Buste de Femme de Face

Picasso, Pablo

243625 Picasso, Pablo Buste de Femme de Face From Vingt Poemes, Luis de Gongora y Argote 1948 B.487; Ba.749; Cr.51 12 7/8'' x 9 5/8'' Sugar-lift aquatint on Marais paper. One of 20 portraits hors texte (41 aquatints total) included in 'Vingt Poemes'. From the edition of 235 numbered on the justification. Aside from the edition of 5 copies on Imperial Japan numbered 1 to 5 in Arabic, 10 copies on Marais numbered 6 to 15 in Arabic, and 25 hors commerce copies reserved for the collaborators numbered in Roman I to XXV. Printed by Atelier Lacouriere, Paris. Luis de Góngora y Argote (1561-1627) was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet born in Cordoba, Spain. Góngora was considered to be one of the most prominent Spanish poets of his time. El Greco was a contemporary and friend of the poet. His style is characterized by what was called culteranismo, also known as Gongorism (Gongorismo) which was characterized by a charged, decorative style using Latin syntax and a deliberate illogical choice of metaphors which made him quite popular with the Surrealists of the day. Interest in his work was revived at the beginning of the twentieth century when Garcia Lorca heralded him "the father of modern poetry". The twenty sonnets by Gongora were handwritten by Picasso's friend Reverdy and Picasso was a great admirer of both Gongora's poetry and El Greco's painting. Included with the twenty sonnets are nineteen heads of women, and one sonnet which is a tribute to El Greco. First used by Picasso in 1936, the technique of creating a sugar aquatint or "lift-ground etching" was a complicated and obscure method. It had it's advantages as it allowed the artist to draw directly onto a metal plate, preserving brushwork and allowing for large blocks of color instead of the thin lines attributed to most etchings. Using this process, the artist would paint the metal plate with a thick ink that included sugar and gum Arabic. The drawing was then covered with a varnish and dipped in water. The water would penetrate the varnish and remove the sugary ink. The areas that had not been treated with the ink would remain covered with varnish. The exposed areas were then "bitten" with acid. This technique allowed for the final print to reflect an array of subtle tones and rich textures.

Reg. No.

243625

Size

12 7/8" x 9 5/8"

Medium

AQUATINT

PW Price

Call for Pricing
and Availability.

Interested in this item? Have a gallery rep. contact me., or call (800) 521.9654 x4, or (248) 354-2343.

Zoom feature: You'll notice there is a small magnifying glass icon located at the bottom right corner of each work of art featured on the site. Click on this icon and move it around the work of art to experience a more intimate view of the details, brush strokes and textures used by each artist.