Diverse and endearing lithographs printed at Imprimerie Arnéra
Residing in the small French town of Vallauris, master printmaker Hidalgo Arnéra attracted many notable artists to his studio for his expertise in lithographic printing, including Pablo Picasso. As we release a new selection or rare posters from the historic Imprimerie Arnéra Archive, we take a closer look at some of the artists who worked with Arnéra, and the now rare and highly collectible artworks that were printed at his sought after studio.
Jean Marais
After losing his lover and long-time collaborator, the avant garde artist Jean Cocteau in 1963, actor and artist Jean Marais completed an apprenticeship in pottery before moving to the town of Vallauris, which is famed for its ceramics. When he arrived, he was immersed in the artistic community, producing works in ceramics, illustration and print. All of these artistic outlets combined when Marais was commissioned to produce the 1985 poster promoting the town’s annual pottery festival. The piece titled ‘Poterie Vallauris’ features a man morphing into a vase, symbolic of he and his fellow potters’ dedication to the craft.
Marais’ illustrations are distinctively his own, they exude a romanticism and softness, offering a window into how the artist viewed life and the human condition. ‘Le jeune homme et l’oiseau’ beautifully illustrates a boy who looks lost in thought as he calmly watches the bird that rests on his forearm.
Many of his works also offer, in abundance, elements of Surrealism. ‘La femme fleurs’ features an ink drawing of a woman‘s face, her hand elegantly positioned on her tubular neck, that grows up only as far as her hairline, creating a vase-like vessel. Blooming from inside her hollowed head, Marais has delicately painted some pink roses, the green of the leaves highlighting her green eyes.
Salvador Dalí
Early in his career Salvador Dalí was inspired by the work of Pablo Picasso, Joan Míro, and surrealist founder, André Breton. Though perhaps above his fellow surrealists, he was most influenced at this time by the psychology of Sigmund Freud. Combining his highly skilled painting ability with the Surrealist ‘automatism’ technique, delving into his deepest subconscious, he created his fantastical paintings.
Known for his eccentric character that at a point eclipsed his artwork, he gained much fame as he lived a performative life pulling the ideas of Surrealism into his everyday reality. Such examples include making appearances at special events in Surrealist costume, and once arriving at a lecture in Paris in a Rolls Royce filled with Cauliflower.
Titled ‘King Dalí’, this rare poster (below) features a playful and eccentric portrait of the artist, that was captured by photographer Marc Lacroix (1927-2007). A renowned photographer, Lacroix captured the essence of many iconic figures of the twentieth century, and his work with Salvador Dalí is particularly celebrated. The pair first collaborated in 1971 on a Christmas edition of Vogue, and Lacroix often spent time with Dalí photographing him in his home and studio. A great friendship and mutual admiration was held between the two visionaries, so much so that when the Dalí Museum opened in 1974, there was an entire room dedicated to Lacroix’s photographs.
Pablo Picasso
Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) had lived and worked in Paris as early as 1900. Whilst there, he had already begun learning the meticulous art of lithography with the master printers at Atelier Mourlot. By the 1940s, the sun-soaked French Riviera beckoned Picasso, who now in his 60’s desired a slower pace than his Parisian lifestyle could offer.
Alongside working on his highly praised ceramics, Picasso worked tirelessly in collaboration with Arnéra at his Vallauris studio, creating innovative linocut and lithographic prints, including posters for the many solo and group exhibitions that he participated in throughout the 1950-60s.
Printed at the Arnéra studio, this rare poster was created to promote an exhibition of Picasso’s ceramic works at Galerie Madoura in 1963. The lithograph features a ceramic plate that Picasso decorated with a characterful face using gestural linework in pastel glazes.
The lithographs in this newly-available collection originally belonged to Canadian-British art dealer and philanthropist Fred Mulder (pictured above) who, after meeting Hidalgo Arnéra in 1989, visited him regularly and purchased prints from his studio. When Arnéra passed away in 2007, his heirs invited Fred to purchase more material from the archive.
‘It was on a couple of these visits to the Arnéra heirs that I acquired a significant group of Picasso posters used to advertise exhibitions of his work made by André Verdet and Alberto Magnelli, friends of Picasso who had been sent to Arnéra to work with him. It is this wonderful group of posters and single sheet subjects, as well as the Verdet and Magnelli sets that King and McGaw are now offering as archivally-framed, collectible pieces.’ – Fred Mulder
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