Pablo Picasso – Federico García Lorca
Chant funèbre pour Ignacio Sánchez Mejías
Bièvres: Pierre de Tartas, 1976
Exceptional contributor’s copy printed on Japon impérial, specially produced for Pierre Jean Mathan, the printer responsible for the typographic production of the edition. The copy is personally named on the justification page (“Exemplaire imprimé spécialement pour P. J. Mathan”), giving it a strong and fully documented provenance directly linked to the production of the book.
This prestigious illustrated book brings together the poetry of Federico García Lorca and the graphic work of Pablo Picasso. The edition contains 5 original prints by Picasso, including one on the cover, together with 14 woodcuts, printed by the Desclais workshops, while the typography was executed by Pierre Jean Mathan.
What makes this particular example exceptional is the presence of multiple additional suites and prints, transforming it into a unique enriched contributor’s copy. The set includes:
• Suite of coloured woodcuts on Arches paper
• Suite of woodcuts on Japon nacré
• Double suite of woodcuts printed on silk
• Suite of woodcuts on handmade paper from Moulin Richard de Bas
• Suite of woodcuts in black on Japon impérial
• An additional original print on coloured Japon nacré
Such a gathering of suites on different luxury papers is rarely encountered and clearly indicates a copy prepared for an individual closely associated with the production of the book.
Printed in an edition of 306 copies, signed by the publisher and stamped by the Versailles bailiffs C. and J. Heldt, this contributor’s example stands apart due to its direct provenance, the exceptional variety of suites, and the presence of impressions on rare papers including silk and Japon impérial.
A remarkable and highly desirable example of one of the most ambitious late illustrated books after Picasso, combining historical provenance, extraordinary completeness and a multiplicity of impressions rarely preserved together.
