Pablo Picasso - The Vollard Suite

Pablo Picasso is best known for his Cubism paintings but he also had an interest in printmaking. Between 1930 and 1937, he produced many etchings which became part of The Vollard Suite. This became the most important series of etchings by one of the most important artist's of the 20th century. In 1930, Picasso was asked to produce a series of etchings by the art dealer and publisher Ambroise Vollard (1866-1939) in exchange for paintings by Pierre - Auguste Renoir and Paul Cezanne. It was Vollard who got Picasso his first exhibition in Paris.
Picasso wanted to create a story where he showed the passion of love and lust while exploring identity and inspiration. He began working on the suite in 1933 and finished in 1937. It was  due to the death of his dealer and publisher Vollard and WW 11 that prevented the sets from being on the art market until 1950s.
Th Vollard Suite is known as a neo-classical masterpiece but does not follow a linear narrative.  Throughout his work, Picasso produces an insight to his 'beast within ', where he identifies a tension between man and beast. He uses a variety of techniques to bring his vision to life. In 1934 Picasso found inspiration from the work of Rembrandt (1606-1669). There are traces of inspiration seen within his work  through the use of light, dark and shadows.
During an exhibition in Madrid in 1971, the suite was targeted by a parliamentary group named the guerrilleros del christo rey (warriers of Christ and the king). They tore up some of the pictures and poured acid over the prints.
While Picasso worked on the suite he began a romantic relationship with Marie-Therese Walter (1909-1977) although still married to his first wife Olga Picasso. Walters was nearly 30 years younger than Picasso but she was a big inspiration and is visible within the suite. In one image, she is portrayed as a model lying in the arms of a bearded sculptor. She also inspired him to produce a series of bronze heads in the neoclassical style.
The suite begins with a theme of the sculptors studio which are not titled but each piece is inscribed with the year, month and day that he drew it. There are also three prints which are portraits of Vollard.
It is thought by some, that the minotaur became an important role in building a visual of Picasso's identity, it also provided a deep psychological importance with the suite.
Along the way, Picasso also learnt new techniques including line etching,  dry point and aquaprinting and sugar aquatinting,  this helped him achieve a larger variety of painting effects.
After learning about the Vollard Suite,  I found it to be an interesting idea. The images are quite strange and alarming to look at. It also made me question what he was thinking.  It does provide an insight into his life at the time he created this.