Literature

Bloch, Georges. Pablo Picasso: Catalogue de l'Œuvre Gravé et Lithographié, Vol. IV. Bern: Kornfeld & Klipstein, 1968–1979. (Bloch 1194)

Curtiss, Courtney P., ed. Picasso: Passion and Creation – The Last Thirty Years. Boca Raton Museum of Art, 2001. (p.57)

Geiser, Bernhard and Brigitte Baer. Picasso: Peintre-Graveur, Catalogue Raisonné de l'Œuvre Gravé et des Monotypes, Vol. VII. Bern: Kornfeld, 1986–1996. (Baer 1357.B.a)

Mallen, Enrique, ed. The Online Picasso Project. Sam Houston State University. (65:019)

Wofsy, Alan. The Picasso Project: The Complete Linocuts. (L.183)

Printed and Published by

Arnéra, Vallauris, France

There were also approximately 35 artist's proofs, together with five experimental impressions on Arches paper printed in cream-white and subsequently washed with black India ink, producing a reversed black-line effect.

Dimensions

Sheet: 620 x 750 mm

Condition

A fine impression with strong contrasts and full margins. Signed in pencil by the artist. In very good condition.

Catalogue Note

Executed in February 1965, Peintre Dessinant et Modèle Nu au Chapeau belongs to Picasso's celebrated late series exploring the relationship between artist and model, a theme that occupied him with increasing intensity during the final decade of his life. In these works the studio becomes both a place of artistic creation and a stage upon which observation, imagination and desire are played out.

The composition depicts an artist absorbed in the act of drawing while his seated nude model, distinguished by an elaborate hat, occupies the foreground. Although physically close, the two figures appear psychologically independent, each immersed in a separate world. Picasso transforms this apparent distance into a subtle dialogue, creating a scene that is simultaneously intimate, humorous and contemplative.

Technically, the print is one of the most inventive of Picasso's late linocuts. Working with master printer Hidalgo Arnéra, Picasso employed a single-block process in which the carved areas print as white lines against a black ground. The resulting image possesses a remarkable luminosity and graphic clarity, demonstrating the artist's continuing fascination with experimentation and innovation in printmaking.

The painter-and-model subject held deep personal significance for Picasso, serving as a vehicle through which he could reflect upon the creative process itself. In the late works, the artist increasingly identified with the figure of the ageing creator confronting beauty, memory and artistic legacy. The present linocut is a compelling example of this mature vision, combining technical brilliance with the expressive freedom that characterises Picasso's final years.

Printed in a relatively small edition and produced during the height of Picasso's late printmaking activity, Peintre Dessinant et Modèle Nu au Chapeau remains one of the most distinctive and sought-after works from his celebrated linocut period.