Five Sonnets of Petrarch (Cinq sonnets de Pétrarque)
Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish (active France), 1881-1973)
Publisher: À La Fontaine de Vaucluse, [Paris],1947
Printer: etching: Atelier Roger Lacourière, [Paris]; text: l'Imprimerie J. Dumoulin, [Paris] (Henri Barthélemy, director)
Author: Francesco Petrarca (Italian, 1304-1374)
Date: 1947
Dimensions:
Book: H: 13 1/8 in. (334 mm); W: 10 1/8 in. (257 mm); Depth: 3/8 in. (10 mm).
Page (untrimmed): H: 14 1/8 in. (358 mm); W: 9 3/4 in. (248 mm).
Sheet: H: 5 3/8 in. (137 mm); W: 4 5/8 in. (117 mm).
Medium: Original print: etching with aquatint and burin.
Text: letterpress (typeface: Garamond).
Paper: Arches cream wove paper, watermarked.
Classification: Books
Credit Line: Gift of Molly and Walter Bareiss in honor of Barbara K. Sutherland
Object number: 1984.894
Label Text:The fourteenth-century poet Petrarch wrote these sonnets to express his love for Laura, whose untimely death he mourned. The poems were freely translated into French in this publication by an anonymous translator, who was, in fact Louis Aragon, who made this his homage to Elsa Triolet. Each copy of the edition was inscribed with a different proverb penned by Aragon, in lieu of his signature. This copy "H" was inscribed: "Honneurs changent les moers."
Picasso's etched illustration is of a beautiful woman's oval face surrounded by undulating hair. The model and inspiration was Françoise Gilot, the new love in Picasso's life, and her ravishing image served the publication's needs for an idealized portrait of Laura/Elsa.
Picasso's etched illustration is of a beautiful woman's oval face surrounded by undulating hair. The model and inspiration was Françoise Gilot, the new love in Picasso's life, and her ravishing image served the publication's needs for an idealized portrait of Laura/Elsa.
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