Original linocut in colors on wove paper with full margins. Artist's Proof signed by hand in pencil, "Picasso" in lower right. From an edition of 100. Printed by Arnéra, Vallauris. Published by Berggruen for the deluxe edition of Jacques Prévert's book, " Diurnes", with découpages and photographs by André Villers.

Image size: 15 3/8" x 11 3/4", sheet size: 21 1/2" x 17", framed: 29 1/2" x 25"
Catalogue reference: Bloch 1062

In 1939, Picasso carved his first linocut, a method whose technique and effect is similar to a woodcut. Both involve a relief method; everything is cut away from the flat surface of a block except those areas that, when inked and printed, articulate the components of the composition. Linocuts differ from woodcuts in that the linoleum (commonly used as inexpensive flooring) is softer, more supple, and has no grain. The linoleum can be quickly and easily carved and yields a wide variety of marks from fine lyrical lines to choppy, geometric gouges. The artist did not begin making linocuts again until 1951 but then continued to produce them for almost two decades.