Pablo Picasso - Sculpteur avec son Modèle et sa Sculpture (from La Suite Vollard) 1933

Sculpteur avec son Modèle et sa Sculpture (from La Suite Vollard) 1933

Artist: Pablo Picasso
Title: Sculpteur avec son Modèle et sa Sculpture (from La Suite Vollard)
Year: 1933
Medium: Etching on parchment
Plate Size: 270 × 195 mm (10 5/8 × 7 5/8 in)
Sheet Size: 445 × 336 mm (17 1/2 × 13 1/4 in)
Designation: One of only three impressions on parchment — aside from the total edition of 310 on Montval laid paper
Signature: Signed in red ink and numbered /3
Reference: Bloch 154; Baer 307
Type: Unique variant — parchment impression, one of three — from La Suite Vollard

Description: 

Sculpteur avec son Modèle et sa Sculpture (1933) is among the rarest and most extraordinary objects in the entire Suite Vollard — not merely a print from one of the twentieth century's most celebrated portfolios, but one of only three impressions pulled on parchment rather than the Montval laid paper used for the standard edition of 310. These three parchment impressions — signed by Picasso in red ink rather than the pencil he used for the standard edition, and numbered within their own series of three — constitute a micro-edition of such extreme rarity that each example is effectively unique within the context of the Suite.

The choice of parchment — animal skin prepared for writing, the substrate of medieval manuscripts and Renaissance documents — for this particular plate is charged with meaning. Sculpteur avec son Modèle et sa Sculpture belongs to the Sculptor's Studio sub-series within the Suite Vollard — Picasso's most sustained and most personal meditation on the act of creation, the relationship between the artist and his model, and the emergence of form from raw material. The sculptor, the model, and the sculpture occupy the same space in these plates in a triangular relationship that reflects and refracts Picasso's own situation in the studio: the creator, the muse, and the created thing, each one watching and being watched, each one both subject and object of the artistic act.

On parchment, this meditation acquires an additional historical dimension: the skin support connects the image directly to the pre-printing-press tradition of the illuminated manuscript and the drawn document, placing Picasso's classical draftsmanship in a lineage that stretches back through the Renaissance to antiquity — exactly the lineage his Sculptor's Studio plates invoke. The red ink signature — Picasso's deliberate differentiation of these three impressions from all others — transforms the signing itself into a mark of distinction, a chromatic declaration of the rarity of the object.

Referenced as Bloch 154 and Baer 307 in the two authoritative catalogues raisonnés of Picasso's prints. Printed by Lacourière and published by Ambroise Vollard, 1939.

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FAQ

Is this an original Picasso etching?
Yes — an original etching on parchment, signed in red ink and numbered within the three parchment impressions by Picasso himself, produced alongside but entirely distinct from the standard edition of 310 on Montval laid paper.

How rare is this impression?
Exceptionally rare — one of only three impressions on parchment, each signed in red ink rather than the pencil used for the standard edition. These three impressions constitute the rarest variant within the entire Suite Vollard.

Why parchment rather than paper?
Parchment — animal skin prepared for writing — was the standard support for medieval manuscripts and Renaissance documents, connecting Picasso's classical draftsmanship to a pre-printing-press tradition that the Sculptor's Studio sub-series explicitly invokes. On parchment, the image acquires a historical depth that the standard paper edition cannot possess.

Why is the signature in red ink?
Picasso signed the three parchment impressions in red ink rather than the pencil used for the standard edition — a deliberate chromatic distinction that signals the exceptional status of these impressions and transforms the signature itself into an element of the work.

What is the Sculptor's Studio sub-series?
A group of plates within the Suite Vollard — among the most celebrated and most personally significant — in which Picasso meditates on the relationship between artist, model, and sculpture. The triangular relationship between creator, muse, and created object reflects his own situation in the studio during the most intense creative period of his career.

Is this work referenced in the catalogue raisonné?
Yes — listed as Bloch 154 and Baer 307 in the two authoritative catalogues raisonnés of Picasso's prints.

Do you ship internationally?
Yes — worldwide, with specialist packaging suited to parchment works, full insurance at declared value, and shipment tracking. Specialist art transport is strongly recommended for an impression of this rarity.

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