Pablo Picasso Spanish, 1881-1973
Minotaure Mourant (Dying Minotaur) from La Suite Vollard, 1933
Etching
7.5 x 10.5"
202605-6050
$ 22,000.00
In May of 1933, Pablo Picasso created several etchings centered on the dying Minotaur, a powerful mythological figure depicted before a line of spectators standing behind the barrier of a...
In May of 1933, Pablo Picasso created several etchings centered on the dying Minotaur, a powerful mythological figure depicted before a line of spectators standing behind the barrier of a bullfighting ring. In related works from this period, the Minotaur is shown with a sense of tragic resignation, sometimes receiving the fatal blow of the *puntilla*, the short dagger traditionally used to end the suffering of an agonizing bull.
In **“Minotaure Mourant”** — **“Dying Minotaur”** — Picasso turns his attention more directly to the physical and emotional anguish of the figure. The Minotaur, part man and part bull, served as one of Picasso’s most important alter egos during the 1930s. Through this mythic creature, Picasso explored themes of desire, brutality, vulnerability, and artistic identity. The Minotaur also held deep symbolic significance for the Surrealists, who saw the creature as an embodiment of forbidden instincts and unconscious impulses.
The scene is charged with drama and psychological tension. Five women look on with solemn severity, while another female figure, often associated with Marie-Thérèse Walter, extends her hand toward the Minotaur’s back in a gesture of tenderness and comfort. The expressive posture of the dying Minotaur, along with the sharp presence of the lance, anticipates imagery that would later reappear in Picasso’s monumental anti-war masterpiece, **“Guernica.”**
This original etching is part of Picasso’s celebrated **Vollard Suite**, one of the most important print cycles of the twentieth century. Comprising 100 images, the suite was named for Picasso’s influential art dealer and publisher, Ambroise Vollard, who was among the earliest and most visionary champions of modern art. Vollard gave Picasso his first one-man exhibition in Paris in 1901 and also organized important early solo exhibitions for artists including Cézanne and Matisse. Through his Paris gallery, founded in 1893, Vollard exhibited works by Degas, Rodin, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and many other artists who would come to define modern art.
The Vollard Suite is generally organized around several major themes: **The Battle of Love**, **The Sculptor’s Studio**, **Rembrandt**, **The Minotaur and the Blind Minotaur**, and **Portraits of Vollard**, with additional subjects including women dressing or sleeping, the circus, bullfighting, and love in its many forms. Across the series, Picasso’s fascination with classicism is unmistakable, reflecting the influence of his earlier travels to Italy, including Rome, Florence, Naples, and Pompeii.
Throughout the suite, Picasso demonstrates extraordinary technical inventiveness. Many of the prints begin with delicate line etching, later enhanced with drypoint, aquatint, or other techniques to create atmosphere, depth, and dramatic tonal effects. Picasso’s engagement with the history of printmaking is especially evident in works that echo the mastery of Rembrandt, whose image appears in several plates from the suite.
The plates for the Vollard Suite were printed by the master printer Roger Lacourière, who was commissioned by Vollard in 1939, although the prints were not formally offered for sale until 1950. Each plate was printed in an edition of 313 impressions, including 260 on Montval paper watermarked either “Picasso” or “Vollard,” along with 50 larger impressions on Montval paper watermarked “Papeterie Montgolfier à Montval.” After World War II, the dealer Henri Petiet had Picasso sign a number of complete sets. Picasso stopped signing the Vollard Suite etchings in 1969 while deeply engaged in the creation of his famous **347 Series**, which is why many impressions from the suite remain unsigned today.
The Vollard Suite has been exhibited by major institutions including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Norton Simon Museum, and the Nassau County Museum of Art. Widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements in twentieth-century printmaking, the suite remains a cornerstone of Picasso’s graphic oeuvre.
This work is signed “Picasso” in the lower right and is beautifully presented in a hand-gilded gold frame.
In **“Minotaure Mourant”** — **“Dying Minotaur”** — Picasso turns his attention more directly to the physical and emotional anguish of the figure. The Minotaur, part man and part bull, served as one of Picasso’s most important alter egos during the 1930s. Through this mythic creature, Picasso explored themes of desire, brutality, vulnerability, and artistic identity. The Minotaur also held deep symbolic significance for the Surrealists, who saw the creature as an embodiment of forbidden instincts and unconscious impulses.
The scene is charged with drama and psychological tension. Five women look on with solemn severity, while another female figure, often associated with Marie-Thérèse Walter, extends her hand toward the Minotaur’s back in a gesture of tenderness and comfort. The expressive posture of the dying Minotaur, along with the sharp presence of the lance, anticipates imagery that would later reappear in Picasso’s monumental anti-war masterpiece, **“Guernica.”**
This original etching is part of Picasso’s celebrated **Vollard Suite**, one of the most important print cycles of the twentieth century. Comprising 100 images, the suite was named for Picasso’s influential art dealer and publisher, Ambroise Vollard, who was among the earliest and most visionary champions of modern art. Vollard gave Picasso his first one-man exhibition in Paris in 1901 and also organized important early solo exhibitions for artists including Cézanne and Matisse. Through his Paris gallery, founded in 1893, Vollard exhibited works by Degas, Rodin, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and many other artists who would come to define modern art.
The Vollard Suite is generally organized around several major themes: **The Battle of Love**, **The Sculptor’s Studio**, **Rembrandt**, **The Minotaur and the Blind Minotaur**, and **Portraits of Vollard**, with additional subjects including women dressing or sleeping, the circus, bullfighting, and love in its many forms. Across the series, Picasso’s fascination with classicism is unmistakable, reflecting the influence of his earlier travels to Italy, including Rome, Florence, Naples, and Pompeii.
Throughout the suite, Picasso demonstrates extraordinary technical inventiveness. Many of the prints begin with delicate line etching, later enhanced with drypoint, aquatint, or other techniques to create atmosphere, depth, and dramatic tonal effects. Picasso’s engagement with the history of printmaking is especially evident in works that echo the mastery of Rembrandt, whose image appears in several plates from the suite.
The plates for the Vollard Suite were printed by the master printer Roger Lacourière, who was commissioned by Vollard in 1939, although the prints were not formally offered for sale until 1950. Each plate was printed in an edition of 313 impressions, including 260 on Montval paper watermarked either “Picasso” or “Vollard,” along with 50 larger impressions on Montval paper watermarked “Papeterie Montgolfier à Montval.” After World War II, the dealer Henri Petiet had Picasso sign a number of complete sets. Picasso stopped signing the Vollard Suite etchings in 1969 while deeply engaged in the creation of his famous **347 Series**, which is why many impressions from the suite remain unsigned today.
The Vollard Suite has been exhibited by major institutions including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Norton Simon Museum, and the Nassau County Museum of Art. Widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements in twentieth-century printmaking, the suite remains a cornerstone of Picasso’s graphic oeuvre.
This work is signed “Picasso” in the lower right and is beautifully presented in a hand-gilded gold frame.
1
of
1040