From the late 1950s, Pablo Picasso became enthusiastic about printmaking using linoleum. A form of relief printing, "linocut," as the technique is known, involves cutting a design into a linoleum plate and then applying ink to the areas that remain. But instead of preparing one separate plate for each color, Picasso developed a method of progressively carving the same plate and printing different colors from it as he went. This reduction process is necessarily restrictive, because once a plate has been carved it cannot be undone, but Picasso saw in this limitation a creative challenge affording new possibilities. Here he has actively incorporated imagery as it emerged during the production process, creating a unique series that captures a gradually evolving vision of a woman.
This is the final stage. In total, the original black base has been adorned with six layers of color: white, yellow, light blue, green, red, black, and then finally the frame that completes the portrait! The shadow extending below the frame lends an air of grandeur—as though it was a painting.
From the late 1950s, Pablo Picasso became enthusiastic about printmaking using linoleum. A form of relief printing, "linocut," as the technique is known, involves cutting a design into a linoleum plate and then applying ink to the areas that remain. But instead of preparing one separate plate for each color, Picasso developed a method of progressively carving the same plate and printing different colors from it as he went. This reduction process is necessarily restrictive, because once a plate has been carved it cannot be undone, but Picasso saw in this limitation a creative challenge affording new possibilities. Here he has actively incorporated imagery as it emerged during the production process, creating a unique series that captures a gradually evolving vision of a woman.
This is the final stage. In total, the original black base has been adorned with six layers of color: white, yellow, light blue, green, red, black, and then finally the frame that completes the portrait! The shadow extending below the frame lends an air of grandeur—as though it was a painting.
(SAKAMOTO Kyoko)
*You can see other works from this series .