12
Pablo Picasso
La Célestine
- Estimate
- $25,000 - 35,000
$30,000
Lot Details
The complete set of 66 etchings with text by Fernando de Rojas, bound in the original book cover with with parchment boards and lettering on the spine (as issued), contained in the original slipcover with Richard de bas laid paper.
1977
Book 8 5/8 x 7 in. (21.9 x 17.8 cm)
Signed in pencil and numbered 100 on the justification (the edition was 350, there were also 30 hors commerce in Roman numerals), printed and published by Atelier Crommelynck, Paris.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
The etchings done for La Célestine are part of the famous 347 Series. Between March 16 and October 5, 1968, Picasso worked on the plates almost daily, using various techniques and sometimes the same plate.
Picasso did not want the text to be printed on the verso of the leaves with etchings - hence the arrangement of the pages is unusual: uncut double leaves with one etching and one page of text alternate with single leaves with two text pages. Patrick Cramer, Pablo Picasso The Illustrated Books, 1983, p. 360.
Picasso did not want the text to be printed on the verso of the leaves with etchings - hence the arrangement of the pages is unusual: uncut double leaves with one etching and one page of text alternate with single leaves with two text pages. Patrick Cramer, Pablo Picasso The Illustrated Books, 1983, p. 360.
Literature
Pablo Picasso
Spanish | B. 1881 D. 1973One 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.
Browse Artist