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 an alternative print made during the first stage. Perhaps because the white ink was thicker this time, less of the underlying black comes through, resulting in a whiter image of the woman. This version was not used in the second stage.
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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 an alternative print made during the first stage. Perhaps because the white ink was thicker this time, less of the underlying black comes through, resulting in a whiter image of the woman. This version was not used in the second stage.
(SAKAMOTO Kyoko)
*You can see other works from this series .