Pablo Picasso

The complete set of 14 etchings and drypoints, 1904-05, from the edition of 250, published by Ambroise Vollard, Paris, 1913, on Van Gelder Zonen wove paper, each framed

With margins, B. 3, 8 and 9 with full margins, each sheet in good condition overall, except eleven have been unevenly trimmed, imperfections in the individual sheets detailed below, each framed. REPAS FRUGAL (B. 1)- with margins (trimmed at top and bottom, deckle at left shaved), a round rust-coloured stain at centre of left margin outside plate mark, very faint traces of mottled discoloration in the margins, a 4mm "r" shaped paper imperfection just below lower plate mark left of centre, verso with a few areas of minor surface soiling. TETE DE FEMME (B. 2)- with wide margins, in the margins are faint traces of discoloration, at centre of left a pale mottled fox mark, tiny rust fleck upper left, two small holes at upper sheet edge right are backed on the verso, and a third is only visible from the repair verso, the verso with very pale, uneven discoloration and a few pale mottled fox marks, adhesive staining along upper sheet edge. LES PAUVRES (B. 3)- with full margins (a deckle edge at top, right and bottom), two overlapping windows of light-staining surround the image, sheet slightly toned overall with darker mount-staining verso and along the left sheet edge recto, infrequent pale fox marks in the margins, intermittent hinge remains along the sheet edges verso and two at sheet centre. BUSTE D'HOMME (B. 4)- with margins, a few pale fox marks in the margins, one touched-in with white. LES DEUX SALTIMBANQUES (B. 5)- with margins, the verso with two areas of minor surface soiling. TETE DE FEMME, DE PROFIL (B. 6)- with wide margins, unevenly trimmed, two horizontal creases along the upper sheet edge, the verso with several round brown stains in the lower half of the sheet. LES SALTIMBANQUES (B. 7)- with wide margins, the sheet surface in the plate at left slightly abraded (in body of mother and child and left shoulder of seated woman), pale (bleach?) stains in the margins and verso, a round off-white stain in the lower margin at left, a vertical crease along the lower left sheet edge, the verso with occasional minor surface soiling. L'ABREUVOIR (B. 8)- with full margins (a deckle edge at sides and bottom), pale light-staining at the mount opening, verso with a few pale mottled fox marks and occasional minor surface soiling, a minute rust stain at centre of upper sheet edge, a circular adhesive remain at sheet edge. AU CIRQUE (B. 9)- with full margins (a deckle edge at top, right and bottom), the upper and lower margins folded under (15-17mm at top, 25-30mm at bottom), with very pale light- and mount-staining. SALTIMBANQUES AU REPOS (B. 10)- with margins, very pale light-staining, a few pale fox marks in the margins, the sheet surface verso very slightly abraded. LE BAIN (B. 12)- with wide margins, a minute rust stain just inside right plate mark at centre, a 7.2cm diagonal crease at upper right corner, the verso with occasional pale round stains. TOILETTE DE LA MERE (B. 13)- with wide margins (a deckle edge at right and a partial deckled edge at top), very pale light-staining surrounding the plate. SALOME (B. 14)- with margins, unevenly trimmed, pale light- and mount-staining, further mount-staining verso is uneven at the upper sheet edge and with minor skinning at top. LA DANSE (B. 15)- with margins, pale mottled discoloration recto and verso, the verso with minor skinning at the upper sheet edge and lower sheet corners.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The suite comprises:
Le Repas Frugal (B. 1; Ba. 2)
Tête de Femme (B. 2; Ba. 3)
Les Pauvres (B. 3; Ba. 4)
Buste d'Homme (B. 4; Ba. 5)
Les Deux Saltimbanques (B. 5; Ba. 6)
Tête de Femme, de Profil (B. 6; Ba. 7)
Les Saltimbanques (B. 7; Ba. 9)
L'Abreuvoir (B. 8; Ba. 10)
Au Cirque (B. 9; Ba. 11)
Le Saltimbanque au Repos (B. 10; Ba. 12)
Le Bain (B. 12; Ba. 14)
La Toilette de la Mère (B. 13; Ba. 15)
Salomé (B. 14; Ba. 17)
La Danse (B. 15; Ba. 18)

Picasso was only in his early 20s, living in Montmartre at the Bateau-Lavoir, when the Saltimbanques Suite entered the history of printmaking. This famous series of 14 etchings and drypoints marks the passage from Picasso’s Blue period to his Rose Period. The Repas Frugal, the most popular and strongest image in this series, was only the second work produced by the artist in the field of printmaking. Executed at the end of Picasso’s Blue period it constitutes one of the most important prints in the graphic oeuvre of the artist. It distinguishes itself from the thirteen other etchings, which feature circus performers and mark the beginning of the Rose period, by depicting a destitute couple sharing a dishearteningly meagre meal of bread and wine. Picasso’s own poverty and poor living conditions at this time probably prompted him to reuse a copper plate that had been previously etched by his friend Joan Gonzales; the ghostly traces of Gonzales’s landscape can be seen in the upper part of the Repas Frugal. The theme depicted is filled with melancholy, the emotion heightened by the elongated proportions derived from El Greco and the effect of light and shadow.  The suite was printed in a small edition by Eugène Delâtre and offered for sale by the dealer Clovis Sagot. Relatively few of this initial production seem to have survived and even fewer have remained in private collections. The publisher Ambroise Vollard acquired the plates in 1911 and had them steel-faced, to reduce the wear on the plates during the printing process, and pulled by Louis Fort in 1914 in an edition of 27 or 29 on Japan paper. An edition of 250 was also printed on Van Gelder, of which the set presented here is a fine example.