Pablo Picasso, La Pique Cassée (The Broken Spade), 1959

Artist: Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)
Title:La Pique Cassée (The Broken Spade), 1959
Reference:Bloch 921, Baer 1244
Medium:Linocut printed in white and black on Arches wove paper.
Image Size:21 x 25¼ in (53.3 x 64.1 cm)
Sheet Size:24⅜ x 29½ in (61 x 74.9 cm)
Edition:Numbered from the edition of 50 in pencil in the lower left margin.
Signature:This work is hand-signed by Pablo Picasso (Malaga, 1881- Mougins, 1973) in pencil in the lower right margin.
Condition:This work is in excellent condition.
ID #w-7160

Historical Description

Pablo Picasso's La Pique Cassée (The Broken Spade), 1959 is an incredible work showcasing the artist's creative mastery of the linocut printing technique. The simple composition highlights Picasso's skill in using line to create an austere yet powerful design. The print features a chaotic scene of a bullfighter atop a horse taking down a bull, and as the title references, his weapon has broken during the fight. Picasso attended bullfights, or corridas, as a child in Spain, and they became a huge source of inspiration for him throughout his career. La Pique Cassée (The Broken Spade), 1959 is full of dynamic energy and makes the viewer feel as though they are standing alongside Picasso at a chaotic bullfight themselves. The print is a gorgeous artistic scene of one of the traditions from Picasso's Spanish heritage that heavily affected the artist throughout his life.

Created in 1959, this linocut printed in white and black on Arches wove paper is hand-signed by Pablo Picasso (Malaga, 1881- Mougins, 1973) in pencil in the lower right margin and numbered from 50 in pencil in the lower left margin.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Pablo Picasso La Pique Cassée (The Broken Spade), 1959 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work).

1. Baer, Brigitte. Picasso Peintre-Graveur, Tome V. Galerie Kornfeld: Switzerland, 1989. Listed as plate 1244.
2. Bloch, Georges. Picasso Catalogue de l'ouvre gravé et lithographié, Volume I. Kornfeld et Cie: Switzerland, 1968. Illustrated and listed as plate 921.
3. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.

About the Framing:
Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Pablo Picasso La Pique Cassée (The Broken Spade), 1959 is presented in a complementary moulding and optical grade Plexiglas.

Subject Matter: Bull