The Mendicant Friar or The Book of Knowledge (Le Frère mendiant, ó libro del conocimiento)

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The Mendicant Friar or The Book of Knowledge (Le Frère mendiant, ó libro del conocimiento)

Artist Pablo Picasso (Spanish (active France), 1881-1973)

Publisher Latitud Cuarenta y Uno, Paris, 1959 [Le degré quarante et un] (Iliazd)

Printer drypoints: Roger Lacourière and Jacques Frelau, [Paris]; text: l’Imprimerie Union, [Paris] (Raymond Billoir)

Author Iliazd (Ilia Zdanevitch) (Russian, 1894-1975)

Date1959

DimensionsSlipcase: H: 17 9/16 in. (446 mm); W: 13 3/4 in. (350 mm); Depth: 1 7/8 in. (48 mm).
Chemise: H: 17 5/16 in. (439 mm); W: 13 1/2 in. (343 mm); Depth: 1 9/16 in. (39 mm).
Cover: H: 16 5/8 in. (423 mm); W: 13 7/16 in. (341 mm); Depth: 1 1/8 in. (29 mm).
Book: H: 17 in. (432 mm); W: 13 1/4 in. (337 mm); Depth: 1 1/16 in. (27 mm).
Page: H: 16 1/8 in. (410 mm); W: 12 in. (305 mm).

MediumOriginal prints: 17 drypoints, incl. 1 double page image repeated on wrappers. Text: letterpress in black with sanguine (typeface: Gill Sans capitals). Paper: antique Japan paper.

ClassificationBooks

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

Object number

1984.922

Not on View

Label TextOriginal prints by Picasso are included in more than140 books published during his lifetime. No other major 20th century artist provided illustrations for as many books. Some projects involved the artist personally, some merely used his artwork. Picasso frequently collaborated with the Russian designer Iliazd (Ilia Zdanevitch, 1894–1973). This is an example of the books they produced together. Each contains an unusual text, set in a unique composition and bound in vellum (animal skin). The text for Le Frère mendiant is the African travel diary of an unnamed Spanish monk living in the 14th century. Iliazd’s wife was African and he was fascinated with African culture. He wrote in the preface, “In the light of the past, the knowledge of the mendicant friar is admirable, and the soberness of his writings makes them pertinent today. He preaches neither conversion nor the taking of the rich, abundant African lands, personified by kings equal in nobility to the sovereigns of Europe and Asia.”Published Referencescf. Isselbacher, Audrey, Iliazd and the Illustrated Book, New York, 1987, no. 24.

cf. Goeppert, Sebastian, et al., Pablo Picasso: The Illustrated Books, Catalogue raisonné, Geneva, 1983, no. 98

cf. Garvey, Eleanor M., The Artist & the Book, 1860--1960, Boston, 1961, no. 243.

Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Picasso as an Illustrator, Jan. 23-May 29, 1988, no. 46

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