Pablo Picasso produced the Vollard suite, a series of 100 etchings, between 1930 and 1937. Named after Ambroise Vollard, the French dealer and print publisher who had long supported Picasso from early in his career and, as legend has it, commissioned this series in exchange for a pair of Renoir and Cezanne paintings, the series showcases Picasso at the height of his powers as a printmaker. Although the copper plates were produced between 1930 and 1937, they were actually printed in 1939 by renowned printer Roger Lacouriere - with 260 of each printed on small handmade Montval paper (and a further 50 on larger paper). Following the death of Vollard in a car accident in 1939, the vast majority of the prints were purchased by the dealer Henri Petiet, who proceeded to sell the prints from the early 1950's. At this stage the prints were mostly unsigned, however Petiet arranged with Picasso for the artist to apply his signature in return for a fee. The outcome is that some, but not all, are signed - with no record of how many were signed. Therefore genuine Vollard suite prints are available on the market in both signed and unsigned forms. For someone looking to acquire genuine Picasso artworks, showcasing his skills as one of the leading artists of the 20th century, the Vollard suite is an excellent option.
The current artwork 'Sculpteur et Modèle Debout' was created on 7th April 1933. As noted in 'Picasso Prints, The Vollard Suite' (Stephen Coppel, British Museum Press) "The standing female nude is ambiguos. Is it the pose of a standing model or that of a sculpture coming to life in an enactment of the Pygmalion legend?"