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Pablo Picasso

La Minotauromachie: All VIII States

June 21–August 4, 2006
Davies Street, London

Pablo Picasso, La Minotauromachie (State I), 1935 Etching, scraper and burin on copper, 19 ½ × 27 ¼ inches (49.8 × 69.3 cm)

Pablo Picasso, La Minotauromachie (State I), 1935

Etching, scraper and burin on copper, 19 ½ × 27 ¼ inches (49.8 × 69.3 cm)

Pablo Picasso, La Minotauromachie (State V), 1935 Etching, scraper and burin on copper, 19 ½ × 27 ¼ inches (49.8 × 69.3 cm)

Pablo Picasso, La Minotauromachie (State V), 1935

Etching, scraper and burin on copper, 19 ½ × 27 ¼ inches (49.8 × 69.3 cm)

Pablo Picasso, La Minotauromachie (State VII), 1935 Etching, scraper and burin on copper, 19 ½ × 27 ¼ inches (49.8 × 69.3 cm)

Pablo Picasso, La Minotauromachie (State VII), 1935

Etching, scraper and burin on copper, 19 ½ × 27 ¼ inches (49.8 × 69.3 cm)

Pablo Picasso, La Minotauromachie (State VIII), 1935 Etching, scraper and burin on copper, 19 ½ × 27 ¼ inches (49.8 × 69.3 cm)

Pablo Picasso, La Minotauromachie (State VIII), 1935

Etching, scraper and burin on copper, 19 ½ × 27 ¼ inches (49.8 × 69.3 cm)

About

Gagosian is pleased to announce an exhibition of Pablo Picasso’s seminal print La Minotauromachie (1935), to inaugurate the new gallery in Davies Street, London. This exhibition will present the only complete set in existence of all eight states of the famous etching, including the final, seventh state, printed in color. Derived from the drawing of the same name from 1934, La Minotauromachie is often cited as one of the most important prints of the twentieth century.

Throughout his life, Picasso restlessly explored the medium of the print, employing many techniques, including lithography, linocut, etching, drypoint, and monotype. This particular series exploits the technique of etching, by which the primary graphic image is burned onto a copper plate with acid. Using a burin, the small chisel used for intaglio, together with a scraping tool, Picasso then worked intensively through eight separate states, wresting a vibrant allegory of destruction and creativity from his chosen medium. In each individual print or state, the artist’s thinking and making can be traced in the evolution of a single, complex image.

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A Foreigner Called Picasso

Behind the Art
A Foreigner Called Picasso

Join president of the Picasso Museum, Paris, Cécile Debray; curator, writer, biographer, and historian Annie Cohen-Solal; art historian Vérane Tasseau; and Gagosian director Serena Cattaneo Adorno as they discuss A Foreigner Called Picasso. Organized in association with the Musée national Picasso–Paris and the Palais de la Porte Dorée–Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration, Paris, the exhibition reframes our perception of Picasso and focuses on his status as a permanent foreigner in France.

Dora Maar, Portrait de Picasso, Paris, studio du 29, rue d’Astorg, winter 1935–36

A Foreigner Called Picasso

Cocurator of the exhibition A Foreigner Called Picasso, at Gagosian, New York, Annie Cohen-Solal writes about the genesis of the project, her commitment to the figure of the outsider, and Picasso’s enduring relevance to matters geopolitical and sociological.

Black and white image of  Pieter Mulier. Photo: © Paolo Roversi, courtesy Alaïa

Fashion and Art: Pieter Mulier

Pieter Mulier, creative director of Alaïa, presented his second collection for the legendary house in Paris in January 2022. After the presentation, Mulier spoke with Derek Blasberg about the show’s inspirations, including a series of ceramics by Pablo Picasso, and about his profound reverence for the intimacy and artistry of the atelier.

Portrait of Sir John Richardson, New York, 2005. Photo: Janette Beckman/Getty Images

The Art of Biography: Sir John Richardson’s “The Minotaur Years”

Pepe Karmel celebrates the release of A Life of Picasso IV: The Minotaur Years, 1933–1943, the final installment of Sir John Richardson’s magisterial biography.

A black-and-white portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler seated at a desk in front of a painting by Pablo Picasso.

Game Changer
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler

Michael Cary pays homage to the visionary dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler (1884–1979).

Grace McCann Morley, c. 1950s.

Game Changer
Grace McCann Morley

Berit Potter pays homage to the ardent museum leader who transformed San Francisco’s relationship to modern art.