Pablo Picasso - Maternité (1938)

Maternité (1938)

Artist: Pablo Picasso
Title: Maternité
Year: 1938
Medium: Hectograph on laid paper with A. Gestetner watermark
Sheet Size: 310 × 210 mm (12 1/4 × 8 1/4 in)
Edition: No published edition — one of approximately 12 known impressions
Reference: Bloch 1829; Baer 726
Type: Unique/extremely rare experimental impression — one of five known Picasso hectographs

Description: 

Maternité (1938) is one of the rarest and most historically extraordinary objects in Picasso's graphic catalogue — one of approximately twelve known impressions from a hectograph produced in 1938, at a moment when Picasso was simultaneously at the peak of his creative powers and conducting a series of technical experiments that place him, characteristically, at the vanguard of reproducibility itself.

Hectography — the process Picasso employed here — is a pre-photographic transfer technique in which an image executed with specially formulated ink is pressed onto a gelatin matrix, from which successive impressions can be taken before the image deteriorates. A direct precursor to the spirit duplicator and, ultimately, to modern photocopying processes, it was primarily an administrative and commercial technology — used for office documents, school worksheets, church bulletins — and almost never employed as a fine art medium. That Picasso chose to make art with it is entirely characteristic: throughout his career he gravitated toward the vernacular, the improvisational, and the technically unexpected, finding in the most unlikely processes and materials the means to extend his visual language into new territory.

Maternité is one of five hectographs known to have been produced by Picasso in 1938 — a brief, intense, and entirely singular engagement with the medium that yielded works of extraordinary rarity. Although the process was theoretically capable of producing between twenty and one hundred impressions before the gelatin matrix deteriorated, only approximately twelve impressions of Maternité are known to survive today — making this one of the scarcest works in the entire Picasso graphic oeuvre, rarer by orders of magnitude than even his smallest intaglio editions.

The A. Gestetner watermark in the laid paper — Gestetner being the British company that commercialised and popularised hectographic duplicating technology — is an integral part of the work's identity and its historical interest: Picasso using the branded materials of the office supply industry to make a work of high art, the commercial substrate elevated by the act of artistic attention. Referenced as Bloch 1829 and Baer 726 in the two authoritative catalogues raisonnés of Picasso's prints and graphic works.

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FAQ

Is this an original Picasso work?
Yes — an original hectograph executed by Picasso in 1938, on laid paper with the A. Gestetner watermark, one of approximately 12 known surviving impressions. There is no published edition.

What is a hectograph?
A pre-photographic transfer technique in which an image executed with specially formulated ink is pressed onto a gelatin matrix, from which successive impressions can be taken. A direct precursor to the spirit duplicator and modern photocopying, it was almost never used as a fine art medium — making Picasso's engagement with it both historically significant and technically unprecedented in the fine art context.

How rare is this work?
Extremely rare. Although the process could theoretically yield 20–100 impressions, only approximately 12 are known to survive. Maternité is one of only five hectographs produced by Picasso in 1938 — making the entire group of five works among the scarcest in his graphic catalogue.

Is this work referenced in the catalogue raisonné?
Yes — listed as Bloch 1829 and Baer 726 in the two authoritative catalogues raisonnés of Picasso's prints and graphic works.

What is the A. Gestetner watermark?
Gestetner was the British company that commercialised and popularised hectographic duplicating technology. The watermark in the laid paper is an integral part of the work's historical identity — Picasso using branded commercial office materials as fine art substrate.

Do you ship internationally?
Yes — worldwide. Given the extreme rarity and value of this work, specialist art transport with full insurance at declared value is strongly recommended. Please contact us to discuss logistics.

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