Readings.
The result
The linogravures of the Galerie Louise Leiris had been blessed by a staggering success and no doubt that a curated edition of prints replicating some of the best works, raised the interest of the most renowned publishing houses. Eventually, Verlag Gerd Hatje in Germany, Cercle d’Arc in France, Harry Abrams, Inc. in America, Gustavo Gili in Spain and Il Saggiatore in Italy, succeeded in obtaining the rights to reproduce and publish editions of 45 prints, covering almost half of the global production of linocuts, between 1958 and 1961. The move was bold as investment was big and risky, but eventually paid off well. Initially, the Spanish edition was made of 520 prints, the French and the American doubled the size, while the German and the Italian were initially of 400. The success of the editions was overwhelming and this might have spurred further clandestine printing activity. Not so much in Italy, where Alberto Mondadori, founder of the publishing house paid tribute to Jean-Paul Sartre, upon whose suggestion brought to the young Italian market of post-war, the graphic works of the likes of Miró, Kandinsky, Mondrian and Pollock, beyond Picasso. Prints from the original Italian edition are very seldom on the market. The prints on exhibition originate from a set originally acquired by a famous book dealer whose shop in Piazza di Spagna was a pivotal venue for all paper collectors. The title page has been signed by Picasso at the condition that it would never be traded. During the 60’s, Picasso signed some of the prints from the various editions but always in name of a special relation with the owner and never for commercial purposes.