Picasso Dessins Estampes Affiches 1959 rare vintage poster

A rare, original vintage Picasso lithograph poster, printed by master printmaker Hidalgo Arnéra at Imprimerie Arnéra in 1959.

Picasso met Hidalgo Arnéra during his time living in Vallauris, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. A highly skilled printmaker, Arnéra tutored Picasso in linocut techniques, and the artist’s 197 artworks in the medium were produced at the studio. The resulting artworks also often formed the basis for the posters Picasso designed to advertise his exhibitions, which were also lithograph printed at Imprimerie Arnéra. The piece available for purchase here is one such example.

Striking in its simplicity, the poster features a large image of a Picasso artwork detailing three mythological figures – a satyr playing a double flute, a Venus-like nymph, and a trident wielding centaur – with ‘Picasso’ printed in bold, stylised uppercase red letters underneath. The words ‘dessins – estampes – affinches’ (drawings, prints, posters) feature in lower case. Although the work is undated, and no exhibition name is present, the artwork image and lettering are the same as those used for a poster used to advertise an exhibition of Picasso’s work held at Galerie des Remparts, Antibes in 1959. It’s likely that this piece was an earlier design for the exhibition poster, adding to its singular charm.

The studio’s mark of authenticity, ‘Imprimerie Arnéra - Vallauris’, is printed in red at the bottom edge of the poster.

When Arnéra passed away in 2007, the art dealer, philanthropist and regular visitor to the Imprimerie Arnéra studio Fred Mulder was approached by his heirs to purchase their archive. It is from this collection that we have selected these rare Picasso exhibition posters, now pieces of art history themselves.

The poster has been kept in excellent condition, however as this item is 66 years old, please be aware that some signs of age on the paper are to be expected. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, only one of these posters is available from Tate Shop.

• Artist Pablo Picasso
• Dimensions 64.5 x 48.7 cm
• ISBN 347666