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ALS in pencil, in French, signed “Picasso,” one page, 5.25 x 8.25, August 1, 1953. Addressed from Vallauris, a handwritten letter to his friend and financial advisor Max Pellequer, in part (translated): “I'm sending you a page of contributions – have a look at it. I'm no professional ceramicist, I think, maybe a second-rate ceramicist?…You will tell me what I need to say. I'm working, taking baths, and working and working. I'm sending you my best regards to you.” In fine condition, with some light creasing. A fascinating handwritten letter from the great Spanish artist, who, despite his prodigious pottery output and ample time spent with the medium, curiously dismisses his talents as a “professional ceramicist.”
‘Picasso first began producing ceramic pieces in 1947, when he was invited to collaborate with the Madoura pottery studio in Vallauris, France. He had visited the studio the year before and became enamored with their work. Picasso initially worked with simpler items such as decorated plates and bowls but later moved on to experiment with pitchers and vases, often incorporating abstract organic shapes and zoomorphic forms into his work. Once he finished a piece, it would typically be used as a model for other workers at Madoura to produce reproductions of the piece in a limited series of 50 to 500 pieces.
Since he had very little prior experience with creating pottery, Picasso had to learn how to work with this new medium through many years of relentless experimentation. Early on, he was often surprised by the way that the color and transparency of different glazes would change in the kiln, but through much trial and error, he slowly became adept at selecting the correct glazes to achieve his vision for each piece. In a similar vein, he experimented with the way a 3D surface changed the perception of the 2D patterns on its surface, with shadows and surface distortions eventually becoming desired features that accented his painting.
During his lifetime, Picasso’s ceramic works were often viewed as inferior to his paintings and received little attention from serious art collectors. Today, however, his pottery is adored by many and particularly high-quality original pieces can sell at auction for $1,000,000 or more.’
Banker and collector Max Pellequer was introduced to Picasso in 1914 by his uncle by marriage André Level. He quickly became one of Picasso's most important collectors and his financial advisor for over 30 years. Pellequer's interest in his art began as early as the 1910s when he purchased a Picasso bronze from the art dealer Ambroise Vollard. During the 1930s and 1940s, as Picasso's personal banker, he secured and enhanced the painter's wealth and allowed him to settle comfortably in the South of France. Picasso created a superb ex-libris on copper for him, bought him paintings including La Mer à L'Estaque by Cézanne (now in the Picasso museum), and offered him a few other works. Pellequer assembled a vast collection of paintings by the great masters of modern art: Degas, Raoul Dufy, Paul Gauguin, Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Modigliani, and Maurice Utrillo, which are today preserved in the most important international museums.
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