The Siege of Jerusalem: Great Heavenly Temptation of Saint Matthew (Le siège de Jérusalem: grande tentation céleste de Saint Matorel)
Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish (active France), 1881-1973)
Printer: etching: Eugène Delatre, Paris, text: Paul Birault, Paris
Author: Max Jacob (French, 1876-1944)
Date: 1914
Dimensions:
Book: H: 8 7/8 in. (226 mm); W: 6 1/4 in. (159 mm); Depth: 7/8 in. (23 mm).
Page (untrimmed): H: 8 13/16 in. (224 mm); W: 6 3/16 in. (157 mm).
Image: H: 6 3/16 in. (157 mm); W: 4 9/16 in. (116 mm).
Medium: Original prints: 1 etching, 1drypoint, and 1 drypoint with etching.
Text: letterpress in black with red.
Paper: Van Gelder cream laid paper.
Classification: Books
Credit Line: Gift of Molly and Walter Bareiss in honor of Barbara K. Sutherland
Object number: 1984.874
Label Text:The final volume in the Jacob-Matorel trilogy, this is Picasso’s second illustrated book and the last of his early Cubist illustrations, exemplifying a more abstract Cubist style.
After SAINT MATOREL, Jacob wrote LES OEUVRES BURLESQUES ET MYSTIQUES DE FRERE MATOREL, which was published in 1912 and illustrated with 66 woodcuts by Andre Derain. LE SIEGE DE JERUSALEM completed the Matorel-Jacob trilogy, and became Picasso's second illustrated book.
At first glance, Picasso's three cubist etchings (two female nudes, one still life with a skull) seemed to have little relation to the disconcerting text. The plot revolves around a multitude of characters who are fighting around poor Matorel in an apocalyptic war for the conquest of celestial Jerusalem. Jacob blends the grotesque and the sublime in an atmosphere that shifts from dream to nightmare. Picasso’s illustrations visually echo the text's difficult ambiguity.
After SAINT MATOREL, Jacob wrote LES OEUVRES BURLESQUES ET MYSTIQUES DE FRERE MATOREL, which was published in 1912 and illustrated with 66 woodcuts by Andre Derain. LE SIEGE DE JERUSALEM completed the Matorel-Jacob trilogy, and became Picasso's second illustrated book.
At first glance, Picasso's three cubist etchings (two female nudes, one still life with a skull) seemed to have little relation to the disconcerting text. The plot revolves around a multitude of characters who are fighting around poor Matorel in an apocalyptic war for the conquest of celestial Jerusalem. Jacob blends the grotesque and the sublime in an atmosphere that shifts from dream to nightmare. Picasso’s illustrations visually echo the text's difficult ambiguity.
Not on view
In Collection(s)