Le visage s'invente

Artist Joan Miró (Spanish, 1893-1983)

Publisher PAB [Pierre André Benoit], [Alés], 1957

Author P. A. (Pierre André) Benoit (French, 1924-1993)

Date1957

DimensionsBook: H: 7 in. (178 mm); W: 4 11/16 in. (119 mm); Depth: 1/8 in. (3 mm).
Page (untrimmed): H: 6 3/4 in. (171 mm); W: 4 5/8 in. (118 mm).

MediumOriginal prints: 2 drypoints from the same plate, 1 printed in red, 1 in blue. Text: letterpress (typeface: Garamond). Paper: beige laid Auvergne (watermark: papier la main Gourbeyre).

ClassificationBooks

Credit LineGift of Molly and Walter Bareiss

Object number

1984.781

Not on View

Label TextPublisher: Pierre André Benoit Joan Miró, Le visage s'invente (The Face Invents Itself). Text by Benoit (1957) Georges Braque, Passionné (Passionate). Text by Édith Boissonnas (1958) Marcel Duchamp, L’équilibre (Equilibrium). Text by Francis Picabia (1958) Marcel Duchamp, Tiré à 4 épingles (Printed with 4 Pins). Text by Pierre de Massot (1959) Pablo Picasso, Meurs (Die). Text by Benoit (1960) Pablo Picasso, Température (Temperature). Text by Jacqueline Roque (1960) Pablo Picasso, Toute la vie (All of Life). Text by Benoit (1960) Jean Dubuffet, Oreilles gardées (Guarded Ears). Text by Benoit (1962) Pierre André Benoit (who published under his initials PAB) was fond of printing very small books. He would solicit artwork from his friends, sending them several sheets of celluloid on which they could scratch a drypoint engraving. He printed the engravings himself and sometimes wrote his own poem or text to accompany the print. He published 15 tiny books with art by Picasso, 3 with Duchamp, and 4 with his friend Dubuffet. Many other artists and writers were tapped for this personal obsession. Unlike other publishers, who spent years on a single publication, Benoit would send a finished book to an artist only a few weeks after receiving an image. Editions were no more than 30 or 40 copies. One of Benoit’s most substantial publications was his first collaboration with Jean Dubuffet. Dubuffet suggested his own design for the book, but was happy to defer to Benoit. Oreilles gardées was printed on a simply wove paper in a larger format than Benoit usually preferred. The drawings for the book were mechanically reproduced and the text was set out by Benoit himself with the use of rubber letters given to him by Dubuffet.Published Referencescf. Cramer, Patrick, ed., Joan Miró, The Illustrated Books: Catalogue raisonné, Geneva, 1989, no. 43, col. repr.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Bareiss Collection of Illustrated Books from Toulouse-Lautrec to Kiefer, 1985, no. 50

Toledo Museum of Art, Splendid Pages: The Molly and Walter Bareiss Collection of Modern Illustrated Books, Feb. 14--May 11, 2003.