Femme au Fauteuil, II: Dora Maar (Woman in an Armchair)

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso executed this intaglio not long after the Vollard Suite was completed, and it features his use of multiple techniques learned under the guidance of Roger Lacourier as he worked on the Suite. Here, he has rendered a portrait of his lover Dora Maar seated in an armchair. This work predates the "Femme assise, robe blue" and "Tete de femme au chapeau" paintings from the same year, and retains the vestiges of his exploration of neo-classical themes found in the Suite.

Picasso's portraits of Maar would famously become a kind of mirror of his emotions during the turbulent yeas of the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Not long after this image -- soft and contemplative -- was created, Picasso's images of Maar became fractal and sharp, reflecting Picasso's wartime anxieties.

This extremely rare signed proof is dedicated to Jacques Frelaut, the Master Printer for this image at Atelier Lacourier-Frelaut.