christie's on November 1, 2011 from a lower estimate of $ 1.5M, lot 2.
This print had been presented in 1938 by Picasso to Juan Larrea who had been instrumental in managing the British tour of Guernica.
This print had been presented in 1938 by Picasso to Juan Larrea who had been instrumental in managing the British tour of Guernica.
3
State 7 8/15
2014 SOLD for £ 3.2M by Sotheby's
The number 8/15 of the seventh state was sold for £ 3.2M from a lower estimate of £ 1.2M by Sotheby's on February 5, 2014, lot 19.
4
State 7 11/15
2015 SOLD for $ 4.6M by Christie's
The number 11/15 of the seventh state was sold for $ 4.6M by Christie's on May 14, 2015, lot 5C.
