Pablo Picasso

This work was acquired from the personal archive of Aldo Crommelynck, the most important intaglio master printer of the second half of the 20th century.

Crommelynck’s exceptional talent as an engraver had caught Picasso’s eye in 1949, and he swiftly became the artist’s preferred printer. In 1950 he entrusted Aldo with an image featuring one of his most important early subjects, that of the saltimbanques (circus acrobats). The result was this exquisite soft-ground etching, in which the incredible poignancy of Picasso’s line takes centre stage. Picasso signed it in pencil at the bottom left, and again above the image in red crayon - the only example of a double signing that we’ve ever come across. A defining early image for both men, this work has never previously been framed, and comes to us in original condition from Crommelynck’s own archive. Please note, as is often the case with etchings that the image above does not do this work justice. It is both larger and brighter than it appears.

After displaying a youthful talent as a draughtsman, Crommelynck began an apprenticeship with Roger Lacourière, the master printer who had printed Picasso's Vollard Suite in the 1930s. In 1949, Picasso himself asked Crommelynck to rework one of his engravings, as he had become dissatisfied with Lacourière's work. Aldo's innovative approach delighted the artist, and from that moment on the eighteen year-old became Picasso's preferred printer. In 1953, he established his own print workshop with the help of his brothers Piero and Milan. They moved to the South of France in 1963 to be closer to Picasso, and for the next decade worked almost exclusively on the avalanche of etchings he produced in his final years.

Following Picasso's death in 1973, Aldo moved back to Paris, where he was sought out by artists such as Richard Hamilton, David Hockney and Jim Dine. In 1985, Aldo moved to the United States and opened a workshop in New York, where he enjoyed great success. George Condo, Jean Michel-Basquiat and Yoko Ono all flocked to his side to learn intaglio printing from the Master. He was awarded the Grand Prix National des Métiers d'Art in 1989.

To be able to lay claim to an artwork with such illustrious provenance and such an intimate connection to the artists who created it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. To add to its significance, Picasso has signed this artwork twice, once in pencil at the bottom of the sheet, and again in red crayon at the top. We have never encountered a double-signing like this before.

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