Description

Original poster. Catalogued as such by Fernand Mourlot, who printed it following Picasso’s instructions to use as a subject a reproduction of the oil on canvas, entitled “The Face of Paul”. This work was painted by Picasso in 1923. The painting belongs to the collection of Bernard Picasso, grandson of Pablo Picasso and son of Paul and Christine Pauplin, his second wife.

Neither this poster nor its subject have been reproduced in other posters.

The poster reproduces a portrait of Paul. This work, oil on canvas, with the quality of an Ingres painting and masterfully coloured, was made in 1923 when Paul was two years old.

The painting presents an almost exact version of his face and clothing from another work also made in 1923, in which Picasso used as a reference a photograph taken at that time of Paul on a donkey. Both paintings belong to the neoclassical period, a style that he would use in other portraits of Paul. Pablo’s portraits express not only the innocence and grace of childhood, but also the affection of a father for his son. The serenity of a united marriage. And indeed, Pablo and Olga lived in peace during this period.

In this painting, it seems that in Pablo’s eyes you can see what Pablo’s eyes were like when he was a child, although without the same intensity of gaze.