The 'Picasso' Way

In ‘A Dialogue with Ceramics’, Kosme de Baranano describes Picasso’s uniqueness in this way; “It is the way he depicted themes on ready-made pieces, the way he applied and outlined them on a new support, and the way he made use of the qualities of the support that makes these pieces an important part of Picasso’s oeuvre”.
“The way” is not a single method or technique but the creative flair which is immediately recognised by those with eyes trained to see. The detail of the horse’s and knight’s head shown above screams of Picasso’s to me.
(Left click on picture to enlarge)

Mystery of the Marks Part II

These markings have me foxed.

The incised 'Marks' on the underside of the plate remain a mystery.

They arn't Roman numerals

They aren't a name

They aren't a date

They aren't a serial number.

They could be Arabic Numerals

V I V Λ 0 I or V I V I I0 I (one way up)
I 0 I I Λ I Λ or I 0 V Λ I Λ (other way up)

If Arabic Numerals they are:-

8 1 8 7 0 1 or 7 1 7 1 1 o 1 (one way up)

1 0 1 1 7 1 7 or 1 0 8 7 0 7 (other way up)

I'm still none the wiser. Please HELP!

Picasso Excelling Even Himself

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Most of the ‘One-off’ ceramic works (approximately 4000) which Picasso decorated and sculpted were held in the artists’ studio where they remained out of sight.
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Several hundred of these works were copied and sold in limited-editions. These pieces are eagerly collected and well understood.
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It is generally acknowledged that the limited edition copies that were made fail to capture the shear quality and incomparable variety of Picasso's original artworks.
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The subject matter, the brilliant artistry and extraordinary compositional balance of the ceramic piece which this blog is about, support my conviction that it is not just a ‘One-off’ work from the hands of Pablo Picasso, but one with which even he excelled himself.

Knights in Armour

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It’s easy to identify subjects which Picasso enjoyed working with. One of his favourite themes was bullfighting and the bullring. He produced numerous artworks in most mediums which were dedicated to the ‘Corrida’. Some times these works were produced in series over a short period. Other subjects were addressed in a similar fashion but, unlike bullfighting, were used in only one series.

In early 1951 Picasso focused upon the matter of knights and their mounts. During this burst of enery he painted ‘Pages at Play’ (see above), he produced a series of pen and ink drawings of knights in armour, and interestingly, meticulously decorated several ceramic works of jousting scenes. These works may be viewed on the ‘On-line Picasso Project’ - addressed to the right (Artworks; 1951; page 3).

There can be little doubt that the ‘Jousting Scene’ ceramics are the most detailed artworks of Picasso’s entire ceramic output (see Post: 14 October 2009).

I believe it was during this period in 1951 that Picasso may have produced the ‘Knight and Mount’ ceramic plate – the subject of this blog.
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Picasso or Not - Who Knows?

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Between 1947 and 1973 Picasso reportedly produced and/or decorated approximately 4000 ceramics. Of these one-off pieces some 500 items were reproduced in 'edition' copies by the Madoura Potteries in Vallauris. Those selected were issued in editions ranging from 5 to 500 copies. I have no idea how many copies were reproduced in total although each item was marked as an edition piece together with total number in the series i.e. 126/500 meaning; reproduction 126 in a series of 500.

It's difficult to understand where that figure 4000 came from and to know if anybody has a true record of how many ceramics Picasso actually produced in total.

The helpful and ongoing 'On-line Picasso Project' (link to the right) identifies just 765 ceramic works that they believe were produced by the hands of Pablo Picasso. What has happened to the other 3235 (approximately) ceramic artworks he is reported to have produced? I have yet to consult Zervos and other catalogues on this matter.

Not all his output can easily be accounted for. I believe the plate shown above to be the work of Picasso and am trying to prove it.
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Not just another Horse's Head, but one I've seen before.

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When I first glimpsed the plate, the first thing that struck me was the backward looking horse's head with the distinctive eye. I'd seen it before and I knew it was by Picasso. Since then I've scoured my library of Picasso books and have been unable to find it again. Presently I'm re-examining these books in minute detail in the hope of relocating the image.

The backwards, or over-the-shoulder stance, is a feature seen in many works by Picasso. Perhaps the best known examples are "Guernica", in which both the horse and bull adopt this posture, and Les Demoiselles d'Avigon, in which one wamen's head is twisted completely around to look backwards between her shoulder blades.

I'll keep looking because I know I've seen the horse's head somewhere before.
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The Shaman's Magic

The facial features are modelled in a typical Picasso style. Transparent background tones establish the illusion of depth. Spare over-painting defines the features and expression. The final result is a masterly example of the artists genius. There's little more to say.

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Double left click on the above image to closely review the features. Examine the eyes to appreciate the simple mastery of the medium. In particular, the knight's left eye is very effectively modelled with three green straight lines set at an angle over a misty blue base.

Pure magic.

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Close examination of the area just to the left of the knight's eye will reveal a series of curved parallel marks. The question is, are these brush marks from applying the oxide or a finger print of the artist who painted the face?
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Plate with Tournament Scene, Knight Armour and Page.

Picasso Museum, Paris (cat. 1, 478)

Picasso produced this plate in January 1951. The work, like so many produced in all mediums throughout his lifetime, was an experiment. Picasso is reported to have stated; 'The only colour is black'. The works is rendered in black and white, and was product using a scraping technique similar to that applied in lithography. The black glaze is scraped away letting the white earthenware show through. The method produces certain effects, such as the half-tones seen in the armour and in the modelling of the Page's face.

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'Tournament, Knight & Page' may be the most detailed of all ceramics produced by Picasso. For example, examine the single strands of hair on the Page's head or the horse's tail, consider that rivets in the armour are depicted individually and be amazed that each whisker on the horse's chin has been etched-in separately. 'Tournament, Knight & Page' clearly shows that Picasso produced some minutely detailed ceramics and not just the minimalistic works generally recongised. (Left chick on the above picture to enlarge).
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Picasso's Ceramics Minimalistic?

It is commonly believe that Picasso produced only 'spare' or 'minimalistic' images when engaged with ceramics, as with the example above. Whilst it must be acknowledged that many Picasso's ceramics verged on the minimalistic, as of course did a lot of his paintings and other works, it is also true that there is a great variety in the ceramic, and not all ceramic artworks were sparing in detail.
The ceramic piece which I am investigating is certainly an example of detailed artwork, work which I believe is entirely indicative of Picasso's style. My next posting will show a recognised one-off Picasso ceramic which also has a 'knightly' motif, and has extremely detail artwork.


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Why five fingures and no thumb?

On first seeing the plate its overall aspect screamed "Picasso" to me. On second glance two features confirmed my initial thoughts.

Firstly, the structural compostion of the artwork.

And secondly, specific detail of its execution.

Consider for instance the knight's left hand - show in detail above. It's a direct take from the clarinet player in Picasso's 1921 painting entitled "Three Musicians". Picasso frequently use this device in many cubist, surreal and portraiture works thoughout the 1920's and 1930's. The latest painting that I'm aware of, in which he used a similar representation of a hand, was in the work entitled "Bust of a Man" (12 February 1972).
Having successfully depicted hands in this way for at least fifty years, it would be little surprise if he utilised the motif during the many years he produced ceramics.

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Mystery of the Marks (Part 1):- " V I V Λ O I”

V I V Λ O I or VIVIIOI?

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I first thought the incised marks on the back of the "plate" read: 'VIV IIOI'.
I took these to be "Roman numerals" which could be read as either; 54, 2, 1 or 65, 2, 1.
Or translated into my understanding: 1st February 1954 or 1st February 1965.

Initially I believed one of these readings to be the date on which the plate was first glazed.

Picasso's marks - Roman Numerals?

When I bought the piece, which is not a plate but a shallow bowl, I thought the incised marks on the back were Roman numerals. However, Roman numerals do not have a 'O' and so they must signify something else.

I'm trying to establish the provenance of an ORIGINAL Picasso ceramic

I believe my plate to be an 'original' Picasso ceramic - that is, not an edition piece or a modified edition piece. I am interested in any advice or comments on the plate’s artwork or history that may assist in establishing its credible attribution and authentication.

The image depicts a knight, whom I think is the Arthurian hero Percival, and his mount.

The ceramic itself is a shallow press-moulded white earthenware bowl, painted with oxides, slip and coloured glaze on the front and underside.

The plate’s diameter is 33cm and its height is 4.5cm. It is unsigned and undated, which is usual for original Picasso ceramics. There is however a large incision on the underside which appears to be “V I V Λ O I”.

Please comment below or contact me by emailing me at picassopronenance@gmail.com