Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973) d'après - Lot 167

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Lot n° 167
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Estimation :
8000 - 10000 EUR
Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973) d'après - Lot 167
Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973) d'après Face of a faun, June 28, 1955 Round/square plate Original print, white earthenware Edition of 150 Diameter : 24 cm Provenance: Ateliers Hugo, France Bibliography : " Picasso ", Catalogue of the ceramic work published, 1947-1971, by Alain Ramié, Éditions Galerie Madoura, 1988, reproduced and described under N°283, page 145. Hugo workshops THE MASTERY OF THE HUGOS AT THE SERVICE OF PICASSO No doubt many people will be surprised to discover that they were unaware until today, four years after the death of the great artist, that in the period between 1956 and 1970, Picasso had commissioned one of the most eminent silversmiths working in France today, François Victor-Hugo, to execute a series of dishes, compote dishes and medallions in gold and silver according to original models and drawings by him. Their surprise is understandable, for the magnificent objects, superbly hand embossed and richly decorated, which were the fruit of this collaboration, have remained practically unknown to all but a small circle of connoisseurs and friends of the two artists since their creation. These objects are not posthumous "inventions" decorated with motifs taken from various works of Picasso: each one was personally chosen, designed, seen, approved, and cherished by Picasso himself during his lifetime. However, when Picasso commissioned the first dishes from François Hugo, he must have intended to keep them for himself and had not thought of authorizing the making of copies to be sold to the public. At the beginning, their existence was therefore shrouded in secrecy, Picasso refused on several occasions to lend them for exhibitions and, although he was amazed by the results obtained and experienced great joy in contemplating these dishes, he hid them from public view as if they represented some secret treasure for him. It is true that Picasso would occasionally fetch one or two of them from a dark corner of his studio, or from under a sofa, in order to arouse the admiration of a close friend or visitor whom he particularly wished to impress. But then he would hastily hide them again, giving the impression that he felt a special satisfaction in the thought that he alone was the proud owner. Consequently, very few people had the privilege of seeing these dishes during their years of seclusion in Picasso's studio. What is more, even when Picasso finally (in 1967) allowed François Hugo to make a small numbered edition of each one for sale, only friends who happened to visit Hugo's studio while he was executing one had any chance of seeing some of the specimens before they were shipped to their respective buyers. There is no need to extol the merits of these remarkable works of art. The manual dexterity, the superb "craft" and the artistic sensibility that François Hugo, whose son Pierre has recently taken on a large part of the hard work involved in the execution of these dishes, was able to put at Picasso's service are perfectly evident. Such objects do not therefore require further comment. They are self-explanatory and have no particular significance outside themselves. Excerpts from Douglas Cooper in his preface to "Picasso, 19 silver dishes" by François and Pierre Hugo, Imprimerie Union, Paris, 31 May 1977.
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