Fully relocating his life to the South of France brightened Picasso’s life with the vibrant colors of the Mediterranean. After moving to Vallauris in 1961, the artist spent the remaining decade of his life in this neighborhood, finding inspiration amongst the palm trees and terracotta-pot-lined streets. He lived amongst half-finished canvases, sculptures, and found objects leading friend Jean Cocteau to describe these residences as “magnificent trash [cans].” Picasso’s joie de vivre did not wane, despite being in his eighties, but he was not only prolific; his style continued to evolve. In this era, he challenged himself to recreate famous works by great masters like Delacroix, Meninas, and Manet,* placing his own spin on each and every one. He returned to the flattened Cubist tendencies** he’s famous for, warping perspective with whimsy and lots of color.
Picasso also rediscovered his love for pottery, forming a relationship with Suzanne and Georgies Ramié of the Madoura Pottery Studio even before he was a Vallauris resident.*** Back then, Picasso was with François Gilot; meeting the Ramiés would change that. Through this pottery power-couple, he met the next and last big paramour of his life: Jacqueline Roque. Roque is known for being the most represented of all of Picasso’s muses, his last wife, the woman nearly 45 years his junior, who stayed by his side until his passing. They were married in March of 1961 and he certainly wasted no time in depicting her likeness in his art. Bloch 1072 was created just a year later as one of many portraits of Roque with a hat on.
In his later years, Picasso left behind the sumptuous beauties of the 1930s in favor of “superreal” women**** like Bloch 1072’s version of Roque. She was conventionally beautiful in a quintessential French way, with dark almond eyes, spidery lashes, and an elegant nose. The rich colors we see here were layered on using Picasso’s ingenious “reduction method.”***** He innovated this process after experimenting with linogravure that culminated in his relationship with Hidalgo Arnera, a local printer in Vallauris. Simplified the process by cutting away the same sheet of linoleum for colors already printed to the last and smallest (color) to complete the image. It was a bold concept with equal risk and reward, helping him to prevent inconsistencies in composition. The graphic quality of the linocut removes all softness from Roque’s face and replaces it with vivid splashes of red, yellow, and green. This is the Jacqueline of Picasso’s wildest imagination, the embodiment of sunshine.
Courtesy of John Szoke Gallery.