Executed in 1959, Pablo Picasso, La Pique I, belongs to Pablo Picasso’s prolific late period, during which he returned with renewed intensity to themes of mythology, ritual, and the human figure. The title, translating to “The Pike” or “The Spear,” evokes imagery associated with archaic combat, hunting, and ceremonial gesture—subjects that recur throughout Picasso’s postwar graphic work. In this lithograph, Picasso employs a confident, economical line to distill the figure and its symbolic implement into a composition of striking immediacy and expressive force.

Printed on Arches wove paper, a support long favored by Picasso for its subtle texture and tonal depth, La Pique I exemplifies the artist’s mastery of lithography as a primary creative medium rather than a reproductive process. By 1959, Picasso had fully internalized the technical possibilities of lithography, using the medium to explore spontaneous mark-making, gestural abstraction, and the tension between figuration and reduction. The work’s simplified forms and assertive linearity reflect Picasso’s ability to convey psychological intensity with minimal means.

La Pique I is part of a broader group of late-1950s lithographs in which Picasso revisited classical and mythic subjects through a modern, expressive lens. The figure’s ambiguity—simultaneously human, symbolic, and archetypal—underscores Picasso’s lifelong engagement with the reinvention of tradition. As catalogued in Bloch (no. 898), this lithograph stands as a compelling example of Picasso’s late graphic oeuvre, demonstrating his continued innovation and conceptual vitality well into the final decades of his career.

Create in 1959, Pablo Picasso La Pique I, is lithograph on Arches wove paper is hand signed by Pablo Picasso (Malaga, 1881- Mougins, 1973) in pencil in the lower right. This work is numbered from the edition of 50.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Pablo Picasso La Pique I, 1959 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. Bloch, Georges. Picasso: Tome I, Catalogue de l’oeuvre gravé et lithographié 1904-1967. Berne: Editions Kornfeld et Cie, 1984. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonne no. 898.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:

Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Pablo Picasso La Pique I, 1959 is presented in a complementary moulding and optical grade Plexiglas.