Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973) - Lot 142

Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973) Portrait of Rembrandt, 1968 Pierre Reverdy, Sable mouvant, Paris, Louis Broder, 1966. One vol. large in-fol. [50.5 x 40 cm], in sheets, on vellum, under a filled vellum cover lined with a filled parchment cover bearing the printed title, the latter very slightly yellowed, containing 10 engravings on double leaves (except the last on a single leaf), with typographed text of the poems inside. Cramer 166. Very fresh inside. On the title page, large felt-tip drawing by Picasso (portrait of Rembrandt) and dedication: "pour mon cher ami Lucien / Clergue", signed and dated "le 9.4.68.". One of 20 numbered copies in Roman numerals, this one numbered XIV, signed by Picasso in pencil. Total edition of 225 copies, in the publisher's grey-beige cloth-covered slipcase with title printed on the spine. Description of the plates: - Sculptor at work. February 8, 1964. Aquatint. Bloch 1183; Baer 1152. - Painter and model with long hair. February 8, 1964. Aquatint. Bloch 1184; Baer 1153. - Two Women with Mirror. March 1, 1965. Aquatint, etching, drypoint and scraper. Bloch 1185; Baer 1154. - Painter standing at his easel, with a model. February 8, 1964. Aquatint. Bloch 1186; Baer 1155. - Sculptor and sculpture. February 27, 1965. Aquatint, etching and drypoint. Bloch 1187; Baer 1156. - Painter and leaning model. February 8, 1964. Aquatint. Bloch 1188; Baer 1157. - Head of a Bearded Man II. March 10-15, 1965. Aquatint with sugar and scraper. Bloch 1189; Baer 1158. - Leaning Nude. February 26, 1965. Aquatint. Bloch 1190; Baer 1159. - Sculptor in front of his saddle, with a bearded painter. February 8, 1964. Aquatint. Bloch 1191; Baer 1160. - Sculptor. February 26, 1965. Aquatint. Bloch 1192; Baer 1161. Proof on single sheet of white vellum, dedicated in pencil "pour mon ami / Lucien Clergue", signed and dated "le 24.3.71". Oxidation of the sheet, due to old framing, and strips of gummed kraft around the perimeter on the reverse. "Sable mouvant is Reverdy's last poem. He had written it, at René Char's request, for a collection of twelve poets illustrated by Jacques Villon - a collection that was never published. On June 17, 1960, Reverdy died at Solesmes, the famous abbey to which he had retired in 1926. His death was discreet; only three friends had been notified: Braque, Picasso and Tériade. So it was as a tribute to Reverdy [...] that Picasso agreed to create the illustrations for a posthumous edition of Sable mouvant." (Patrick Cramer et al, Pablo Picasso, catalog raisonné des livres illustrés, Geneva, Patrick Cramer ed. 1983, p. 328). Exhibition: De Clergue à Picasso, Musée Réattu, Arles, October 4, 2014 - January 4, 2015. A certificate from Claude Ruiz Picasso, dated January 7, 2020, will be given to the buyer for the drawing.