Artist : Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Title : Composition to the woman, 1956
Medium : Drypoint on thick BFK Rives paper​
Type of work : Original print signed by hand by the artist in red pencil at the bottom right, dated in the plate 6-9-56, numbered 1/10. This work is an additional wide-margined edition of illustration 10 of the tribute book to Eluard "a poem in each book" published in 1956 in 120 copies. In the book, illustration 10 is positioned next to Paul Eluard's poem "Thing seen" taken from "The immediate life" (1932). The work offered here comes from the album called "Album A", Reprinted from the book in 20 copies. Each album contains 16 prints like the book (including this work by Pablo Picasso ) but they were printed with large margins and unlike the prints in the book, all signed or monogrammed by the artists. The album we have was the property of the publisher Louis BRODER. It stands out from the others because it is enriched in addition to the 16 large-margined illustrations with many other prints collected by the publisher throughout his collaboration with the artists on this book.
Dimensions : 32 x 50 cm (image 19 x 36 cm)
Condition : Good
Provenance : Genevieve and Jean Paul Kahn collection
Expert's comment : In progress
The Album and the Book :
Explanatory photo 1: Comparison between Album A offprint of "a poem in each book" printed in 20 copies and the book "a poem in each book" printed in 120 copies. Explanatory photo 2: Album A offprint of 20 copies having belonged to the publisher Louis Broder contained in a gray canvas box with a label stuck on the back and the first cover. Explanatory photo 3: Proof of printing of Album A which indicates the maximum number of copies of prints contained in total in the 20 albums as well as the names of the artists. It is annotated in red pencil "Editor's copy B" because it belonged to Louis Broder. Explanatory photo 4: Original print signed and printed with wide margins by Pablo Picasso , contained in album A Explanatory photo 5: Original print signed and printed with large margins by Max Ernst, contained in album A Explanatory photo 6: Book "a poem in each book" printed in 120 copies, containing the 16 prints unsigned by the artists (signatures on the proof of printing of the book) Explanatory photo 7: Print by Pablo Picasso on double page, unsigned contained in the book "a poem in each book" Explanatory photo 8: Print by Max Ernst unsigned contained in the book "a poem in each book"
To discover in pictures the history of Album A and the rare prints it contains, click on the video below !
VIDEO
Biography of the artist : Born in 1881 in Malaga, Pablo Picasso is a true artistic prodigy. At the age of 15, he joined the Barcelona art school and at only nineteen, he represented Spain at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. Known for his blue period and his pink period which will invade his paintings, it is nevertheless his work "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", in total rupture with the codes of the time, which will agitate the spirits and will modify the rules of creation. 20th century art. He abandoned cubism in 1915 for more classic portraits, until the Spanish Civil War, when he painted his largest painting: "Guernica". He died in 1973, having marked the History of Art forever. Today, his work is still ubiquitous in major modern art collections.​
History of the book and the album : We advise you to read our blog "THE ALBUM OF LOUIS BRODER: A LEGENDARY PORTFOLIO".
About Paul ELUARD : We advise you to read our blog "PAUL ELUARD: THE CHOSEN ONE OF THE ART" .
Some verses of the poem "thing seen": The blood flowing on the flagstones make me sandals On a chair in the middle of the street I watch the little Creole girls Who come out of school smoking a pipe