Color aquatint, 1956. 485x655 mm; 19 1/8x25 3/4 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 137/200 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Crommelynck, Paris. A very good impression of this large aquatint with strong, richly-inked colors.
Picasso partnered with various printmakers throughout his career, including Jacques Villon in the 1930s and Aldo Crommelynck (who also incidentally printed many of Picasso's own etched plates) in the 1950s, to produce large, colorful aquatints based on his most popular paintings (see also lot 410). These aquatints had great commercial viability, they not only extended the artist's printed output and added to their acclaim, but additionally gave collectors an opportunity to own an original work of art, authorized and signed by Picasso, at a fraction of the cost of a painting. These so-called "after" prints were championed by many of Picasso's famous contemporaries as well, including Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Fernand Léger and Marc Chagall, among others (see also lots 444, 453, 462, 494 and 514).
