“They lived in a world of his own creation where he reigned almost as a king yet cherished only two treasures – freedom to work and the love of Jacqueline” i
Buste au corsage à carreaux stands as the prettiest, most worked image in a later series of lithographic portraits of Picasso’s second wife and muse, Jacqueline Roque. As a series which the artist considered to be of great importance, Picasso often reworked the plates, resulting in multiple states as he perfected the compositions. Picasso’s characterization of Jacqueline in the present lithograph includes features that would become familiar traits seen in his later works: dark eyes and eyebrows, high cheekbones, a classical profile. Such a depiction, however, did not come from Jacqueline posing for the artist – in fact, she never sat for him. Rather, Picasso observed her movement and style in their daily life; that her beauty and grace emanates in over 400 portraits Picasso made of her before his death is evidence of his adoration.
Picasso printed this lithograph with Fernand Mourlot, a master printer synonymous with the resurgence of lithography following a period of relative obscurity. Under Mourlot’s influence, the method attracted some of the greatest artistic masters of our time, providing a new avenue of expression for figureheads of modernism like Matisse, Chagall, Miró, and Picasso. Picasso began working with Mourlot in 1945: “He came like he was going to battle,” Mourlot remarked of their first collaborations. A corner of the studio soon became dedicated to Picasso’s printed pursuits, and twenty years after his first visit, Picasso had produced over 400 lithographs, often making prints in 15 to 20 states. Working mercilessly, Picasso utilized the resources of Mourlot’s studio to invent complex and extravagant techniques, like creating plates from collage and mixed media. Always pushing lithography to its limits, the difficulties of such experiments were overcome by the artist’s distinctively tenacious spirit and Mourlot’s skillful support.
iDavid Douglas Duncan, Picasso and Jacqueline, 1988, p. 9
Literature
Georges Bloch 850 Fernand Mourlot 308 Felix Reuße 735
One of the most dominant and influential artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso was a master of endless reinvention. While significantly contributing to the movements of Surrealism, Neoclassicism and Expressionism, he is best known for pioneering the groundbreaking movement of Cubism alongside fellow artist Georges Braque in the 1910s. In his practice, he drew on African and Iberian visual culture as well as the developments in the fast-changing world around him.
Throughout his long and prolific career, the Spanish-born artist consistently pushed the boundaries of art to new extremes. Picasso's oeuvre is famously characterized by a radical diversity of styles, ranging from his early forays in Cubism to his Classical Period and his later more gestural expressionist work, and a diverse array of media including printmaking, drawing, ceramics and sculpture as well as theater sets and costumes designs.
Buste au corsage à carreaux (Bust with Check Cloth Blouse) (B. 850, M. 308)
1958 Lithograph, on Arches paper, with full margins. I. 22 x 17 1/4 in. (55.9 x 43.8 cm) S. 26 x 19 3/4 in. (66 x 50.2 cm) Signed and numbered 22/50 in pencil (there were also some artist's proofs), the second (final) state, framed.