"Présence" (chapter title, page 13) from Corps perdu
Pablo Picasso
Spanish, 1881–1973
1949, published 1950
A page from Picasso’s illustrated book made with aquatint and drypoint in which he reduces people to spindly, textured marks encircling the printed chapter title “PRÉSENCE,” probing presence and absence.
You notice at once the repeated, tall sticklike figures—their ink broken into porous, bark‑like textures and occasional drips—whose rhythmic arrangement and scale set off the crisp, formal serif word “PRÉSENCE” at the center.
From Picasso’s late graphic work, this fusion of pared‑down figuration and typography helped redefine book illustration and printmaking toward an economy of sign and existential reflection in the postwar era.
Medium
Aquatint from an illustrated book with twenty engravings, ten aquatints (one with drypoint), one drypoint, and one etching (including wrapper front)
Dimensions
composition (irreg.): 12 3/8 x 9 3/16" (31.5 x 23.4 cm); sheet: 15 3/8 x 11 1/8" (39 x 28.2 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Louis E. Stern Collection
Accession
995.1964.6
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
