Femme Nue Debout: Classical Grace and Botanical Harmony
This graceful pochoir after an original Picasso drawing, "Femme Nue Debout" (Standing Nude Woman), is from the 1962 Un Éventail portfolio, published by Éditions d’Art. In this composition, Picasso pivots from the rigid geometry of Cubism to a more fluid, classical style. The work features a nude woman in profile, her silhouette framed by delicate, rhythmic leaves, a motif that bridges the human form with the natural world, evocative of his pastoral and Mediterranean themes.
The technical execution by master printer, Daniel Jacomet, utilizes the pochoir process to stunning effect, capturing the soft, pastel-like gradients of the original drawing alongside the crisp, soft watercolor-like lines of the foliage. Paper discoloration is intentional replication of the original drawing. The hand-applied pigments on heavy Arches paper provide a depth of tone that mimics the tactile quality of a unique work on paper. Limited to an edition of 260, this piece is highly prized by collectors for its elegance, simplicity, and its celebration of the feminine ideal within Picasso’s vast graphic oeuvre.
- Medium: Pochoir
- Edition: 60 of 260
- Signature: Unsigned
- Paper Type: Arches
- Paper Size: 18 3/4” x 14”
- Publisher: Leda, Edition’s d’Art, 1962
- Reference: Orozco 213, p. 310