Pablo Picasso, Visage dans étoile (Face in a Star), 1947 A.R. 30

Artist: Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)
Title:Visage dans étoile (Face in a Star), 1947
Reference:A.R. 30
Medium:Madoura rectangular dish of white earthenware clay with decoration in engobes boring rod engraved under glaze (red, green, blue, white)
Image Size:DIMENSIONS: 15 1/4 in x 12 5/8 in (38.8 cm x 32 cm)
Edition:Incised on the verso, this work is numbered from the edition of 200.
Signature:This work is stamped with the 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and 'EDITION PICASSO' on verso.
Condition:This work is in excellent condition.
ID #w-5027

Historical Description

Endlessly fascinated with the human face, Picasso created a range of ceramics that address this subject. None however are as simply radiant as Pablo Picasso ceramic Visage dans étoile (Face in a Star), 1947 A.R. 30. Deceptively simple, this work radiates joy as varying colors depart from the center of the face and spread out across the medium. The colorful rays spread out across the entire dish, joining up with the blue border that brings unity and completion to the piece. The face itself is as simple as a face can be - two dots form the eyes, a vertical negative relief line for the nose, and a upturned line for the mouth, letting out a happy emotion. There are no complicated feelings in this face, only the purest sort of happiness and comfort. Through leaving voids of white, a true sense of wonder is achieved as a clear sense of expression emerges with minimal detail, exemplifying Picasso's immense skill at depicting more with less.

This piece comes relatively near the beginning of Picasso's ceramic career, having been created only one year after he arrived at the Madoura studio in Vallauris. The rectangular dish was one of the first shapes that he experimented heavily with, and it continues to be one of the shapes that holds his most remarkable work.

Created in 1947, this rectangular dish of white earthenware clay with decoration in engobes boring rod engraved under glaze (red, green, blue, white)is incised on the verso, numbered from the edition of 200 and is stamped with the 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and 'EDITION PICASSO' pottery stamps on the reverse.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Pablo Picasso ceramic Face in a Star (Visage dans étoile), 1947 A.R. 30 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. Ramié, Alain. Picasso, Catalogue of the Edited Ceramic Works 1947-1971, Vallauris, 1988.Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 30.

2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.