Picasso - Working with ceramic

Madoura Potter Workshop is located in Vallauris, France. In the mid 1900’s it was owned and operated by Suzanne and George Ramie

In 1946 Picasso visited a Pottery exhibition “Romaunt de la Rose, in Vallauris, France during this visit Picasso was introduced to the Madoura Pottery Workshop where many famous potters have created works over hundreds of years. At this time Picasso became fascinated with the workshop and the creative act of pottery. He went to the studio and created 3 ceramic works. However Picasso left the workshop before seeing the completed works after the last firing of the kiln. In fact these 3 works still remain at Madoura. Many years’ later theses works (a little head of a faun and two bulls modeled by hand) were cast in bronze.

A year passed before Picasso went back to Vallauris to see the pottery exhibition where he once again fell in love with the artistic form of ceramic and pottery making. Upon visiting the Madoura Pottery Workshop he was surprised to see that his 3 ceramics were in pristine condition. During his return to the studio he was no longer looked upon as an amateur but a master, as he has studied the craft, tools and its artists. With him he brought a cardboard box of designs, an ingenious vigor for the artistic form. This spurred such creative ingeniousness in Picasso he began to create the very beginning of his ceramic collection that we know today. Also endearing him to Maroura Pottery Workshop was an employee Jacqueline Roque who later married Picasso. In fact Picasso was so in love with Jacqueline that she was able to get Picasso to denounce his children as legitimate heirs, thus securing her the Picasso fortune upon his death.

Currently on display and available at Galerie Michael are the following:

PICASSO, Pablo, 1881-1973
Face no. 202, 1963
Ceramic plate
9 7/8 in. ( 25.1 cm )

Hand’s with Fish

Ceramic Bowl

Currently it is unknown what the significance is between Picasso and fish but it is safe to assume that Picasso drew widely on his surroundings. In the1950’s Picasso spent a significant amount of time in the French Rivera in fact he met is last wife, Jacqueline Roque at Madoura Pottery in Vallauris. In fact it is widely due to Jacqueline and Suzanne and George Ramie, owners of the Madoura Pottery Workshop that we have Picasso Ceramics. Picasso, having been in some of the most beautiful cities on the French Rivera during the time Hand’s with Fish was created it would be only natural for Picasso to depict sea life in his work.

The symbolism with Hand’s with Fish could easily be the encompassing embrace of two worlds coming together in harmony. Another take on this ceramic’s image could be an ironic twist of fate that man can live in harmony with fish but eventually the fish (nature) is conquered in the end by man: man catches fish, cooks fish, presents fish on a plate and eventually eats fish. Some may even say that Picasso’s sense of humor and life view could be brought out in this one work.

The Faun’s Head

Ceramic Plate

This grinning, ceramic faun has been the subject of several of Picasso's work during this period as he drew much inspiration from this classic mythological character. Fauns were most known for their love of dancing, entertainment, and overall fun; Picasso seems to have tapped into this aspect, creating an expressive and lively rendition of a faun's face in this large, oval plate. The colorful quality and simplistic line enables the ceramic to come joyously alive with its whimsical and childlike character making this work easy to appreciate. The colors or glazing in this specific ceramic is extremely rare and unique as Picasso generally created earthenware which was unglazed and hand-painted with neutral colors of white, brown, black and blue tones.

Picasso’s use of the faun in this particular work is seemingly appropriate for Picasso’s character and personal demons that he was battling during the creation of this work 1984. As we all know during the later part of Picasso’s life he became more and more aware of his diminishing masculinity creating a focus strictly on phallic objects and subject matter, making the Faun a perfect subject for Picasso.

Understanding Picasso's Ceramics