Pichet au visage de femme
Date1952
Mediumceramic, created from white earthenware clay, decoration in oxides, knife engraved on white enamel
Dimensions12 3/4 × 14 × 6 inches (32.4 × 35.6 × 15.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Milton Mazo, M.D.
Object number1992.3.6
Copyright© 2023 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextPablo Picasso’s prominent status in art history is cemented by his invention of radical art forms such as Cubism and his prodigious output in painting, sculpture, drawing, and printmaking. He entered a new phase of production when he began experimenting with ceramics in his mid 60s. Impressed by the quality of ceramics produced by the Madoura Pottery workshop, owned by master potters Suzanne and Georges Ramié, he collaborated with the studio over 25 years to produce 633 ceramic editions designed with his signature style. Making over 3,500 objects, Picasso saw his ceramics as a more democratic means to place his art in the homes of everyday people.
Marrying sculpture, painting, and printmaking, Picasso’s ceramics appropriated elements from his earlier practices, but were also noted to be more joyful and whimsical than his previous work, which often dealt with the horrors of war. The white ice pitcher is painted to evoke the essence of a woman’s face, and the spouts and handles, while utilitarian, give the impression of existing as part of the figure beyond their basic function.
