Literature

This etching anticipates the carefree bacchanalian themes that Picasso preferred in the mid- and late 1940s, and fits in with the generally classical theme of the Suite Vollard as a whole. It is closely related to the previous plate in the series, Jeune Bacchus au Tambourin avec une Bacchante (Bloch 212). Both images show a young woman who is enjoying music played by a young man, conveyed in simple contour lines. However, in this plate the two figures are clothed and seem to be engrossed in the act of making music, whereas the couple in the earlier plate is distracted by flirtation. The woman at left holds a tambourine in her hand, though she does not play, and stares into the distance as she listens to her companion. Perhaps she is waiting for her moment to join in the song.

The current impression is from the standard edition of 260 with modest margins on Montval laid paper watermarked “Vollard” and “Picasso” (there was also an edition of 50 on wide margins with a separate watermark and a small edition of three impressions). It was printed by Roger Lacourière in late 1938 or early 1939. The prints remained unpublished upon the untimely death of Ambroise Vollard in the summer of 1939 and were later issued in 1948 by the dealer Henri Petiet.