Pablo Picasso - Editions & Works on Paper New York Tuesday, October 24, 2023 | Phillips

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  • Though the linocut was considered too limited and unsophisticated to be widely adopted by professional artists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the simplicity of line it elicited fit perfectly with Picasso’s geometric and linear style. His work in the medium in the 1950s and 60s soon revolutionized the technique, shepherding its popularity into the world of graphic art. The linocut provided a sense of immediacy for Picasso that he could not find in other forms of printmaking; it allowed for more control and speed; however speed was only immediately accessible when printing with a single color. When Picasso attempted expand his palette from one to six, carving identical pieces of linoleum proved so tedious he invented a new method of multi-color graphics that allowed him to print every color from the same block. Femme au chapeau (Woman in Hat) is comprised five colors, all inked on the same block, starting with the largest base color and subsequently carving the details out with each new color.

     

    Made from a quarter inch-thick piece of linoleum, the linocut bares the unique signs of the manner used to create an impression. A sharp, concave tool is pressed down and into the rubber surface, smoother than wood and less delicate than a metal plate. Linocuts also require less pressure than its counterparts, which creates lines specific to linocuts, which give the resulting image a vivid yet softer physicality. Femme au chapeau (Woman in Hat) serves as a perfect example of these lines, wide in the middle with tapered ends. Each impression, each stroke, is visible, including remnants of the removal of negative space in small dots across the image. Repetitive, rhythmic, and tactile, Picasso’s touch breathes life into the woman and her hat.

    • Provenance

      Private Collection, Japan

    • Literature

      Georges Bloch 1073
      Brigitte Baer 1281

    • Artist Biography

      Pablo Picasso

      Spanish • 1881 - 1973

      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. 

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Femme au chapeau (Woman in a Hat) (Bl. 1073, Ba. 1281)

1962
Linocut in colors, on Arches paper, the full margins, with full margins.
I. 13 5/8 x 10 1/2 in. (34.6 x 26.7 cm)
S. 24 5/8 x 17 3/8 in. (62.5 x 44.1 cm)

Signed and numbered 17/50 in pencil (there were also some artist's proofs), published by Galerie Louise Leiris, 1963, framed.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$40,000 - 60,000 

Sold for $50,800

Contact Specialist

Editions@phillips.com
212 940 1220
 

Editions & Works on Paper

New York Auction 24-26 October 2023