Between 1930 and 1937 the art dealer Ambroise Vollard acquired 100 copperplate etchings from Picasso. These works, which became known as the Vollard Suite, include some of Picasso's best-known graphic images. Diverse in subject matter, they are clustered around a few recurrent themes, notably The Sculptor in his Studio, quickly augmented by the monstrous presence of the Minotaur. There are also a few portraits of Vollard and works featuring Rembrandt. Allied with a master engraver, Roger Lacouriere, Picasso explored the medium with unparalleled freedom and inventiveness. When the Minotaur appears in the studio, the hitherto relaxed mood becomes fiercely orgiastic. His is a threatening, sexual presence, but it is clear that both sculptor and Minotaur are also a composite self-portrait of the artist. Marie-Therese Walter, then unwittingly slipping out of Picasso's affections, later commented bitterly to Pierre Cabanne, that, like the Minotaur, Picasso ". . . first raped the woman . . . and then he worked. Whether it was me, or someone else, it was always like that".
From Tuesday, July 25th, the Solomon Gallery is showing more than 60 prints from the Vollard Suite, including 11 of the finest proofs, never before in circulation and in mint condition. Poor Vollard was to die prematurely in a freak accident in 1939. When his chauffeur had a minor crash, a Maillol bronze in the back of the car became overbalanced and broke Vollard's neck. Picasso, who had a horror of anything to do with mortality, and hated Maillol, was badly shaken by the bizarre death of his friend and dealer.
The prints of the Vollard Suite are at the Solomon Gallery, Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, Dublin, until August 23rd