After spending the month of May 1956 at the artist's villa - La Californie - in the Riviera, Douglas Cooper was uniquely suited to comment on his ceramic production. After engraving a line drawing on a plaster mould, Picasso deepened the image with a gouge, occasionally modeling forms in volume on the surface as well. "In other words," Cooper noted, "this mould served as an intermediary element for reproduction, exactly as the copper plate does for the etcher" (Picasso and ceramics, 67). Exhibited in Paris, Cannes, Lyon and Céret between 1956-58, these works were clearly popular.

Jacqueline at the Easel shows the artist's second wife, Jacqueline Roque, in a reversal of roles. By depicting her at the easel instead of in front of it, Picasso foregrounds Jacqueline's role as a great muse for his art. Out of all his lovers, Jacqueline may have had the greatest impact on the artist and his work, figuring prominently in countless works dating to the last two decades of his life.

Created in 1956, this original round dish of white earthenware clay features an additional scene of fauns with square faces on the verso; this second image was applied with ivory, green and black engobes and then glazed. Numbered from the edition of 100, this work bears two publisher's stamps on the verso: "'EMPREINTE ORIGINALE DE PICASSO' and 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU'.

DOCUMENTED AND ILLUSTRATED IN:
1. Bloch, Georges. (1972) Pablo Picasso, Tome III Catalogue de l'œuvre grave céramique 1949 - 1971. Editions Kornfeld et Klipstein: Berne. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 107.
2. Ramié, Alain. Picasso Catalogue of the Edited Ceramic Works 1947-1971. Madoura, 1988. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 335.
3. Ramié, Georges. Picasso's Ceramics. Edicitiones Poligrafa, S.A., 1985. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 421.

ABOUT THE FRAMING:

This work is framed to museum-grade, conservation standards in a complementary moulding with silk-wrapped mats.