Au Théâtre: Femme Décapitée par un Bourreau, et Viellard (At the Theatre: Woman Decapitated by an Executioner, and Old Man) (Bloch 1423) (Baer 1451)

Provenance

The Hannes Harrs Collection and thence by descent.

Notes

Printed by Piero Crommelynck.

The present lot, Au Théâtre: Femme Décapitée par un Bourreau, et Vieillard belongs to Picasso’s late graphic period, a time marked by his close collaboration with the Crommelynck brothers in Mougins. In this particular etching, the composition unfolds like a theatrical scene, possibly referencing Picasso’s surrealist Le Désir attrapé par la queue (1941), a play written during the German occupation of France which, over six acts, dramatises the plight of the people who endured the winter famine during the Second World War.¹

The image depicts a decapitated woman alongside an old man, rendered in a dramatic and expressive style that harnesses the rich textural possibilities of aquatint. The dark, atmospheric background intensifies the stark contrast between light and shadow and heightens the emotional impact of the figures. The studio itself, often a recurring subject in Picasso’s late work, becomes both the setting and a symbol, serving as a site of creative collaboration and intimate human connection. Printed in a limited edition of fifty, this etching embodies the seamless fusion of technical mastery and psychological presence that defines Picasso’s later printmaking, capturing a powerful narrative suspended between life, death, and memory.²

^1. No author (no date) Stedel, Le désir attrapé par la queue: Pablo Picasso, online, accessed 8 October 2025.

^2. George Bloch (1971) Picasso: Volume II: Catalogue of the Printed Graphic Work 1966-1969, Berne: Editions Kornfeld et Klipstein.

Literature

Brigitte Baer (1992) Picasso Peintre-Graveur, Tome VI: 1966–1968, Berne: Edition Kornfeld, cat. no. 1451.

George Bloch (1971) Picasso: Volume II: Catalogue of the Printed Graphic Work 1966-1969, Berne: Editions Kornfeld et Klipstein, cat. no. 1423.