Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) The Dove. 1949. Lithograph. Sight: 748x545mm. Bloch 583; Mourlot 141; Güse-Rau414. Fine proof on vellum, annotated "Bon à tirer" and signed vertically in the left margin in red pencil (inscriptions very faded), darkened. Small fracture at right edge. Margins. Final edition of 50 proofs. Frame (not examined outside the frame). Commenting on the bird's plumage, Mourlot wrote: "This composition is one of the most beautiful lithos that has ever been achieved [...] This plate [...] gives the maximum of what can be obtained with litho ink used as a wash." (Quoted in E.-G. Güse and B. Rau, Pablo Picasso, Die Lithographien, Stuttgart, Verlag Gerd Hatje, 1988, p.247). In 1949, the world was just emerging from the Second World War. The World Congress of Peace Supporters was held in Paris in April 1949, organized by the Mouvement de la Paix (Peace Movement), close to the Communist Party. The aim was to bring together intellectuals and artists from all over the world to promote peace and oppose the emerging Cold War. Picasso proposes a design: a dove, a universal symbol of peace. He was inspired by a dove given to him by Matisse, which he and Françoise Gilot brought back to Vallauris. Picasso had already drawn a dove for a lithograph in 1947, so Matisse gave him four of the doves from his own aviary. The 1949 dove became the emblem of the Congress. It was reproduced as a poster and lithograph, and was a huge success. Picasso later produced several versions, and the dove became one of his most famous motifs. Aragon, as organizer and poet, wrote a text to accompany the poster and lithograph. He saw Picasso's dove as a powerful symbol of peace, and contributed to its international dissemination.