About this artwork
This print was included as a loose frontispiece in Benjamin Péret’s book, ‘De Derrière les Fagots’, published in 1934. The subject comes from Jacques-Louis David’s celebrated neo-classical painting, ‘The Death of Marat’. The theme may relate to Picasso’s complicated love life, with the dying figure representing his mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter, while the screaming killer, wielding a hefty knife, could be his wife Olga. The violent subject matter has a close parallel with slightly earlier works by the surrealist artist André Masson. The smudged, coloured patches were probably added by a monotype technique. This would have been done by wiping the inked copper plate with gouache or coloured ink, and then printing it. In this way, the colouring on each print would have been unique.
Updated before 2020
see media-
artist:
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title:La Mort de Marat [The Death of Marat]
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date created:1934
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materials:Drypoint and gouache on paper
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measurements:13.50 x 10.60 cm (paper 20.30 x 15.10 cm)
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object type:
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credit line:Bequeathed by Gabrielle Keiller 1995
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accession number:GMA 4075
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gallery:
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subject:
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
The son of an artist, Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain, and studied at art school in Barcelona. He visited Paris in 1900 and after several extended stays settled there in 1904. Picasso was a hugely prolific and highly influential artist who worked in numerous styles throughout his life. His cubist...