Pablo Picasso

PABLO PICASSO (Malaga, 1881 - Mougins, France, 1973).
"Exposition de Vallauris. 1955.
Linoleum on paper, copy 109/200.
Signed in plate.
Justified by hand.
References: Bloch nº 1267; catalog raisonné Zervos (Zwiklitzer) nº 17.
Measurements: 71 x 54 cm; 86 x 69 cm (frame).

Realized in 1955 on the occasion of the exhibition celebrated in Vallauris, this linoleum represents a faun, mythological figure linked to the classic world and to the Mediterranean imaginary that Picasso took up again with special intensity in the fifties. The face, crowned by horns and constructed with incisive white lines on a reddish ochre background, has a frontal and almost totemic presence.

Far from using linoleum as a simple reproductive technique, Picasso turned it into an authentic field of plastic research. With precise and sure cuts, he achieves an extreme synthesis that concentrates all the expressiveness in the gaze and in the rhythmic vibration of the beard. Each incision is structural, essential, and reveals an absolute mastery of the medium.

The characteristic terracotta tone is not accidental: it refers directly to the clay and earth of Vallauris, deeply linked to his ceramic production. Thus, the color reinforces the symbolic connection between the image of the faun and the material and cultural context of the exhibition, giving the print full conceptual coherence.

The 200-copy editions from this period are particularly coveted. Its inclusion in the Bloch and Zwiklitzer catalogs makes it a highly valuable piece.