Artist: Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Title: Le Faun, 1958
Medium: Etching and Aquatint on Japan Paper, H.C., Ed of 300, Printed by Aldo Crommelynck
This work is hand-signed in Pencil by Picasso
Details & Dimensions 12 x 10 in, 30.5 x 25.4 cm (image size);
21.5 x 16.75 in, 54.6 x 42.5 cm (sheet size)

Capturing our attention with his striking gaze, Pablo Picasso's Le Faune (The Faun), 1958,  fixates the viewer with his doe eyes. Youthful and robust, he is the very picture of masculinity; the wreath of leaves crowing his dark curls reminds us that he stands for the animal spirits of the wild that can be helpful or devious according to their whim. We can almost imagine the forest just behind him, where the Faun would feel at home. He is placid and inviting, making the woods feel welcoming to the viewer. Illustrating the artist's technical skill and mastery of the medium, this print is desirable for its bold graphic iconography and confident strokes. Amazingly, the brushstrokes that define the face of the Faun differ across the etching. His beard is created by smaller, more wild strokes - these also make up his hair. His eyes, on the other hand, are smoother and rounder, giving him an introspective air.

Created in 1958, this etching and aquatint is hand-signed by Picasso in pencil in the lower right margin. An artist's proof annotated HC (Hors de Commerce) in pencil in the lower left.

Picasso started making prints early in his career and mastering the traditional techniques of intaglio and lithography which he integrated in his artistic repertoire. Then, while he was based in Paris he had access to the Ateltier Mourlot and worked closely with the master printers on etchings and lithographs. As with the painting and drawing his print making methods reflected the ease, and indeed the speed, with which he produced his imagery, reworking a theme until he had exhausted its possibilities.

Galerie Filali is pleased to collaborate with our personal friend Galerie Mourlot, New York, to present a collection of rare lithographs from legendary Parisian printing house Atelier Mourlot.

Founded in Paris in 1852, Atelier Mourlot has been synonymous with fine art lithography for over 150 years. From 1930, under the direction of the founder’s grandson, Fernand Mourlot, leading artists were invited to the studio to collaborate on traditional limestone lithography. For painters like Picasso, the medium provided an exciting new form of expression.

Picasso met Fernand Mourlot in October 1945 after much encouragement from Henri Matisse and Georges Braque. As they predicted, Picasso soon became obsessed with the possibilites of lithography and amazed the Mourlot team with his artistic audacity and talent. He proceeded to make many innovative experiments on the limestones. He would stay at the Mourlot print workshop for several months at a time, 12 hours a day, and over the course of 20 years he created nearly 400 lithographs

Each individual work of art comes with a Certificate of Provenance, signed, dated, stamped, and numbered by Eric Mourlot. Stored in a clear protective sleeve accompanying your piece, this Certificate of Provenance is recognized by all the major auction houses should you care to resell at any point. This ensures the validity of its origin and its being in the Mourlot archives since its production.