Prints
See also : Ancient prints Modern prints George I-III Northern Europe Munch Picasso < 1907 Picasso 1907-1931 Prints by Picasso
Chronology : 1650-1659 1790-1799 1917 1930 1935 1947
Chronology : 1650-1659 1790-1799 1917 1930 1935 1947
1655 The Art of Dry Point
2018 SOLD for £ 2.65M including premium
The greatest painters such as Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya and Munch also wanted to create images. In 1653 Rembrandt manages to enlarge the format of his prints.
His solutions are innovative. The dry point was used until then in addition to etching and chisel for minor reworks of the drawing. Rembrandt attempts compositions entirely in dry point. Applied obliquely like a pencil, his needle improves the variety of the line. The incision of the point in the copper is shallow, allowing a harmony between the drawing and the inkings left voluntarily on the plate to bring contrasts and shadows.
A fine image deserves a great paper. Rembrandt was seduced by a stock recently imported in Amsterdam by the Dutch East India Company, with a beautiful light brown-yellow hue and a fibre that does not absorb ink and provides a sharpness comparable to vellum.
His first masterpiece in these improved techniques is The Three Crosses (Christ crucified between the two thieves), 38 x 45 cm, made in 1653. He prepares shortly after in the same size another scene of the Passion, Ecce Homo (Christ presented to the people). The oriental paper is smaller than his copperplate and he adds a narrow extra stripe at the top of the image.
An impression of the first state of Ecce Homo is for sale by Christie's in London on July 5, lot 22. The press release of April 30 announces an estimate in the region of US $ 3M to 5M. It is the only copy remaining in private hands from the first four states of this image.
The copper plates wear out, preventing large printing. The artist deliberately blurs some damaged areas of Ecce Homo after its fourth state. The eighth and last state is dated 1655. For the fourth and penultimate state of the Three Crosses around 1661, he works differently, replacing the subtle smoky contrasts by diagonal streaks.
This solution could not satisfy the artist because of the painstaking preparation of the ink shades and of the necessarily incomplete and frustrating repairs to the worn plates. He will not reuse this technique, giving up the possible project of a dry point series on the Passion of Christ.
His solutions are innovative. The dry point was used until then in addition to etching and chisel for minor reworks of the drawing. Rembrandt attempts compositions entirely in dry point. Applied obliquely like a pencil, his needle improves the variety of the line. The incision of the point in the copper is shallow, allowing a harmony between the drawing and the inkings left voluntarily on the plate to bring contrasts and shadows.
A fine image deserves a great paper. Rembrandt was seduced by a stock recently imported in Amsterdam by the Dutch East India Company, with a beautiful light brown-yellow hue and a fibre that does not absorb ink and provides a sharpness comparable to vellum.
His first masterpiece in these improved techniques is The Three Crosses (Christ crucified between the two thieves), 38 x 45 cm, made in 1653. He prepares shortly after in the same size another scene of the Passion, Ecce Homo (Christ presented to the people). The oriental paper is smaller than his copperplate and he adds a narrow extra stripe at the top of the image.
An impression of the first state of Ecce Homo is for sale by Christie's in London on July 5, lot 22. The press release of April 30 announces an estimate in the region of US $ 3M to 5M. It is the only copy remaining in private hands from the first four states of this image.
The copper plates wear out, preventing large printing. The artist deliberately blurs some damaged areas of Ecce Homo after its fourth state. The eighth and last state is dated 1655. For the fourth and penultimate state of the Three Crosses around 1661, he works differently, replacing the subtle smoky contrasts by diagonal streaks.
This solution could not satisfy the artist because of the painstaking preparation of the ink shades and of the necessarily incomplete and frustrating repairs to the worn plates. He will not reuse this technique, giving up the possible project of a dry point series on the Passion of Christ.
Rare Rembrandt Print at Christie’s London in July https://t.co/99TSYVaBkp pic.twitter.com/wwG1KoLWE4
— Art Market Monitor (@artmarket) May 2, 2018
1795 Large Color Print by William Blake
2004 SOLD for $ 3.9M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
From his childhood and throughout his life, William Blake claims to have visions of God and the Angels. To please the archangels, he writes poems on the other world, illustrated in hand-colored engravings. That world shelters the dead, with whom he also communicates.
Of modest origin, son of a hosier, he follows an original path, wishing the union of all religions, in hostile reaction against the philosophers of Reason. To prepare his illuminated books, he develops in 1788 a technique of relief etching.
In 1795 Blake is tempted by using engraving techniques for images in larger format. He takes up twelve themes from his previous works, inspired by the Bible, Shakespeare and Milton, without forgetting the famous figures of Newton and Nebuchadnezzar. This set is known as the Large Color Prints. He reworked the finishing of several prints around 1805.
For this series he is preparing his drawings on gessoed cardboard, with perhaps one exception on copper. Each matrix can be used two to four times. The technique was not documented in period, but these images should not be assimilated to monotypes. The watercoloring is often very different between works from the same matrix.
The total surviving production for the 12 themes is 30 copies, three of which are in private hands. On May 5, 2004, Sotheby's sold a Large color print for $ 3.9M including premium, lot 5. Its theme of Good and Evil Angels struggling for possession of a child is inspired from Swedenborg. This image 44 x 58 cm is vividly colored.
Of modest origin, son of a hosier, he follows an original path, wishing the union of all religions, in hostile reaction against the philosophers of Reason. To prepare his illuminated books, he develops in 1788 a technique of relief etching.
In 1795 Blake is tempted by using engraving techniques for images in larger format. He takes up twelve themes from his previous works, inspired by the Bible, Shakespeare and Milton, without forgetting the famous figures of Newton and Nebuchadnezzar. This set is known as the Large Color Prints. He reworked the finishing of several prints around 1805.
For this series he is preparing his drawings on gessoed cardboard, with perhaps one exception on copper. Each matrix can be used two to four times. The technique was not documented in period, but these images should not be assimilated to monotypes. The watercoloring is often very different between works from the same matrix.
The total surviving production for the 12 themes is 30 copies, three of which are in private hands. On May 5, 2004, Sotheby's sold a Large color print for $ 3.9M including premium, lot 5. Its theme of Good and Evil Angels struggling for possession of a child is inspired from Swedenborg. This image 44 x 58 cm is vividly colored.
1895 Life, Love, Death and Scream
2014 SOLD for $ 2.4M including premium
Edvard Munch expresses melancholy and loneliness in a graphics that is closer to symbolism than to romanticism. In November 1892 he exhibits his paintings in Berlin. The scandal is immediate and the operation is stopped after one week.
This incident stimulates the creativity of Munch who understands to what extent his art is new and different. He will stay four years in Berlin. His work is a dialogue between painting and printed image. It was in Berlin that he edited his most powerful pictures : Madonna, Vampire, Scream and several versions of Melancholy and of Woman on the beach.
Among the top painters, Munch is one of those who have given the highest importance to engraving. He tried all the techniques and all the possibilities for coloring either by inks or by added watercolor.
The Scream is edited in 1895 as a lithograph on wove paper with a printed inscription in German: Ich fühlte des grosse Geschrei durch die Natur (I felt the great scream throughout nature).
A copy printed in black and uncolored, signed by the artist but undated, is estimated $ 2M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 4, lot 53. Its sharp and thick line is beautiful.
This picture is unusual because its production time was very short: the printer had cleared the stone for reuse without asking the authorization of the artist.
This incident stimulates the creativity of Munch who understands to what extent his art is new and different. He will stay four years in Berlin. His work is a dialogue between painting and printed image. It was in Berlin that he edited his most powerful pictures : Madonna, Vampire, Scream and several versions of Melancholy and of Woman on the beach.
Among the top painters, Munch is one of those who have given the highest importance to engraving. He tried all the techniques and all the possibilities for coloring either by inks or by added watercolor.
The Scream is edited in 1895 as a lithograph on wove paper with a printed inscription in German: Ich fühlte des grosse Geschrei durch die Natur (I felt the great scream throughout nature).
A copy printed in black and uncolored, signed by the artist but undated, is estimated $ 2M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 4, lot 53. Its sharp and thick line is beautiful.
This picture is unusual because its production time was very short: the printer had cleared the stone for reuse without asking the authorization of the artist.
1896 Loneliness on Beach
2013 SOLD 2.13 M£ including premium
In Paris in 1891, Edvard Munch meditates on the human condition. He is deeply influenced by the art of Gauguin, where the stylization of drawing and the simplification of colors provide an unprecedented strength to the message.
Threatened by melancholy, Munch starts at that time one of his most personal themes, loneliness. A couple is on the beach, but they are quite distant from one another and their mental solitude is complete. This first painting is lost.
In 1896, he comes back to Paris where he perfects his experiences of all printmaking techniques. Aquatint gives the possibility to vary the balance of colors from one copy to another of the same image. He will soon specialize in lithography and woodcut.
On March 20 in London, Christie's sells an aquatint of the young woman on the beach. Well centered, the lonesome figure turns her back to us as in 1891. She is tall, and her straight attitude in her beautiful white dress shows that she has no other problem than her solitude. The only communication she has with her environment is the wind that plays with her very long hair.
Printed in light blue, brown, gray and pink, this print is estimated £ 500K. The image measures 29 x 22 cm on a 45 x 31 cm sheet. Here is the link to the catalog.
This artwork carried out in eleven copies is very rare on the market. This print comes after a recent de-accessioning. During the Nazi forced sales of 1933, it had been purchased by the institute of which its owner had been the keeper.
POST SALE COMMENT
In its great simplicity, this image is one of the most iconic of the engraved work of Munch. The aquatint was sold £ 2.13 million including premium.
The day before, a later print of that scene of loneliness with both characters including the same young woman was sold £ 990K including premium by Sotheby's.
Threatened by melancholy, Munch starts at that time one of his most personal themes, loneliness. A couple is on the beach, but they are quite distant from one another and their mental solitude is complete. This first painting is lost.
In 1896, he comes back to Paris where he perfects his experiences of all printmaking techniques. Aquatint gives the possibility to vary the balance of colors from one copy to another of the same image. He will soon specialize in lithography and woodcut.
On March 20 in London, Christie's sells an aquatint of the young woman on the beach. Well centered, the lonesome figure turns her back to us as in 1891. She is tall, and her straight attitude in her beautiful white dress shows that she has no other problem than her solitude. The only communication she has with her environment is the wind that plays with her very long hair.
Printed in light blue, brown, gray and pink, this print is estimated £ 500K. The image measures 29 x 22 cm on a 45 x 31 cm sheet. Here is the link to the catalog.
This artwork carried out in eleven copies is very rare on the market. This print comes after a recent de-accessioning. During the Nazi forced sales of 1933, it had been purchased by the institute of which its owner had been the keeper.
POST SALE COMMENT
In its great simplicity, this image is one of the most iconic of the engraved work of Munch. The aquatint was sold £ 2.13 million including premium.
The day before, a later print of that scene of loneliness with both characters including the same young woman was sold £ 990K including premium by Sotheby's.
1904 Artist's Life in the Bateau-Lavoir
2012 SOLD 1.95 M£ including premium
The Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre was an experimental workshop of modern art in which the residents, whose destiny was to become famous artists, met the harsh realities of life.
In 1904, Picasso's blue period ends when he appreciates that the clowns of the circuses cannot escape poverty. Le Repas Frugal (Frugal Meal) is his first trial in his mature period to create and distribute a pathetic and empathetic image with a universal impact. Its technical and emotional success is total.
The 46 x 37 cm images were printed individually by Delâtre on request by the artist, and the exact number is unknown: about 30.
One of them was sold for £ 620K including premium by Christie's on November 30, 2004. Another copy inscribed by Picasso to a friend in December 1904 is estimated £ 1.5 million, for sale by Christie's in London on June 20. Here is the link to the catalog.
Meanwhile, the art market has changed, not only for Picasso: the collectors crave for multiples when they are of excellent quality. A copy of La Femme qui pleure (the Weeping Woman), 1937, was sold $ 5.1 million including premium by Christies' on November 1, 2011.
In addition to its extreme rarity, this first edition has another quality: it is also the most perfect. When Vollard took over the plate and inserted it into the series of Saltimbanques in 1913, he wisely strengthened it by electroplating so that it can support a large quantity of prints.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate of this exceptional print had been correctly targeted. It was sold £ 1.95 million including premium.
In 1904, Picasso's blue period ends when he appreciates that the clowns of the circuses cannot escape poverty. Le Repas Frugal (Frugal Meal) is his first trial in his mature period to create and distribute a pathetic and empathetic image with a universal impact. Its technical and emotional success is total.
The 46 x 37 cm images were printed individually by Delâtre on request by the artist, and the exact number is unknown: about 30.
One of them was sold for £ 620K including premium by Christie's on November 30, 2004. Another copy inscribed by Picasso to a friend in December 1904 is estimated £ 1.5 million, for sale by Christie's in London on June 20. Here is the link to the catalog.
Meanwhile, the art market has changed, not only for Picasso: the collectors crave for multiples when they are of excellent quality. A copy of La Femme qui pleure (the Weeping Woman), 1937, was sold $ 5.1 million including premium by Christies' on November 1, 2011.
In addition to its extreme rarity, this first edition has another quality: it is also the most perfect. When Vollard took over the plate and inserted it into the series of Saltimbanques in 1913, he wisely strengthened it by electroplating so that it can support a large quantity of prints.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate of this exceptional print had been correctly targeted. It was sold £ 1.95 million including premium.
1917 Indifference
2016 SOLD for £ 1.56M including premium
Edvard Munch expresses in his art his own mystical and psychological or even psychiatric torments. In Paris and Berlin he painted the difficulty of communication. The Scream is his strongest message because the call does not reach any listener despite the small group away.
Melancholy and silence are among his favorite themes. The Young Woman on the Beach and Two Human Beings (the Lonely Ones) must be considered together and were probably designed simultaneously by the artist. The tall blonde woman in white dress is the same in both scenes. Watching the ocean, she turns her back to the artist, to the viewer and to life.
In the second version a man has come from behind, dressed in dark. He bends his head without looking at the woman. These two people are in a close vicinity one another and psychologically indifferent.
From 1894 Munch uses the prints to disclose his distress. Coloring techniques are varied. He tries all of them with a great technical skill. A very rare aquatint and drypoint 29 x 22 cm of the Young woman on the beach, finished in 1896, was sold for £ 2.13M including premium by Christie's on March 20, 2013.
In 1899 and 1917, the artist uses the woodcut to republish the Two Human beings. Different states allow a more or less figurative vision of the beach, the ocean and the horizon. Hues become softer, expressing both the absence of conflict and the impossibility of communication in that peaceful scene.
On September 27 in London, Sotheby's sells a print 39 x 55 cm of the Two Human beings, probably completed around 1917, lot 141 estimated £ 400K. The artist or his printer used two techniques : the monotype applied through a stencil is linking the ground between the two characters, highlighting that their separate lives occur in the same place at the same time. The rest of the image is printed by three wooden blocks. The surroundings have become abstract.
Melancholy and silence are among his favorite themes. The Young Woman on the Beach and Two Human Beings (the Lonely Ones) must be considered together and were probably designed simultaneously by the artist. The tall blonde woman in white dress is the same in both scenes. Watching the ocean, she turns her back to the artist, to the viewer and to life.
In the second version a man has come from behind, dressed in dark. He bends his head without looking at the woman. These two people are in a close vicinity one another and psychologically indifferent.
From 1894 Munch uses the prints to disclose his distress. Coloring techniques are varied. He tries all of them with a great technical skill. A very rare aquatint and drypoint 29 x 22 cm of the Young woman on the beach, finished in 1896, was sold for £ 2.13M including premium by Christie's on March 20, 2013.
In 1899 and 1917, the artist uses the woodcut to republish the Two Human beings. Different states allow a more or less figurative vision of the beach, the ocean and the horizon. Hues become softer, expressing both the absence of conflict and the impossibility of communication in that peaceful scene.
On September 27 in London, Sotheby's sells a print 39 x 55 cm of the Two Human beings, probably completed around 1917, lot 141 estimated £ 400K. The artist or his printer used two techniques : the monotype applied through a stencil is linking the ground between the two characters, highlighting that their separate lives occur in the same place at the same time. The rest of the image is printed by three wooden blocks. The surroundings have become abstract.
Our 27 Sept Prints & Multiples sale in #London includes two moving and momentous Munch works https://t.co/PXt2mVLASC pic.twitter.com/VvDVFJ1bTy
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) September 19, 2016
1930-1937 Suite Vollard by Picasso
2019 SOLD for $ 4.8M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1930-1937 La Suite Vollard
2012 SOLD 2.65 MCHF including premium
La Suite Vollard is one of the masterpieces of twentieth century engraving. It comes from an agreement between Pablo Picasso and Ambroise Vollard cleverly obtained by the merchant on a day when the artist wanted to buy paintings to him.
The one hundred prints which constitute this set were prepared from 1930 to 1937. It was a particularly fruitful period for Picasso. His love affair with Marie-Thérèse and his psychological exploration of the theme of the Minotaur brought to his images a carnal eroticism. The theme of the sculptor's studio is also abundant.
The accidental death of Vollard in 1939 stopped the project of publishing while the 310 copies were already printed. Henri Petiet took over the project after the war and tried to get autographs signatures from Picasso, but the complacency of the artist was not unlimited. Few sets were signed, and very few also have not been dismantled.
The copy for sale on June 15 by Galerie Kornfeld in Bern is complete, and all prints have been signed by Picasso. Ten of them are numbered 8/15 by the artist, assessing that they were among the 15 copies that Picasso had begun to sign during the lifetime of Vollard.
Even better: this is one of 50 copies with wide margins, on paper 38 x 50 cm. The paper size of the 260 other copies is smaller: 34 x 44.5 cm. This exceptional lot is estimated CHF 1.5 M.
POST SALE COMMENT
The description in the catalogue showed convincingly that this complete set was of exceptional quality. The result is excellent: CHF 2.3 million before fees, 2.65 million after calculating the premium announced by the auction house.
The one hundred prints which constitute this set were prepared from 1930 to 1937. It was a particularly fruitful period for Picasso. His love affair with Marie-Thérèse and his psychological exploration of the theme of the Minotaur brought to his images a carnal eroticism. The theme of the sculptor's studio is also abundant.
The accidental death of Vollard in 1939 stopped the project of publishing while the 310 copies were already printed. Henri Petiet took over the project after the war and tried to get autographs signatures from Picasso, but the complacency of the artist was not unlimited. Few sets were signed, and very few also have not been dismantled.
The copy for sale on June 15 by Galerie Kornfeld in Bern is complete, and all prints have been signed by Picasso. Ten of them are numbered 8/15 by the artist, assessing that they were among the 15 copies that Picasso had begun to sign during the lifetime of Vollard.
Even better: this is one of 50 copies with wide margins, on paper 38 x 50 cm. The paper size of the 260 other copies is smaller: 34 x 44.5 cm. This exceptional lot is estimated CHF 1.5 M.
POST SALE COMMENT
The description in the catalogue showed convincingly that this complete set was of exceptional quality. The result is excellent: CHF 2.3 million before fees, 2.65 million after calculating the premium announced by the auction house.
1930-1937 Picasso's Printer
2016 SOLD for $ 2.53M including premium
Upon his arrival in Paris Pablo Picasso was supported by Vollard. The conditions in which they start together in 1930 the project of a series of engravings have however not been documented. These one hundred illustrations were named La Suite Vollard after the accidental death of the editor that occurred in 1939.
Most of these images were prepared 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 supplement up to the symbolic figure of 100 is assured in 1937 with three portraits of Ambroise Vollard.
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.
310 copies of each image are printed including 50 for a deluxe publication with wide margins on 51 x 39 cm sheet size. After the death of Vollard, this almost intact stock is acquired by the dealer Henri M. Petiet who will sell from it many single images. For this reason the original sets that are remaining complete are extremely rare. Picasso signed many sheets before and after the death of Vollard.
Here are below three examples of complete sets with wide margins of the Suite Vollard.
A set partially serialized by Picasso in Vollard's lifetime but fully signed by the artist was sold for CHF 2.65M including premium by Galerie Kornfeld on June 15, 2012.
A set acquired by Petiet and fully signed by Picasso was sold for £ 2,65M including premium by Sotheby's on June 19, 2013.
On November 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells the full collection assembled 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. It is estimated $ 2M, lot 11.
Most of these images were prepared 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 supplement up to the symbolic figure of 100 is assured in 1937 with three portraits of Ambroise Vollard.
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.
310 copies of each image are printed including 50 for a deluxe publication with wide margins on 51 x 39 cm sheet size. After the death of Vollard, this almost intact stock is acquired by the dealer Henri M. Petiet who will sell from it many single images. For this reason the original sets that are remaining complete are extremely rare. Picasso signed many sheets before and after the death of Vollard.
Here are below three examples of complete sets with wide margins of the Suite Vollard.
A set partially serialized by Picasso in Vollard's lifetime but fully signed by the artist was sold for CHF 2.65M including premium by Galerie Kornfeld on June 15, 2012.
A set acquired by Petiet and fully signed by Picasso was sold for £ 2,65M including premium by Sotheby's on June 19, 2013.
On November 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells the full collection assembled 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. It is estimated $ 2M, lot 11.
1930-1937 The Petiet Suite
2017 SOLD for € 1.94M including premium
Ambroise Vollard knew how to work in the long term. When he agrees with Picasso for the edition of one hundred original etchings, he already defines the final quantity to print : 50 deluxe copies with large margins 51 x 39 cm and 260 copies with small margins 44 x 34 cm. Picasso begins in 1930, gets a renewed excitement from a printer change around 1933 but does not provide the last plates until 1937.
Vollard died in 1939 in the exercise of his job a bit like Aeschylus, supposedly 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 distributing the Suite. Picasso had numbered and signed 15 sets. Around 1941 the merchant Henri M. Petiet recovers all the stock. He has signed the prints by Picasso as and when he gets customers from his first sale in 1950 until his dispute with the artist in 1969.
Complete series in deluxe format are rare. One of them including ten sheets numbered by Picasso was sold for CHF 2.65M including premium by Kornfeld on June 15, 2012. The set assembled by the printer Lacourière for his personal collection was sold for $ 2.53M including premium by Sotheby's on November 14, 2016.
The Petiet stock was split between both formats. A deluxe set signed by Picasso was sold for £ 2.65M including premium by Sotheby's on June 19, 2013.
Petiet was a competent merchant but also a demanding collector. Curiously the Vollard Suite he had kept for his collection is with small margins. It has been entirely signed by Picasso.
It has taken 50 auction sessions since 1991 to disperse Petiet's collection of prints in 12,000 lots. His Vollard Suite waited for the very last sale. It is estimated € 1,2M for sale by Ader-Nordmann in Paris on November 25, lot 317.
Vollard died in 1939 in the exercise of his job a bit like Aeschylus, supposedly 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 distributing the Suite. Picasso had numbered and signed 15 sets. Around 1941 the merchant Henri M. Petiet recovers all the stock. He has signed the prints by Picasso as and when he gets customers from his first sale in 1950 until his dispute with the artist in 1969.
Complete series in deluxe format are rare. One of them including ten sheets numbered by Picasso was sold for CHF 2.65M including premium by Kornfeld on June 15, 2012. The set assembled by the printer Lacourière for his personal collection was sold for $ 2.53M including premium by Sotheby's on November 14, 2016.
The Petiet stock was split between both formats. A deluxe set signed by Picasso was sold for £ 2.65M including premium by Sotheby's on June 19, 2013.
Petiet was a competent merchant but also a demanding collector. Curiously the Vollard Suite he had kept for his collection is with small margins. It has been entirely signed by Picasso.
It has taken 50 auction sessions since 1991 to disperse Petiet's collection of prints in 12,000 lots. His Vollard Suite waited for the very last sale. It is estimated € 1,2M for sale by Ader-Nordmann in Paris on November 25, lot 317.
1935 Minotauromachie by Picasso
2016 SOLD for $ 2.1M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1937 La Femme qui pleure I, print by Picasso
2011 SOLD for $ 5.1M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1937 The Seventh State of the Weeping Woman
2014 SOLD 3.2 M£ including premium
Guernica and the Weeping Woman are inseparable.
In May 1937 Picasso designed the different elements of his large mural commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for the pavilion of the Universal Exhibition of Paris. He chose the unsustainable theme of the bombing of Guernica.
In the immediate following of this creative process, he starts to execute drawings and paintings of the Weeping Woman. This woman who has the facial features of Dora did not appear in the mural. She is an outside witness of the horror of Guernica.
During a single day, July 1, Picasso 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.
The number 8/15 from the third state was sold for $ 2.6 million including premium at Christie's on November 5, 2013.
The development is significant between the third and seventh state. The lines become darker and stronger, especially in the hair. More important : the mouth begins to close, transforming into rage the distress of the woman.
The seventh and final state of La Femme qui pleure I, so designated to differentiate it from a later work, is the masterpiece of modern printmaking. Number 3/15 was sold for $ 5.1 million including premium by Christie's on November 1, 2011 over a lower estimate of $ 1.5 M.
Number 8/15 of the seventh state is estimated £ 1.2 million, for sale by Sotheby 's in London on February 5, lot 19 in the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
La Femme qui pleure I in its seventh state is confirmed as the most outstanding print of the twentieth century. This example was sold for £ 3.2 million including premium.
In May 1937 Picasso designed the different elements of his large mural commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for the pavilion of the Universal Exhibition of Paris. He chose the unsustainable theme of the bombing of Guernica.
In the immediate following of this creative process, he starts to execute drawings and paintings of the Weeping Woman. This woman who has the facial features of Dora did not appear in the mural. She is an outside witness of the horror of Guernica.
During a single day, July 1, Picasso 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.
The number 8/15 from the third state was sold for $ 2.6 million including premium at Christie's on November 5, 2013.
The development is significant between the third and seventh state. The lines become darker and stronger, especially in the hair. More important : the mouth begins to close, transforming into rage the distress of the woman.
The seventh and final state of La Femme qui pleure I, so designated to differentiate it from a later work, is the masterpiece of modern printmaking. Number 3/15 was sold for $ 5.1 million including premium by Christie's on November 1, 2011 over a lower estimate of $ 1.5 M.
Number 8/15 of the seventh state is estimated £ 1.2 million, for sale by Sotheby 's in London on February 5, lot 19 in the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
La Femme qui pleure I in its seventh state is confirmed as the most outstanding print of the twentieth century. This example was sold for £ 3.2 million including premium.
1937 Dora's Scream
2015 SOLD for $ 4.6M including premium
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 successfully tries to refuse 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. Picasso gives up, probably after appreciating that the image of victimized women based on Marie-Thérèse will better reinforce his political message on the horror of war.
On July 1, 1937, Pablo executes in a single day seven successive states of the engraving of La femme qui pleure I. The third and seventh state are printed in fifteen copies each, 69 x 49 cm on 77 x 57 cm sheet.
In this seventh and final state, the rage expressed by Dora joins the intensity of the message of Guernica. The simultaneous conception of both themes is a consequence of the excitement of Pablo, unbalanced altogether by the rape of his anti-war feelings and his unprecedented issues with women.
The seventh state is the most outstanding print in auction history. The number 3/15 was sold for $ 5.1 million including premium by Christie's on November 1, 2011. The 8/15 previously discussed in this column was sold for £ 3.2 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 5, 2014. The number 11/15 is estimated $ 4M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 14, lot 5C.
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. Picasso gives up, probably after appreciating that the image of victimized women based on Marie-Thérèse will better reinforce his political message on the horror of war.
On July 1, 1937, Pablo executes in a single day seven successive states of the engraving of La femme qui pleure I. The third and seventh state are printed in fifteen copies each, 69 x 49 cm on 77 x 57 cm sheet.
In this seventh and final state, the rage expressed by Dora joins the intensity of the message of Guernica. The simultaneous conception of both themes is a consequence of the excitement of Pablo, unbalanced altogether by the rape of his anti-war feelings and his unprecedented issues with women.
The seventh state is the most outstanding print in auction history. The number 3/15 was sold for $ 5.1 million including premium by Christie's on November 1, 2011. The 8/15 previously discussed in this column was sold for £ 3.2 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 5, 2014. The number 11/15 is estimated $ 4M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 14, lot 5C.
