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Pablo Picasso seems to have held a special interest in ceramics from very early on. Evidence of this is present in several well-known works housed in European museums, such as the two porcelain plates that the artist decorated in oil during his stay in La Coruña between 1891 and 1895, and drawings such as Vase bleu, dating from 1906, that can be regarded as possible projects. At the end of the 1920s, while working in the Paris studio of Jean van Dongen (brother of the painter Kees van Dongen) he created several ceramic pieces, two of which now reside at the Musée Picasso in Paris. These are of particular interest in foreshadowing not only the importance that he would give to this medium in his later work, during his repeated visits to the Côte d'Azur, but also the revolutionary approach that he adopted. No longer would ceramics represent mere painted decoration but the creation of a multi-media artist playing with a support's form to create artworks in three dimensions. It was an outstanding achievement, displaying an unexpected mastery of ceramic techniques and an upheaval of these practices in a constant game of questioning and invention.
It was in Vallauris, Southern France, in the years following the War and upon joining a village of potters located in the hills above Antibes and Cannes, that Picasso's interest in ceramics began its spectacular and prolific development as evidenced in the many pieces, unique and editioned, that are now housed in great museums around the world and indeed in those gathered and presented in this catalogue.
In August 1946, whilst on holiday in Golfe Juan with Françoise Gilot and his friend the printmaker Louis Fort, Picasso's curiosity was piqued by a visit to an exhibition of local crafts in Vallauris. It was here that he met Suzanne Ramié, who had created an atelier some years before in one of the town's old abandoned potteries: the Madoura Pottery. There, on a beautiful afternoon in the cool of the workshop, Picasso produced several pieces including a small faun's head and two bulls: the happy beginnings of an adventure and a faithful and fruitful collaboration with the Ramié family that would last twenty-five years.
Thus, with the generous help of Suzanne and Georges Ramié who welcomed him into their workshop, Picasso created a body of ceramic works between 1946 and 1971 that changed forever the history of Vallauris, the wider practice of ceramic art and the mode by which lovers of modern art were able to enjoy his work. From the start he seemed to have had the desire for a wider dissemination of his work. Even by the 1948 issue of Cahiers d'Art devoted to Pablo Picasso, Christian Zervos suffered no shortage of evidence regarding this exciting project to highlight his point. It was the Madoura atelier who, alongside Picasso, developed the technical processes needed to accurately reproduce the pieces created by his hands in every respect. It was not just in order to slavishly reproduce the look of these pieces but rather to preserve the spirit that animates them so beautifully; here lay the real difficulty. The spectacular results of this endeavor continue to amaze and pay tribute to this great adventure, begun one afternoon in August 1946.
- Yves Peltier, expert in modern and contemporary ceramics.
PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED FRENCH PRIVATE COLLECTION
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Vallauris
Details
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Vallauris
inscribed and dated 'Vallauris/1956' (around the rim); stamped, marked and numbered 'Madoura Plein Feu/Empreinte Originale de Picasso/46/100' (underneath)
partially glazed ceramic plate
16 5/8in. (42.3cm.) diameter
Conceived in 1956 and executed in an edition of 100
Vallauris
inscribed and dated 'Vallauris/1956' (around the rim); stamped, marked and numbered 'Madoura Plein Feu/Empreinte Originale de Picasso/46/100' (underneath)
partially glazed ceramic plate
16 5/8in. (42.3cm.) diameter
Conceived in 1956 and executed in an edition of 100
Literature
A. Ramié no.331 (another version illustrated p.169)
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