Five Sonnets of Petrarch (Cinq sonnets de Pétrarque)

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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)

Author Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) (Italian, 1304--1374)

Date1947

DimensionsBook: 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).

MediumOriginal print: etching with aquatint and burin. Text: letterpress (typeface: Garamond). Paper: Arches cream wove paper, watermarked.

ClassificationBooks

Credit LineGift of Molly and Walter Bareiss in honor of Barbara K. Sutherland

Object number

1984.894

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Label TextThe 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.Published Referencescf. Goeppert, Sebastian, et al., Pablo Picasso: The Illustrated Books, Catalogue raisonné, Geneva, 1983, no. 47.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Picasso as an Illustrator, Jan. 23-May 29, 1988, no. 21.