Profil de Jacqueline (Profile of Jacqueline) (Alain Ramie 385) (Bloch 77) (Georges Ramié 744)

Literature

Georges Bloch (1972) Pablo Picasso, Catalogue of Engraved Ceramic Works 1949-1971 , Bern: Editions Kornfeld & Klipstein, volume III, another example illustrated on page 66, cat. no. 77.

Georges Ramié (1974) Céramique de Picasso, Paris: Editions Cercle d'Art, another example illustrated on page 281 cat. no 744.

Alain Ramie (1988) Picasso Catalogue of the Edited Ceramic Works 1947-1971, published by Madoura, illustrated in colour on page 199, cat. no. 385.

Notes

The present lot was produced at the Madoura Pottery studio in Vallauris, where Pablo Picasso began working in 1947 following a serendipitous visit to a local ceramics exhibition. Struck by the craftsmanship of Suzanne and Georges Ramié, Picasso established a lasting collaboration with the Madoura workshop and embraced ceramics as a vital extension of his artistic practice. Over the subsequent decades, he produced hundreds of ceramic works, exploring the medium’s expressive potential through both unique pieces and limited editions.¹ Many of these works, including Profil de Jacqueline, were issued in editions, often of 100 or 500, while others exist as variants featuring subtle differences in glaze, coloration, or surface treatment. These variations reflect Picasso’s continued experimentation with form and finish within the framework of editioned works.

Profil de Jacqueline depicts Jacqueline Roque, the artist’s most enduring muse and later wife, whom he met at the Madoura studio in 1953. From 1954 until his death in 1973, Jacqueline became the central subject of Picasso’s late oeuvre, appearing in paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and ceramics, a period commonly known as l’époque du Jacqueline (the era of Jacqueline). Picasso frequently returned to the profile view in his portrayals of Jacqueline, drawn to its aesthetic clarity, stylized contours, and historical resonance. The profile format allowed him to reduce her likeness to a bold, graphic form, evoking classical portraiture while expressing modern abstraction.²

This ceramic version is one of several interpretations of Profil de Jacqueline, each distinguished by variations in background treatment, glaze, and colour contrast, though all share the stylized rendering of Jacqueline’s side profile. The work exemplifies Picasso’s ability to merge personal intimacy with formal innovation, capturing his muse through the economy of line and the tactile immediacy of clay, a medium he redefined in his later years.

^1. Alain Ramie (2015) Madoura, Madoura, online, accessed 8 October 2025.

^2. Heike Mund (2019) DW, Picasso: A master of reinvention and his muse, online, accessed 8 October 2025.