262 - Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) (after)

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) (after) Bust of a Woman in White. 1930. Aquatint engraving by F. de Lagausie (Montrouge) after a 1922 work. 445 x 563 [502 x 667 mm]. Color print. Beautiful proof on China paper mounted on heavy vellum, annotated “Bon à tirer” and signed in pencil by Picasso. Several long pencil lines (drawn by the artist?) across the subject, indicating instructions for the print. Small blisters caused by the glue beneath the chine paper in the bust area. A long, diagonal printing crease on the left in the gray background. Small foxing spots, light stains, and soiling along the edges and on the reverse. Full margins. Final edition of 125 prints. Chroniques du Jour, published by Timbre AABM (Lugt 3075). This work is inspired by the 1922 oil painting by Picasso depicting his first wife, Olga Khokhlova (1891–1955), a Ukrainian ballet dancer and member of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, whom Picasso met in 1917. She was one of the artist’s earliest muses. The couple married on July 12, 1918, and their son Paulo was born in 1921. Although their relationship had deteriorated by the late 1920s, Picasso always refused to divorce her or divide their assets. Olga therefore remained legally married to him until her death in 1955 in Cannes.