Lot 77

Collins & Kent International Fine Art, Melbourne
Private collection, South Australia

Geiser, B., & Baer, B., Picasso: Peintre-Graveur, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre gravé et des monotypes 1986-1996, Kornfeld er Klipstein, Berne, vol. 7, (B. 917; Ba. 1232) (another example)

'Femme dans un Fauteuil et Guitarist' by Pablo Picasso merges two commonly explored Cubist themes in the artist's work: a seated woman in an armchair and a guitarist. There is a distinct luminosity that seems to radiate from the woman, casting light on the musician's legs and the side of the guitarist's chair, establishing a connection between her and the instrument. The guitar's sound hole mirrors the space where one would typically find the woman's face, as if her mouth were open in song while the musician played.

Created in 1959, this edition stands as a prime example of Picasso's groundbreaking linocut technique known as 'reduction'. Instead of the conventional approach of employing separate linoleum blocks for each colour, which could result in alignment challenges, Picasso opted for a unique process. He sequentially carved into the same block, introducing a new colour at each stage. This innovative method emerged during a focused creative period spanning from 1958 to 1963 when linocut briefly became Picasso's preferred practice.
Hannah Ryan, Prints & Multiples Specialist

© Succession Picasso/Copyright Agency, 2023