Picasso the Engraver: Selections from the Musee Picasso, Paris Book

Picasso was one of the most prolific printmakers in history. Working at different times in a variety of techniques--lithography, linocut, etching, drypoint, monotype--he produced more than 2,500 plates, and many of those are known in up to thirty states. The problem is how to make sense of this bewildering superabundance of art works which flowed from his imagination more or less throughout his long career, but most particularly between 1900 and 1942. No one is better placed to do so than Brigitte Baer, who was engaged for a number of years on the inventory of the Picasso estate. She is also the author of the definitive seven-volume catalogue raisonne of Picasso's prints. In gathering for exhibition and publication this representative selection from the unique collection of the Picasso Museum in Paris, Baer kept in mind the basic questions of why Picasso was attracted to the art of printmaking; and what role prints played in his work, his life, and his fantasies. Based on impeccable scholarship and the invaluable experience gained from personally handling these works of art for so many years, Baer's exhibition and catalogue provide a fresh evaluation of Picasso's genius.Read More