Exposition Vallauris

Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973, Spain) “Exposition Vallauris” (1952) Reduced version of the original 1952 poster for the French town’s annual art exhibition. This work of art is a plate-signed offset lithograph on paper that measures 12 x 9 inches. It has been double matted and placed in a 16.25 x 12.25-inch black frame. Featured is the profile of a large goat head with long blades of grass spelling out ‘Vallauris’ below the goat’s chin, and the word ‘Exposition’ above the goat presented in black and red. The location, date and ‘Mourlot Paris’ are also printed in the piece.

Picasso created ceramics at a studio in Vallauris over a period of several years and every year from 1951 to 1964, he designed at least one original poster advertising the expositions of fine clay and pottery from the Riviera town near Cannes in the South of France. In 1959, printer Mourlot Freres in Paris created a series of lithographs ("Affiches Originales") of reduced size versions of posters by the contemporary masters of the time. This image is referenced MP. 68 in the book by Fernand Mourlot, “Art in Posters: The Complete Original Posters of Braque, Chagall, Dufy, Léger, Matisse, Miró, Picasso” (1959).