P a b l o P i c a s s o
{ P o r t r a i t o f A m b r o i s e V o l l a r d }
O i l o n c a n v a s
( 1 9 0 9 - 1 0 )
Click here for larger scan
Ambroise Vollard was one
of
the most perceptive art dealers
of his time, taking up the 19-year-old Pablo Picasso
in 1901,
almost immediately after his
arrival in Paris. The portrait is
typical of Cubism in its
first
phase. It is thinly painted in
monochrome pigments, as if
Picasso feared that the richness
and brilliance of colour might
somehow corrupt the purity of
his Cubist vision.
Because these
Cubist works seem cerebral and
austere - a largely illusory
impression — it is easy to
overlook their sheer
inventiveness. Though he has
apparently been thoroughly
deconstructed, Vollard is
still
perfectly recognizable; but
within a year or so Picasso
would be painting 'portraits' in
which reality was completely
submerged and only the
occasional visual clue indicated
the identity of the sitter.
Vollard
ceased to be Picasso's dealer
from about 1906 to 1927, when
the artist began a magnificent
set of a hundred etchings, the
Vollard Suite, which took almost
10 years to complete.
Back to Gallery
Source: Life and Works of Picasso
Further Reading: Biography I
Further Reading: Life of Picasso
Further Reading: Pablo Picasso & Jean Cocteau
{ BIOG. }
{ LIFE OF }
{ BIOG. IV }
{ PICASSO/COCTEAU }
{ LE TESTAMENT D'ORPHEE }
{ DORA MAAR }
{ GALLERY }
{ BOOKS }
{ CARDS }
{ PRINTS }
{ GEORGES AURIC }
{ JEAN COCTEAU }
{ JEAN MARAIS }
{ LEE MILLER }
{ INDEX } { SEARCH THIS SITE }
{ TOP OF PAGE }
© 2008 by the appropriate owners of the included material
