Though delving into Greco-Roman myth for most of his career, Picasso famously created his own mythology--playful, fanciful, and thoroughly captivating. Though talking about paintings later than the present lithograph, Gert Schiff might as well have been writing about its bacchanal in the following passage about the “flight from civilization" which Picasso's late work represented: “To think there are whole peoples who lie in the sand and pipe upon bamboo canes! To think that it should be possible to rid oneself of all norms and necessities of modern life, of the curse of individuality – to live a life without memory, hence without death; to come into being and disintegrate like a plant and to span the interim safely embedded in the mythical collective of a primitive society. Could it be that the brain itself is the result of a faulty development? This question seems to lurk behind …[his late works] in which Picasso transforms his bucolic figures into budding primeval giants.” (Gert Schiff, Picasso: The Last Years, 1963-1973, Guggenheim Museum and Grey Art Gallery & Study Center, New York University, 1983)

The pleasing yellow hue of this lovely print is a welcome relief to us color-starved Picasso print lovers, especially at this price.  This original lithograph served as the cover for Volume III of Fernand Mourlot's catalogue raisonée of Picasso's lithographs.  With all due respect to their creator, the front and back cover designs do not form a coherent whole.  This is of course understandable since they were not meant to be viewed in the same plane.  Having chosen to best preserve this original lithograph by removing it from the Mourlot volume and matting it (without hinges ever touching the print, by the way), we took the liberty of folding over the back cover, thus accentuating the pleasing design on the front.  The spine's design forms the left margin of the bacchanal scene. It looks like this in its present mat:

One could certainly choose to undo our presentation as desired without harm, or to enhance it by matting and glazing the both sides.

It may not be entirely appropriate to record below a buyer's testimonial regarding the purchase of another impression of this print, but it is so eloquent that I couldn't resist the temptation,

"The glorious thing arrived this morning. Now I can see how the master's hand moved. And how perfectly the varied lines of his crayon tell his joke. I knew the size but it seems bigger. I love the colour of the paper too--lighter than expected--and I don't want to give this print away!  Well--I have it for a few days.  Terrified, I wrapped it up again immediately after our first inspection (redoing your exemplary wrapping). This evening we'll get it out again and look some more, at length."