Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) was one of the most prolific printmakers of the twentieth century, working across etching, aquatint, drypoint, lithography and linocut over a career spanning more than six decades.
Among his most studied print projects is the Vollard Suite, a series of 100 etchings produced between 1930 and 1937 for the dealer Ambroise Vollard. In the late 1950s, working with the printer Hidalgo Arnéra in Vallauris, Picasso developed an influential reduction linocut technique that let him achieve multiple colours from a single block. His lithographic output, produced largely with the Mourlot studio in Paris from the late 1940s, is documented in the Mourlot catalogue raisonné, while his etchings and engravings are catalogued in the Bloch and Baer references.
Because Picasso's printmaking is so extensively documented, catalogue raisonné numbers (Bloch, Baer, Mourlot, Czwiklitzer for posters) are a standard reference point for identifying a specific print, its edition size and its date. Collectors should also check paper type, margins, any studio or estate stamps (including the Picasso estate stamp used on posthumous impressions), and the condition of the sheet.
Provenance and cataloguing by a specialist are particularly important given the volume of Picasso print reproductions in circulation. Speak to our team about verifying a specific print against the relevant catalogue raisonné before you buy.
