Sculptor (Sculpteur) (page 53) from Sable mouvant
Pablo Picasso
Spanish, 1881–1973
1965, published 1966
An aquatint and drypoint print from Picasso’s illustrated book Sable mouvant that pictures a sculptor’s carved head and hand as a way of using printmaking to suggest the tactile presence of sculpture.
You'd notice first the ghostly stone face emerging from layered gray washes and dark ink, with abrupt white highlights carving out a hand and profile so the image feels like a weathered relief or rubbing set beside the spare French poem.
Created in Picasso’s late period, this work bridges sculpture, drawing, and text, demonstrating how his illustrated books expanded the expressive range of printmaking and reinterpreted classical form for modern art.
Medium
Aquatint and drypoint from an illustrated book with ten aquatints (eight with drypoint, three with etching)
Dimensions
plate: 15 1/16 x 10 7/8" (38.3 x 27.7 cm); page: 18 7/8 x 14 15/16" (48 x 38 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Fund
Accession
179.1985.10
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
