Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) 

‘Vingt Poèmes Luis de Góngora y Argot’1948

Góngora is composed of twenty sonnets by the sixteenth-century poet Luis de Góngora y Argote, which Pablo Picasso wrote out in hand and embellished with flourishes, sketches, and figures. The artist also rendered twenty portraits to accompany these poems, and the result is a charming union of word and image, full of imaginative variety and artistic virtuosity. Picasso was first attracted to the work of Góngora during the 1920's, when the poet, who was known for his mannered style and illogical use of metaphors, was resurrected by the Surrealists. But in addition to this, he was inspired to work on Góngora thanks to his native Spanish traditions. The handwritten Spanish text established Picasso's personal attachment to the poetry, while the rich presentation of images -- described as a "veritable feminine kaleidoscope" -- invites natural comparisons with the great Spanish portraitists Valesquez and El Greco, who were Góngora's contemporaries.

We are pleased to present eleven original Etchings from the famous Góngora Suite by Pablo Picasso. He used the ‘Lift Ground Process’, drawing directly onto copper plates - without retouches - sometimes with a brush, sometimes with a pen.

These prints published in 1948 by Les Grands Peintures Modernes et le Livre, Paris, are from the rare edition of 235 sets only.

Printed by Atelier Lacourière-Frélaut, Paris, founded in 1929.

A copy of the authentication page accompanies each print.