Picasso: The Challenge of Ceramics

Key ceramic works by Picasso alongside the ancient pottery that inspired him

Over a 25-year span, from 1946 to 1971, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) produced a ceramic oeuvre that has slowly become an immensely popular dimension of his vast output. Working at the Madoura pottery in Vallauris, he created thousands of unique works that reflect the abiding importance of this medium for him.

This book selects 50 ceramic pieces from the Musée national Picasso-Paris, which represents almost the half of the celebrated ceramic collection of the museum, along with a selection of pieces from the Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche in Faenza, Italy, which provided direct sources of inspiration for the artist. These include pieces in the classical black-figure and red-figure ceramic style; bucchero vases from Etruria; Spanish and Italian popular pottery; incised pottery from the Italian Quattrocento; specimens of Mediterranean ceramics painted with animals; and Mesoamerican ceramic vessels.