Private collection, since 1970
Athens, Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation, Memories steeped in dream, August 5 – December 3, 2023
Miguel Orozco, Catalogue Raisonné of Picasso Posters, academia.edu, 17 May 2019, pp. 287-288, no. 660 (two other signed impressions illustrated)
Picasso has always been known for his tendency to experiment. No technique, no media, no form of artistic expression was unfamiliar to him. In the field of engraving, he was particularly interested in linocut, which he learned in the mid-1950s. This technique gave him the opportunity not only to draw thicker and more flexible outlines, but also to experiment more easily and effectively with the accumulation of colour layers.
Basil and Elise Goulandris visited the master at his villa in Mougins in the spring of 1970. From this unforgettable meeting they kept the memory of this linocut bearing the date, the artist’s signature and a dedication. The work represents the profile of Picasso’s favourite model back then, his wife, Jacqueline. At the same time, an exhibition of Picasso’s linocuts was organized at the Beyeler Gallery in Basel. The exhibition poster was a copy of this linocut, that the creator must have appreciated a lot. And it is not difficult to understand the reason: Jacqueline’s so charming but also austere profile is enlivened by vivid, cool colours, giving the whole such an optimism and joy that few engravings have managed to convey until today.
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