Saint Matorel

Saint Matorel by Pablo Picasso is a seminal example of the illustrated book genre from the early Modern period, formally classified as an illustrated book containing four etchings, one of which utilizes the drypoint technique. Executed in 1910 and officially published the following year, this volume showcases the Spanish artist’s rigorous exploration of printmaking during his transitional phase into Analytical Cubism.

The creation of illustrated books provided a vital platform for collaboration between avant-garde authors and visual artists during the 1910s. Though often eclipsed by his contemporaneous oil paintings, this piece confirms Picasso’s commitment to graphic media, utilizing the precise nature of etching to manipulate form and light. The medium demands definitive lines, challenging the artist to express dimensional complexity through stark, planar abstraction. In one of the four plates, the addition of drypoint leaves a raised burr on the plate, lending a soft, velvety texture to the lines that contrasts with the hard, incisive quality of the pure etchings.

This work captures the structural complexity and geometric fragmentation characteristic of 1910, published 1911 printmaking. Picasso employs graphic techniques to achieve radical distortion, dissecting the subject matter into facets and planes that hint at the underlying volume without fully resolving traditional representation. This process of visual analysis was fundamental to the development of Cubism.

As an essential example of the Spanish master’s work across different media, Saint Matorel underscores the role of prints in documenting the evolution of early twentieth-century modernism. This volume resides within the extensive collection of prints and illustrated books held by the Museum of Modern Art, affirming its significance in the historical narrative of the Modern movement.