Picasso Peace Posters

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Picasso designed his first posters in 1948, at age 67. This was astonishingly late, seeing as he had devoted himself to other applied arts such as book illustration, ballet costumes and sets, tapestries, and carpets from very nearly the start of his career. Over the following 2 decades, Picasso produced approximately 70 posters - and his treatment of image and word were extremely unconventional. Intrigued by his playful and emotionally charged style, it is collectors - more than art historians - who have done justice to Picasso's poster art. (Marc Gundel)

Modern Madonna

Mother and Child by Picasso 1922

This modern Madonna, painted on a tinted gray background and very lightly colored, was signed by Picasso in 1922. It belongs in Picasso's period of great simplicity and classical feeling. It is an eloquent sample of his authority as a draftsman and one of the most tender of his monumental figure pieces. (Andre Maurois - from a 1927 Vanity Fair magazine article)

Picasso in Vallauris

Vallauris: Ten Years of Picasso Ceramics 1958.

Picasso: Ceramics and White Clay, 1958

Between 1948 and 1966, Picasso created some 70 posters. His use of materials, mode of expression and playful creativity are unrivaled. Most of his posters were designed for the southern french town of Vallauris, as part of ad campaigns for various art and crafts exhibitions, and bullfights. (Marc Gundel from Picasso The Art of the Poster - Prestel, 2000)

I was especially drawn to these posters because I spent some time in Vallauris and bought some ceramics there that I use everyday. Vallauris is an 'art town' specializing mostly in ceramics - there is a wonderful ceramics museum there. During Picasso's stay there he did a lot of printmaking which is quite similar to the look of these posters. It's a beautiful little town not far from the coast and very close to the 'perfume capital', Grasse.

Alla Prima

Cello Kids by Brenda acrylic on clayboard
Example of an Alla Prima painting

(Italian, 'at first'), Method of painting directly onto a surface without the use of under painting. (Rolf Toman)

In art school we also used this term for a quick, 'one sitting' or a one-day-painting. This immediate style of painting may be more loose, and candid than a meticulously planned larger painting (we did use rough charcoal sketches if desired!) It is really all in what the artist's intentions are, and each painter is so different. Picasso said, "If you already know what you're going to do (in a painting) then, what's the point of doing it?"

Painting-a-Day Announcement:

My painting-a-day will likely be posted later in the day than the "word" posts.