While Leigh and I were in Las Vegas last month, we stopped by Centaur Art Galleries, which is something we try to do anytime we’re in Sin City.
Up until this year we’ve been able to refrain from actually purchasing anything.
This year they got us. Big time.
Here’s our Picasso. Be sure to click for the larger image.
The painting is titled “L’araignée,” which means “The Spider.” Here’s the story behind this painting, which I swiped from this website:
A series of 31 prints, considered to be among Picasso’s most
important graphic productions, of animals, birds, and insects. Picasso
created these images from 1936 to accompany the classic natural history
text by the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc Buffon (1749-1788)…These stunning
images are of animals, birds and insects. They illustrate a series of
books dating from about 1750 to 1800 called the Histoire Naturelle. The
books were written by Georges-Louis Leclerc, later known as Comte de
Buffon. The books describe the entire natural world…The
thirty-one prints took Picasso just a month to complete. Picasso used
creatures he remembered from his childhood, and animals from the zoo
and the circus. He was particularly fascinated by the pigeon, Spanish
bull and cockerel. He treated each animal individually using different
artistic techniques. The prints were published in 1942.
There are 226 editions of this painting in existence, and only 31 of those editions contain an additional suite of aquatints. We have one of those 31. Additionally, Picasso wrote the title of the painting with his own hand at the bottom of our edition.
For the art nerds out there, this link will take you to the entry for L’araignée at the On-Line Picasso Project from Texas A & M University.
That, sir, is pretty awesome.