Original Etching, Paris, on small Montval filigree paper, with Vollard watermark.
Also known as: Femme Laide devant la sculpture d’une Marie-Thérèse athlétique appuyé sur un autoportrait du sculpteur
(Ugly woman in front of the sculpture of an athletic Marie-Therese leaning on a self-portrait by the sculptor)
Edition: 260 unnumbered proofs (there was also an edition of 50 with wider margins)
The publication of the hundred etchings created by Picasso between 1930 and 1937 was one of Ambroise Vollard's most impressive undertakings. Vollard was one of the greatest art dealers and publishers of his time and his championship of some of the most celebrated artists of the day deserves the thanks of later generations. His artists, to name but a few, included Cezanne, Renoir, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Rousseau, Rouault and Picasso. Picasso met Vollard in Paris in 1901 and worked with him over an extended period. When the Vollard Suite etchings were first made they were in fact rarely signed (with the exception of some rare proofs made on vellum in editions of 3). Vollard died tragically in a car accident in 1939 and eventually, after the Second World War, most of the Vollard Suite passed into the hands of the famous dealer Petiet. Petiet knew that Picasso would never sign anything until he was paid for it and the artist required a substantial fee for putting his signature on the Vollard Suite etchings. Accordingly Petiet gave his buyers the option of buying them either unsigned or, for 10% more on the cost, signed. This meant that Picasso signatures from 1939 until the artist's death appear on Vollard Suite etchings. Obviously there is a difference in the artist's signature as he aged. The plate for this was cancelled in 1956 and still exists in the Musée Picasso, Paris.
Published by: Ambroise Vollard, Paris
Printed by: Lacourière in 1939

Condition: In very good condition.