The Metamorphoses

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

Publisher Albert Skira, Lausanne, 1931

Printer etchings: Louis Fort, Paris text: Léon Pichon, Paris

Author Ovid Roman, 43 BCE-18 CE

Date1931

Dimensionsslipcase: 13 3/4 x 10 15/16 x 3 1/4 in. (349 x 278 x 83 mm);
chemise: 13 9/16 x 10 3/4 x 3 1/8 in. (345 x 273 x 79 mm);
book: 13 1/8 x 10 1/4 x 2 5/8 in. (334 x 261 x 67 mm);
page: 12 7/8 x 10 1/8 in. (327 x 257 mm)

Mediumbook with 30 etchings

ClassificationBooks

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

Object number

1984.881

Not on View

Collections

Works on Paper

Published ReferencesSymmes, Marilyn, "Illustrated books at The Toledo Museum of Art", The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Miami, winter 1988, pp. 64-65, reprs.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 300, repr. (col.).

Exhibition History

Toledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, The Bareiss Collection of illustrated books from Toulouse-Lautrec to Kiefer, 1985, no. 57

Toledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, Picasso as an IIlustrator, Jan. 23-May 29, 1988, no. 7, reprs. figs. 3-4

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, in conjunction with the Norton Simon Museum, Picasso: Graphic Magician, November 7, 1999 - January 16, 2000. Pages shown: Title page, signature page, pgs. 7 and 157.

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Classically Modern, Feb. 18 - April 30, 2000. Pages shown: Illustration following pg. 70 and the three signed etchings with remarques, which follow the text.

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

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Looks Good on Paper: Masterworks and Favorites, Oct. 10, 2014-Jan. 11, 2015.

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Drawn from Classicism: Modern Artists’ Books, September 9-December 10, 2017.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Bloch, Georges, Pablo Picasso: Catalogue de l’oeuvre gravé et lithographié, 1904--1967, vol. 1, Bern, 1975, nos. 99--128, reprs.

See also Castleman, Riva, A Century of Artists Books, New York, 1993, p. 111, repr.

See also Garvey, Eleanor M., The Artist & the Book, 1860--1960, Boston, 1961, no. 224, repr.

See also Geiser, Bernhard, Picasso: Peintre-graveur, Bern, 1931, nos. 143--172

See also Goeppert, Sebastian, et al., Pablo Picasso: The Illustrated Books, Catalogue raisonné, Geneva, 1983, no. 19

See also Hogben, Carol, Rowan Watson, editors, From Manet to Hockney: Modern Artists’ Illustrated Books, London, 1985, no. 91, reprs.

See also Strachan, W. J., The Artist and the Book in France; The 20th Century livre d'artiste, New York, 1969, p. 340

See also Hallmark Gallery, Albert Skira: The Man and His Work, New York, 1966.

See also Wheeler, Monroe, Modern Painters and Sculptors as Illustrators, New York, 1946, p. 109

See also The Frank Crowninshield Collection of Modern French Illustrated Books, New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1943, no. 605

See also Johnson, Robert Flynn, Artists' Books in the Modern Era 1870-2000: The Reva and David Logan Collection of Illustrated Books, San Francisco, 2001, no. 56

Label TextThis was the first great livre d'artiste (“artist book”) published by Albert Skira, and Picasso's first major illustrated book in a truly luxurious format. This copy is signed and inscribed by the artist with the date October 25, 1931, which was both the completion date of the publication and Picasso's 50th birthday. Picasso created 15 full-page etchings and 15 half-page ones (for the chapter headings) to illustrate this celebrated mythological text by Roman poet Ovid. These elegant linear etchings represent the artist's purest classical figure style.