The engraver Picasso

The Museo Colecciones ICO (Madrid, Spain) hosts a complete set of Picasso’s Vollard Suite, which are arguably the 20th century's most important and prized etchings. The set  will go on display from tomorrow through May 20.

The Vollard Suite takes its name from Ambroise Vollard (1866–1939), the greatest avant-garde Paris art dealer and print publisher of his day, who gave Picasso his first Paris exhibition in 1901. In exchange for some pictures, Vollard commissioned Picasso to produce a group of 100 etchings between 1930 and 1937. The task of printing some 310 sets was completed by the Paris printer Roger Lacourière in 1939 but Vollard died before they could be distributed.

The series shows Picasso's developing interest in sculptural forms and moves from neoclassical images of him and his lover, Marie-Therese Walter, to darker, violent and more sexual themes. Picasso’s Vollard Suite reveals one of the most creative moments of the paintings and represent  a period of full artistic maturity.

The etchings are organized along six different thematic sections: Various topics, The sculptor’s studio, The battle of love, Rembrandt, The Minotaur and The portraits of Ambroise Vollard.

Date: until May 20.
Location: Museo Colecciones ICO, MUICO. C / Zorrilla, 3, Madrid. Spain.
Opening hours: from Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 8pm. Sundays from 10am to 2pm.