
La suite des saltimbanques: Complete Set of Original Etchings and Drypoints Saltimbanque Suite
Pablo Picasso

Gilden's Art Gallery
74 Heath St, London NW3 1DN, UK NW3 1DN
Tue-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 11am-5pm
Admission
Free Admission
About
A rare complete suite marking the beginning of Picasso's remarkable journey into printmaking. The rare complete _Saltimbanque Suite_, comprising fifteen etchings and drypoints, belongs to a formative period in Picasso's early career. The works were created between 1904 and 1905, during the transition from his Blue Period to the Rose Period, and were later brought together as a complete suite and published by Ambroise Vollard in 1913. The suite depicts performers, acrobats and figures from the circus world, subjects that occupied Picasso during his early years in Paris. Among the fifteen works is _Le Repas frugal_, Picasso's first etching and one of the most celebrated prints of his early graphic work. The _Saltimbanque Suite_ marks the beginning of Picasso's sustained engagement with printmaking, a practice that would remain an important part of his artistic career for nearly seven decades. Complete sets are exceptionally rare, with few surviving together as originally published.