Description
Artist: Pablo Picasso
Title: Petite Chouette, A.R. 82
Medium: Ceramic, white earthenware with engobe decoration, glazed interior
Size: 5.25" x 6" x 4.5"
Condition: Very good condition overall
Year: 1949
Edition: Edition of 200
Inscription: Signed on underside "Edition Picasso Madoura" with manufacturer's mark "Madoura Plein Feu D'Apres Picasso'"
Documentation: Comes with a gallery certificate of authenticity, complete record of provenance available on request
Spanish artist Pablo Picasso is considered one of the most influential and significant artists of the 20th century. Today he is renowned for his role in co-founding Cubism and shaping the direction of modern and contemporary art. His unique and distinct approach to art combined several styles, some of which he helped develop. His body of work encompassed painting, drawing, prints, sculpture, and ceramics.
Though known primarily for his larger-than-life paintings, Picasso discovered a passion for pottery while in the South of France in 1946. While at a pottery exhibition in Vallauris, he met the owners of Madoura Pottery, Suzanne and Georges Ramié. The three of them eventually established a creative partnership. With the help of the Madoura studio, Picasso created ceramics inspired by his sketches. He created vases, sculptural work, and functional objects such as bowls, plates, and pitchers. The vessels often depicted bullfighting scenes, portraits, more specifically faces, and animals such as birds, fish, and goats. His pieces incorporated various ceramic techniques such as carving, etching, painting, and glazing. Picasso and Madoura Pottery collaborated for decades to create over 633 limited edition pieces.
Petite Chouette is a pitcher in the shape of an owl with a spherical body. Picasso used the spout, handle, base, and body of a pitcher to fully animate the bird. The graceful linework enhances the elegance of the piece. Inspired by the pet owl that often accompanied Picasso in his studio, he created a life-sized pitcher of the bird.
Petite Chouette includes a gallery certificate of authenticity and a complete record of provenance available on request. The work is signed on the underside with “Edition Picasso Madoura” and includes the manufacturer's mark “Madoura Plein Feu D'Apres Picasso.” Furthermore, the artwork is in very good condition overall.
About Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was a man of unparalleled talent and the most influential figure in 20th-century art. Born on October 25, 1881, in Málaga, Spain, he was a visionary whose boundless imagination shaped his revolutionary approach to art. Picasso's collaboration with Georges Braque gave rise to Cubism, a groundbreaking movement that redefined the representation of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. Drawing inspiration from African and Iberian art, his work resonated deeply across various modernist movements, including Expressionism and Surrealism.
Among his most iconic works is Guernica (1937), a powerful anti-war piece created in response to the Spanish Civil War, which has since become a symbol of peace and resistance. Throughout his life, Picasso amassed a vast and diverse body of work, spanning paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, ceramics, and even stage design.
Known not only for his art but also for his passionate relationships and magnetic personality, Picasso once said, "My mother said to me, 'If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.' Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso." Picasso lived in Paris and later in Mougins, France, where he passed away in 1973. His legacy endures as a symbol of creative genius and innovation.