In 1930 Pablo Picasso began his most celebrated series of etchings, which he exchanged seven years later with modern art dealer and print publisher Ambroise Vollard for a selection of French Impressionist paintings. The complete suite of 100 works, on loan from the National Gallery of Australia, is on view now at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) until 3 February 2019. The works are indicative of the key themes in his practice; male sexuality, fear, obsession and history and contain core symbols from the artist as minotaur and Pygmalion. AGSA’s display is paired with screenings of Jean Cocteau’s Blood of a Poet (1930), Picasso’s friend and collaborator.
Pablo Picasso, Spain/France 1881-1973, Minotaure aveugle guide par une fillette dans la nuit (Blind minotaur led by a little girl at night), from the Vollard Suite (97), between 3-7 December and 31 December 1934, or 1 January 1935, aquatint, drypoint and etching, printed in black ink Purchased 1984, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Courtesy National Gallery of Australia, Australian Capital Territory and Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Pablo Picasso, Spain/France 1881-1973, Minotaure caressant une dormeuse (Minotaur caressing a sleeping woman), from the Vollard Suite (93), 18 June 1933, plate reworked probably at the end of 1934, drypoint. Purchased 1984, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
