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Pierre Reverdy and Pablo Picasso
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Acquired at the Galerie Gerda Bassenge, Berlin
Acquisition 2002
Date 1948
Size 42 x 33 cm.
Signature KOOPM E 37
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was of course already well-represented in the Koopman Collection. This collection of twentieth-century French literature in fine editions contained a number of books illustrated by Picasso, with author portraits for instance. However, in 2002 the Koninklijke Bibliotheek acquired this artists' book, for which Picasso made 125 different lithographs. The book occupies a special place in his work. For no other book did he produce such abstract illustrations, nor so many for a single book. He initially considered making line drawings, but they became arabesques executed in rapid brush strokes. They are reminiscent of the rubrication in medieval manuscripts, but a dance macabre is also being performed here. Picasso's strokes look like human bones and the colour red is a reference to blood.
The 43 poems in Le chant des morts were written during World War Two to commemorate friends who had been murdered or killed in action. Pierre Reverdy's (1889-1960) handwritten text was reproduced in January 1945 in its actual size, including amendments and deletions.
Picasso executed his illustrations on zinc plates in 1947 and 1948. The book's production was delayed and the zinc sheets began to rust. The artist had to start over again from the beginning. Between two ceramic sessions (decorating his popular vases and plates), Picasso completed the lithographs of Le chant des morts for the second time.
This sumptuous edition by Tériade served a special segment of the market: art collectors who could not afford to buy paintings. However, with the artist's signature in the colophon, they were able to own an original Picasso. The loose sections of the book could be bound, taken out to hang on the wall, or the book could be left intact. This latter option is what the previous owners of this copy chose: it is complete, with 32 loose sections inside a single cover. You can lay them out to cover all the tables in the Special Collections reading room - more than nine square metres - and experience the book as a single large artwork. But don't forget to ask permission first!
(PVC)
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