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The Dream and Lie of Franco (Plate I)

A work made of aquatint and etching on copper in black on white wove paper, laid down on cream japanese paper (chine collé).
© 2018 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A work made of aquatint and etching on copper in black on white wove paper, laid down on cream japanese paper (chine collé).

Date:

January 8, 1937

Artist:

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
printed by Roger Lacourière (French, 1892-1966)

About this artwork

This set of etchings (see also 1948.48.2) satirizes the murderous rule of General Francisco Franco (1892–1975) with images of violence, showing its protagonist as a monstrous beast. The figure of a weeping woman is visible in the middle-left quadrant of the sheet at right. Each of the 18 vignettes was reproduced on separate postcards, whose sale was intended to raise funds to support Spain’s anti-Fascist government. Some of the images relate to Picasso’s mural Guernica, which depicted the horrors endured by the inhabitants of a small Spanish town that was bombed by Franco’s Fascist forces in 1937.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Pablo Picasso

Title

The Dream and Lie of Franco (Plate I)

Place

Spain (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1937

Medium

Aquatint and etching on copper in black on white wove paper, laid down on cream Japanese paper (chine collé)

Dimensions

Plate: 31.7 × 42.1 cm (12 1/2 × 16 5/8 in.); Sheet: 38 × 57 cm (15 × 22 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Anonymous gift

Reference Number

1948.48.1

Copyright

© 2018 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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