Pablo Picasso

original prints, lithographs, lino cuts and etchings

 

A beautifully curated collection from the master of Modern Art: Pablo Picasso. We have a wonderful collection of Picasso lithographs for sale through the online gallery. We are also able to source most works from Picasso, including etchings, linocuts, lithographs and signed Picasso prints. Most of the Picasso artwork in our collection has been sourced from auctions and private collectors and many of the works are sold with a signed and dated certificate of provenance. We only stock official Picasso lithographs and prints. For Picasso, the medium of lithography and print provided an exciting new form of expression. He would stay in workshops for several months at a time, 12 hours a day, obsessed with the possibilities of lithographic print. Buy a Picasso print and take home a piece of art history!

Picasso was unquestionably one of the most prolific printmakers of all time. His ability to master any technique, from etching and linocuts to lithography and aquatint, has earned him a distinguished place in the history of printmaking. Pablo Picasso was a prolific printmaker, producing over 2,400 original prints throughout his career in a variety of techniques. But until 1945, almost all of his prints were black and white, and only a handful of them were lithographs, a printmaking method that closely resembles painting, enabling artists to draw directly on a stone slab or metal plate. This ratio drastically changed when Picasso met the master printmaker Fernand Mourlot. In just under two decades, Picasso and Mourlot produced over 350 lithographs (many of them in colour), experimenting with unconventional techniques like finger painting that pushed the boundaries of the medium. You can read an interview here with Eric Mourlot, Fernand Mourlot’s grandson on the techniques Picasso employed into his lithography.

He worked with Atelier Mourlot for a good deal of his printing career, producing over four hundred different editions. The bold, exciting colours and images of the lithographs are unique to Picasso; and have become hugely collectable and affordable works on paper. Picasso expressed himself in many ways through the method of lithography, creating and experimenting with his own techniques.

Picasso also worked closely with Hidalgo Arnéra in his Vallauris studio, in the south of France. Experimenting with different printing methods and inks. They collaborated and developed the reduction printing technique: reduction linoleum which allowed a multi-layer print to be produced from a single block. Reduction linocuts involve using a single block to print layers of ink and cutting the block between successive printings.

What are Picasso Prints?

Throughout his lifetime, Picasso produced prints; his first came in 1899, when he was still a youngster, and his last came in 1972, when he was 90 years old. He created over 2,400 prints overall while experimenting, using a range of printing processes, most notably etching, lithography, and linocut. In contrast to painting, printmaking requires collaboration, and over the years, Pablo Picasso collaborated with and learned from the masters of different printing ateliers. Fernand Mourlot, one of the most famous lithographers Picasso worked with, and he often remarked of the artist’s insatiable interest in the medium.

He clearly valued making prints as much as painting, as evidenced by the time and effort he put into it. He frequently developed concepts in both print and paint at the same time. One of his breakthroughs was making marks with his fingers rather than a brush or lithographic crayon. Picasso also enjoyed how quickly he could erase, redraw, and modify an image as he went along with lithography more so than with other printmaking methods and undoubtedly more so than with painting.

How to choose a Picasso Print?

Find an image you love first and foremost. Picasso is known for his masterpieces from all eras and in all printing techniques, so you truly can’t go wrong by following your taste. There are a range of Picasso prints to suit any budget, which is incredible for such a huge artist, whos work fetches some of the highest prices at auction.

An “after” is a print which has been authorised by the artist (or the estate depending on the date of the print) These have been created by master printers, entrusted by the artist to produce the highest standard of their work. These prints range in price and tend to be in a more affordable category. This is not to say they are not official and authentic prints, their price reflects the fact it was not done by the artist’s hand.

Picasso Prints which have been created by artist’s hand, either by painting onto a lithographic stone or etching into a plate, are more valuable to collect. These prices can also range, depending on edition size, desirable image and of course signature. Picasso did not hand sign all the prints he created, signatures were reserved either for special suits or for a limited number of a print run. All prints created by Picasso will have been signed in the plate.

 

Why are Picasso Prints so popular today?

Picasso is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated artists of the last century, with his work being desirable to collectors worldwide. Picasso prints are popular choices for collectors for many reasons. His paintings are amongst the highest reaching at auctions, so they are not really an option for many people, due to their expense and rarity. The various prints created by Picasso himself are an achievable  way for collectors to own the artist’s work. Prints were made in editions and Picasso was one of the most prolific printmakers, so there is plenty of choice on the market.

THE ARTIST

 

PABLO PICASSO

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is undeniably the most prolific artist of the 20th century. From child prodigy to creative revolutionary, in his lifetime Picasso produced countless masterpieces. His work has had a profound influence on modern art that can still be felt today. Together with Georges Braque, Picasso founded the Cubism movement which deconstructed the tradition of perspective in painting. His seminal work, ‘Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon (1907)’ was ground-breaking in its abstraction, with flattened geometric planes and reference to African Art. During his career he worked through an impressive array of styles, from the melancholic Blue period to his restless furtherance of Surrealism, but every work is a testament to his ingenious mastery over colour and form. Picasso also enjoyed working in many mediums, from painting to lithography and ceramics. Discover our diverse collection of Picasso prints by this truly iconic artist.

Picasso and The Linocut 

A visit to the Arnera studios in Vallauris, France where Picasso printed his famous linocuts.

Written, Produced and Narrated by: Dr. Jean Audigier, Professor of Art History, University of San Francisco
Edited by: Scott Saraceno

In Conversation with Eric Mourlot – Picasso on Paper

Read about Picasso’s printing techniques and his the time he spent in the Mourlot Atelier, Paris.

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