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Portfolio of 12 pochoirs from 1963.
The edition: 163/500.
Dimensions of work: 54 x 41.5 cm
Publisher: Au Vent d’Arles, Paris.
Portfolio complete with 12 colour compositions after watercolours and pastels by Pablo Picasso, including one in-text illustration (portrait of Jaime Sabartés as a monk) and eleven hors-texte plates printed in colour using the Jacomet process, each mounted on individual card supports and hand-numbered. Loose as issued in the original publisher’s cloth-covered clamshell case, illustrated and titled.
Edition: One of 540 copies, this example numbered 163.
Preface by Jaime Sabartés, Picasso’s close friend, biographer, and secretary.
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Les Bleus de Barcelone is a tribute not only to Picasso’s artistic legacy but also to his intimate friendship with Jaime Sabartés, to whom this work is dedicated. Published in 1963, a decade before Picasso’s death, this suite revisits the melancholic palette and emotional intensity reminiscent of the artist’s famed Blue Period, yet rendered in a mature and reflective tone, blending the freedom of later abstraction with the spiritual stillness of his early works.
The portfolio was conceived as a collaboration between Picasso’s inner circle and Au Vent d’Arles, one of the most respected Parisian art publishers of the 20th century. The Jacomet process, used for the reproductions, is a labor-intensive technique developed to preserve the subtle tonal variations of original artworks — particularly well suited for the fluidity of watercolor and pastel.
Each composition is reproduced with exceptional fidelity, presenting the viewer with an immersive journey through Picasso’s visual language — somber blues, meditative poses, and expressive forms — all carefully curated by those who knew him best. The inclusion of a portrait of Sabartés within the text lends a personal tone, underscoring the deep friendship that shaped much of Picasso’s literary and artistic output during this period.
Well-preserved and housed in its original illustrated box, Les Bleus de Barcelone remains a coveted collector’s edition, offering not only graphic brilliance but a profound glimpse into Picasso’s emotional and artistic landscape in the twilight of his career.
The work is in Excellent condition.
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