Pablo Picasso

First name: 
Pablo
Initials: 
P.D.J.F.
Surname: 
Picasso
Year of birth: 
1881
Birthplace: 
Málaga
Country of birth: 
Spain
Working period: 
1948-1969
Year of death: 
1973
CV: 

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso is born in Málaga on October 25, 1881. He was a Spanish painter, drawer, sculptor, grafic artist, designer of jewelry and a ceramicist. In 1946, while visiting the annual pottery exhibition in Vallauris, Pablo Picasso had the good fortune to meet Suzanne and Georges Ramie. The Ramies owned the Madoura workshop, a ceramics studio in Vallauris, where Picasso, who was eager to delve into a new medium, made his first venture into ceramics. He became so enthralled with ceramics that he decided to move to Vallauris to pursue his new passion. Picasso lived in the small, scenic town of Vallauris from 1948 to 1955. He bought and transformed Les Fournas, a former perfumery in Vallauris, into his studio, where he worked prolifically. Located in the south of France, Vallauris was renowned for its pottery. During his time in Vallauris, Picasso worked extensively, creating many ceramics, sculptures, linocuts, and paintings, including his masterpiece “War & Peace” (1952), a diptyque that was installed in the chapel of the Château de Vallauris in 1959. It was also in Vallauris where Picasso first developed a fascination with two mediums: ceramics and linocuts.
Picasso loved the malleability of clay and the fiery firing process, which transformed clay into stunning works of ceramic art. He experimented with varied shapes, forms, textures, enamels, and glazes, innovating the ceramics medium. Picasso’s approach was anything but conventional- he would melt clay like bronze, fashion mythical creatures directly in the glaze, and tirelessly decorate plates and dishes with his favorites subjects, such as bullfights, women, owls, goats, fauns, and fish. He incorporated surprising and innovative materials into his craft and invented white paste, which is a ceramic that has not been glazed and decorated with pieces in relief.  These white paste works are amongst the most stunning and desirable Picasso ceramics to date. Picasso went on to create thousands of ceramics in the Madoura ceramic studio. In collaboration with Suzanne and Georges Ramie and the skilled ceramicists at the Madoura studio, Picasso shaped plates, dishes, vases, jugs, and other earthenware utensils and then painted and decorated them with enamel and metal oxides. Picasso was particularly fascinated by the use of metal oxides, as their very nature meant that he never quite knew how the end product would look. Just as Picasso collaborated with master printers to create editions of his printed works, Picasso collaborated with Suzanne and Georges Ramie to create set editions of his ceramic works. Picasso last tile mural Mousquetaire is dated 1969.

In addition to ceramics, Picasso also became fascinated with the linoleum cut (or linocut) medium while living in Vallauris. Printer Hidalgo Arnera introduced Picasso to the linocut medium.
Picasso was an iconic and important figure in Vallauris’ history. He became a freeman of Vallauris and greatly contributed to the renaissance of the Vallauris pottery industry in the 1950s. Picasso also demonstrated his commitment to civic duty by creating linocut posters for Vallauris’ annual ceramic fairs and bullfights.

Following Picasso’s departure from Vallauris in 1955, Vallauris remained an important part of Picasso’s life. He retained fond memories of his time spent living in Vallauris, where his lover Francois Gilot and their children Claude and Paloma Picasso often accompanied him. Picasso would return to Vallauris at later points in his life to revisit the bullfights, exhibitions, and old friends and acquaintances. In fact, Vallauris was so dear to Picasso that he married his second wife Jacqueline Roque in great secrecy at the Vallauris town hall in 1961.

Picasso’s presence in Vallauris shaped the town’s history. Following his move there, other artists, such as Victor Brauner and Marc Chagall, rushed to work in the ceramic studios in Vallauris. Today, the Musee National Picasso in Vallauris pays homage to the artistic inspiration and personal happiness that Picasso found in Vallauris. Picasso passed away on April 8, 1973 in Mougins, France. (Text Courtesy Masterworks Fine Art).

Pictures: Pablo Picasso, portrait (source Flickr.com); Picasso in Vallauris, 1946, photographer Willy Maywald (source Artnet); Picasso in Vallauris, 1946, photographer Willy Maywald (source Artnet); Picasso in Vallauris (source Sotheby's); Owl shaped pitcher (source vallauris-golfe-juan.fr); Pitcher, Man riding a horse, 1950-1951, photographer Maurice Aeschimann (source Musée de Sèvres); Vase aux danseuses ou Bacchanal, 1950, photographer Maurice Aeschimann (source Musée de Sèvres).

Bibliography: 
  • Mc Cully, Marilyn a.o., Picasso Painter and sculptor in clay, 1998.
  • Dalloz, J.D., Picasso in Vallauris, 2013.