Description
“Le Cerf” (The Doe) from the “L’Histoire Naturelle de Buffon” created by famed Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso between 1941-1942.
Annotation
Not Signed. Not Numbered. Edition of 226 pieces. etching-aquatint. Reference: Patrick Cramer
Illustrations for Histoire Naturelle by Buffon, 1936 (published 1942)
Pablo Picasso’s portfolio titled, Buffon’s L’Histoire Naturelle is a series of 31 etched plates with sugar-lift aquatint and drypoint. In 1936, Picasso was commissioned by Ambrose Vollard for a suite of etchings to illustrate texts from the Count of Buffon’s 18th-century text. Accordingly, Picasso selected thirty-one descriptions of animals from the Histoire Naturelle of George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon as a beginning point for this project. Vollard was killed in a car accident and the project was placed on hold.
The portfolio has been called one of the masterpieces of the 20th century, it was produced during the dark days of the German occupation of Paris, a time of severely restricted artistic freedom. [wiki]
About Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso is unquestionably one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. Few artists have had a greater influence on modern art. Picasso transformed the art world by co-founding the Cubist movement with friend Georges Braque. (link to homage to Georges Braques its one of my pieces) and his techniques continue to inspire viewers, intellectuals, and today’s artists alike. Thanks to his revolutionary approach to art, Picasso remains one of the world’s most renowned artists and best-known figures of his century.
Museum Collections: (several)
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
- Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
- Picasso Museum Barcelona, Spain
- Museo Del Prado, Madrid, Spain
See more artwork by Pablo Picasso here.
