Sketchbook from Royan: PL.18

This rare folio referred to as the Sketchbook from Royan contains 41 illustrations based upon drawings by Picasso made in Royan, France, between May 30 and August 22, 1940. It was published in 1948. The total Edition of 1200 is unnumbered. They were printed with Picasso’s direction with meticulous care in Paris, France. Picasso and Portraits: The human figure was Pablo Picasso’s prime subject and portraiture always occupied an important place in his art. He hardly ever worked to commission and virtually all his portraits and caricatures depicted people in his intimate circle at the time. Free from external pressure, he interpreted his subjects according to his vision and understanding of them, choosing the style and medium he deemed most expressive or appropriate on that particular occasion. Caricature was a favourite activity and many of his mature painted portraits involved the simplifications and distortions typical of the genre, and occasionally its humour. The liberties Picasso took with natural appearances and his subversion of decorum were, nevertheless, accompanied by a constant, probing engagement with the traditions of Western portraiture. [Excerpt]