1954 After Pablo Picasso, Saltimbanques First American Edition Full-Color Print

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A beautiful original period full-color print after oil painting The Saltimbanques (1905) by Pablo Picasso from limited edition of XVI … Read more A beautiful original period full-color print after oil painting The Saltimbanques (1905) by Pablo Picasso from limited edition of XVI prints from Picasso's Blue and Rose periods portfolio, created while the great artist was still living, published in the mid of 20th c. The title, size, and other information on the original painting will be found by lifting the lithograph. Printed on 1 side. First American Edition. Excellent condition - never framed.

Overall 11"W x 14.75"H
Image 8.60" x 8"H

Every few years Picasso concentrates into one painting the problems of the entire period of work. The composition of the large The Saltimbanques was perhaps suggested by Manet's The Old Musician. The preliminary studies differ considerably from the finished picture, and while at work on the canvas itself, Picasso changed the composition several times, in the final painting, the profile of the harlequin at the left has been altered to suggest a self-portrait of the artist.

The composition gathers together performers already introduced in other works of the circus period. This may explain why the figures seem posed, static, and curiously independent from each other. The seated lady at the right bears no psychological relationship to any other characters. Indeed, she was the subject for a separate painting.

In various elements of the painting seem unresolved, it may be this very incompleteness that contributes an air of expectancy, a suggestion of mystery and romance. The Saltimbanques inspired the German poet Reiner Maria Rilke to compose the fifth of his Duino Elegies - "But tell me, who are they, these acrobats, even a little more fleeting than we ourselves..." Have they just arrived? Are they about to depart? The picture invites the spectator to finish its story. See less