"Le Picador II"

(1961)

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"Le Picador II" 1961, color lithograph, printed in 24 colors on wove paper, 200x260mm; 7 5/8" x 10 3/8", full margins.  Signed by the artist in pencil, lower right.  Edition size 50, apart from the book edition of 125. Numbered in pencil, lower left.  Dated in the stone twice, lower left. Published by Andre Sauret, Monte Carlo, in conjunction with the book "A Los Toros avec Picasso". An excellent impression with vibrant colors [Bloch 1017; Mourlot 350; ReuBe 788].

Jaime Sabartes, Picasso's lifelong friend, wrote in his text for "A Los Toros avec Picasso" that the cry "a los toros" evoked the emotion that "he who cries it feels it rising inside of him early on a Sunday morning when a bullfight is going to take place".   Sabartes describes the atmosphere of the plaza and the enthusiasm of the crowd. He writes of the 'actors' in the corrida, devoting his greatest level of attention to the bull and the Picador. For his friend's memorable book,  Picasso created one of his finest lithographic works, vividly illustrating Sabartes' passionate descriptions in "Le Picador II".

Goeppert states: "To accompany the book, Picasso made four black and white lithographs on March 6, 1961, at Vauvenargues; they depict La Pique, Le Picador, Jeu de Cap and Les Banderillas.  The publisher, Andre Sauret, asked Fernand Mourlot to suggest to the artist that 'he put a little color into these plates', and Mourlot communicated the request during a visit to Vauvenarges on April 21, 1961. Picasso obliged by coloring in Le Picador with wax crayons from a box of twenty-four.  Fernand Mourlot tells proudly of how his atelier succeeded in the difficult task of printing all 24 colors - plus black - that the artist used".

"Le Picador II" is in a hand-carved gilded closed corner 'Coronado' 24 1/4" x 26 1/2" frame with an alternating pattern of colors echoing those in the lithograph. The  Larson-Juhl 'Senelar' wood fillet is finished in gold.  The outer cream linen and inner brown/orange suede mats are acid and lignin free and protected with Acrylite-AR OP3 (UV) by CYRO ..... SOLD