Summer of 1964, in Mougins, Picasso created a series of thirteen sugar-lift aquatints called the Fumeurs (Smokers). These works are immensely valuable since sugar-lift aquatints add an extra step to the typical aquatint process. First, a sugar lift is created by painting on the surface of a plate with a brush dipped in a solution coated with sugar and water. Then, this sugar solution was removed before the plate is placed in acid. Only after the sugar is removed can the printer apply aquatint. The final image is produced by the acid which dissolves the drawings done using the sugar mixture. In Picasso’s case, this detail comes to fruition in the bold, multi toned strokes which depict the Fumeur.

Even more intriguing is the historical context behind the realization of this work. In 1963, Aldo Crommelynck established a satellite workshop in Mougins, near Picasso. This allowed Picasso to work almost exclusively on intaglio printing, a medium he previously took a hiatus from. Truly, the Fumeurs reinvigorated Picassos’s passion in the medium and indicated his artistry towards the end of his life.

The subject of the work, the Fumeur, is a classic image of sophisticated masculinity. Truly, Picasso himself imbued aspects of his own character into this image. For one, Picasso was also a smoker and the striped garment became closely associated with his public image. Cool and pensive, the smoker shows Picasso’s mastery of human nuance.

Created in 1964, color aquatint on Auvergne Richard de Bas laid paper is hand signed by Pablo Picasso (Malaga, 1881 – Mougins, 1973) in pencil in the lower right and numbered from the edition of 50 in pencil in the lower left.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Pablo Picasso Bearded Smoker (Fumeur Barbu), 1964 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 final sale of the work) :

1. Baer, B. Picasso Peintre-Graveur, Tome V, Catalogue Raisonné de l’œuvre grave et des monotypes, 1946 – 1958. Berne: Edition Kornfeld, 1988. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 1170.

2. Bloch, G. Pablo Picasso, Volume I, Catalogue of the Printed Graphic Work 1904 – 1967. Berne: Kornfeld et Cie, 1984. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 1170.

3. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.

About the Framing:
Pablo Picasso Bearded Smoker (Fumeur Barbu), 1964 is framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, presented in a complimentary moulding and finished with linen-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.