Pablo Picasso Jacqueline au chevalet (Jacqueline at the Easel), 1956

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 Madoura round dish of white earthenware clay features is numbered from the edition of 100; this work features the inscribed stamps 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and 'EMPREINTE ORIGINALE' on verso.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Pablo Picasso Jacqueline au chevalet (Jacqueline at the Easel), 1956 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices accompanying the final sale of the work):

1. Listed and illustrated in the following: Ramié, Alain. Picasso Catalogue of the edited ceramic works 1947-1971. Madoura: 1988.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.