Pablo Picasso Lithographs

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is widely known for his paintings and sculpture, but his work in printmaking is just as prolific. Picasso utilized and experimented in many forms of printmaking techniques, from etching to aquatint to lithography. Picasso Lithographs, especially, was something the artist experimented in heavily with the help of master printmaker Fernand Mourlot. Before 1945, Picasso lithographs were dabbled in between his work in etching and aquatint. Most of his work up until this point was in black and white and very few prints were Picasso lithographs. But with the meeting of Mourlot in 1945 he began a long and prosperous collaborative relationship with the printmaker’s atelier.

Pablo Picasso Colombe Volant (Flying Dove), 1952
Pablo Picasso Colombe Volant (Flying Dove), 1952

Lithography is a printing technique that originally consisted of the artist drawing their design on a lithographic limestone or metal plate with oil, fat, or wax. Then the stone is treated with an acid and gum arabic solution, which “etches” the non-greased part of the design into the stone itself. The stone is then moistened and an oil-based ink applied, therefore allowing only the drawn on greased design to pick up the ink and print it on the print material. Picasso mastered this technique quickly and subsequently began to push the boundaries of the medium itself.

Pablo Picasso Faune aux Branchages (Faun with Branches), 1948

Picasso worked with Mourlot Studios over several months to create over 400 lithographic prints between 1945 and 1969. During this time, Picasso lithographs were experimented in ways the medium had never seen before. With unconventional methods like finger painting, using bright colors, and creating plates from collage and mixed media, Picasso confused and frustrated the master printmakers in Mourlot’s atelier. "He looked, he listened, he did the opposite of what he had learnt- and it worked," Mourlot, the famous publisher and printer, once said of Picasso's lithograph knowledge. He wanted to print in ways that had never been done before, and the printmakers doubted what he was trying to do was even possible. But Picasso not only succeeded in creating his desired prints but he excelled in these new techniques.

Picasso Lithographs opened up a new door in Picasso’s career. He worked in this medium for over two decades and used it to explore many concepts, from daily life objects, such as a bowl of fruit, a teacup or a young child, to more complex compositions and portraiture. One of his most famous lithographs is Grande Maternité (Grand Maternity), 1963, a portrait of a mother breastfeeding a young child. The work looks like a line drawing, a far cry from the traditional lithographs of the previous artists who frequented the medium like Eugene Delacroix and Théodore Géricault. Picasso also recreated some of his paintings as lithographs, like Femme Assise (Dora Maar), 1955, his famous portrait of artist and muse, Dora Maar.

Pablo Picasso Femme Assise (Dora Maar), 1955

Picasso lithographs comprise a significant portion of his artistic oeuvre and serve as Picasso's enduring legacy. Today, much of his collectable work on the market consists of lithographs due to the sheer quantity Picasso was able to create during his lifetime. These works live on as a testament to Picasso’s genius in experimenting and inventing new techniques and forms of creation.

Joan Miró Lithographs

The close relationship with Fernand Mourlot resulted in the creation of over one thousand Joan Miró lithographic print editions. His process of automatic drawing, allowing the hand to move randomly on the surface, leaving the artwork to chance, enabled him to create works that were genuine reflections of himself, an integral part of his popularity. A popularity that still remains today as they make for 91% of all of his works bought on the market, with a complete set of Le lézard aux Plumes d’Or (1971) selling for over $147, 510 in 2002 from Christie’s.

A true master of the printmaking medium, Miró received the Grand Prize for Graphic Work at the Venice Biennale in 1954, and his work was included in the first Documenta exhibition in Kassel the following year. In 1958, he was given a Guggenheim International Award for murals for the UNESCO building in Paris and the following year he resumed painting, initiating a series of mural-sized canvases. During the 1960s, he began to work intensively in sculpture and was particularly captivated by glass as is evidenced in his commissioned mural Personnage Oiseaux (1972-1978) which combines one million pieces of marble and Venetian glass. A man whose art rose to international acclaim with the help of the Surrealist movement, Miró was honored with many retrospectives during his lifetime and worked until he passed away of heart disease in December 25, 1983, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.