Bust of a Man (Buste d'homme) from the Saltimbanques series

Bust of a Man (Buste d'homme) from the Saltimbanques series by Pablo Picasso is an important drypoint print created during the transitional phase leading into the artist’s Rose Period. Executed in 1905, this piece belongs to a core group of works that explore the lives of itinerant circus performers, acrobats, and harlequins, a recurring motif that became central to the Spanish artist’s early iconography. The creation of prints allowed Picasso to explore emotional intensity through line work and shadow, moving beyond the monochromatic palettes of his earlier style while retaining a profound sense of psychological depth.

The work utilizes the medium of drypoint, a technique demanding high proficiency where the artist scratches lines directly into a copper plate with a sharp needle. This process raises a distinct burr, which holds ink and gives the resulting printed lines their characteristic soft, velvety appearance, particularly visible in the shadow areas and contour lines of the figure's face. The subject is rendered with remarkable economy and emotional restraint, focusing on the strong, simple planes of the bust. Unlike many of the large-scale oil compositions from the Saltimbanques series, this piece isolates the figure, emphasizing a quiet contemplation that defines much of Picasso’s output from this year.

Although the image was first drawn in 1905, the print was formally published in 1913, eight years later, reflecting the ongoing organization of Picasso’s graphic output by print publishers. The print serves as a crucial document of the artist’s early mastery of etching techniques and his departure from academic conventions. Bust of a Man is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where it anchors the institution's robust holdings of early 20th-century prints. This piece, along with other seminal works from this era, provides invaluable insight into the graphic experimentation that characterized the transition to Modernism, and today, many such historically significant prints are made accessible through public domain art initiatives.