Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973)

Medium: Colored etching & aquatint with roulette

Edition: This work is annotated 'Epreuve d'artiste' in pencil in the lower margin; aside from the numbered edition of 100.

Signed in pencil lower right

Dimensions:  22 1/4 x 18 1/4 in(45 x 41 1/5 in with frame)

Catalogue Raisonné:  Zervos 370

In this rare work, Picasso returns to the image of mother and child, a recurring theme in his long career. The quiet profile of the woman holding her son becomes a visual metaphor for the strength and certitude of the maternal bond. Drawn with confident lines, this double portrait feels more like an allegory than a portrait of a particular family unit. Picasso portrays the idea of motherhood. The solid form of the woman's body fills the frame while the gesture of her right hand draws the eye to her child. Leaning towards each other, the pair are engaged only with each other – their bond creates an inner world to which only they have access. Their love is not exclusionary. Just as the child reaches for his mother's hand, the viewer is pulled. It was the birth of Picasso's son Paulo to his wife – the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova – in 1921 that sparked an artistic exploration of motherhood lasting the length of his career.

Created after an original work by Picasso, this rare color etching and aquatint with roulette is annotated 'Epreuve d'artiste' (artist's proof) in the lower margin; it exists aside from the numbered edition of 100. The work is hand-signed by Pablo Picasso in pencil in the lower right, and has only come on the market a few times in the past ten years.