Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)

Title: Cavalier Walking Towards Célestine and Nude

(La Célestine avec une femme et un cavalier à pied / Femmes Toréador)

Medium: Original linocut in brown ink on Arches wove paper

Date: Mougins, December 1968

Printer: Hidalgo Arnéra, Vallauris, France

Publisher: Galerie Madoura, Vallauris & Cannes

Edition: H.C. 402/440, hand-numbered in pencil; folded card format as a New Year’s greeting for 1968

Image size: 11 x 17 cm | Folded paper size: 14.5 x 21.5 cm (portrait format)

Catalogue References: Bloch 1461; Baer 1853; Met 119; Munster 2011.81; Orozco 562

This original linocut was created by Pablo Picasso in December 1968 as a New Year’s greeting card for 1968, specially designed for the friends and associates of Suzanne and Georges Ramié, founders of Galerie Madoura. The image depicts a nobleman or cavalier approaching La Célestine and a nude female figure on foot—a continuation of Picasso’s late-career fascination with mythic, literary, and performative characters, rendered here with an expressive, graphic immediacy.

Text printed on the verso:

“LINOGRAPHIE ORIGINALE DE PICASSO / Spécialement gravée par l’auteur à l’intention des amis de Suzanne et Georges RAMIÉ.”

Translation: “Original linocut by Picasso / Specially engraved by the artist for the friends of Suzanne and Georges Ramié.”

Text inside the card:

“AVEC LES MEILLEURS COMPLÉMENTS / ET TOUS LES VŒUX DE MADOURA / LE PLAN - VALLAURIS - MADOURA BOUTIQUE VALLAURIS”

Translation: “With best regards and all good wishes from Madoura / Le Plan - Vallauris - Madoura Boutique Vallauris.”

This work is from an unsigned edition of 440 hors commerce (not for commercial sale), folded as a traditional greeting card. There were also a number of trial proofs, and a signed and numbered edition of 125 impressions printed before the text. A ceramic version of this design was also produced.

Public Collections:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

This work stands as a testament to Picasso’s collaborative relationship with the Ramiés and his inventive use of linocut—a medium he embraced for its bold lines and textural potential, particularly during his final years in southern France.