Blind Minotaur Led by a Girl through the Night

Currently not on view

Blind Minotaur Led by a Girl through the Night

1934

Pablo Ruiz y Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973) Printed by Roger Lacourière (French, 1892–1966)

The etchings of the Vollard Suite are distinguished by Picasso’s poetic interplay of line and tone to rephrase themes of attraction, voyeurism, art making, and autobiographical allegories of the mythical Minotaur. In The Blind Minotaur, Picasso’s alter ego—half-man and half-bull—is led by a young girl who represents the artist’s mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter. Picasso covered the entire plate with aquatint to produce a rich black tone that he then scraped and burnished to create the white highlights that define the figures.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

Blind Minotaur Led by a Girl through the Night
Minotaure aveugle guidé par une fillette dans la nuit, From the Vollard Suite, Paris, 1939

Date:

1934

Artists:

Pablo Ruiz y Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973) Printed by Roger Lacourière (French, 1892–1966)

Medium:

Aquatint, etching, and drypoint with scraping and burnishing

Dimensions:

Plate: 9 11/16 x 13 11/16 inches (24.6 x 34.8 cm) Sheet: 13 1/2 x 17 9/16 inches (34.3 x 44.6 cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

The Louis E. Stern Collection, 1963

Accession Number:

1963-181-163

Geography:

Made in France, Europe

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Currently not on view