Blues De Barcelone

Pablo Picasso
Les Bleus de Barcelone – 12 Aquarelles et Pastels
Paris, Au Vent d’Arles, 1963
Illustrated portfolio based on early drawings, watercolours and pastels by Pablo Picasso, focusing on works executed between 1899 and 1904, corresponding to the formative years of the Blue Period. The text was written by Jaime Sabartés, Picasso’s lifelong friend, secretary, and first director of the Musée Picasso in Barcelona.
The typography, composition, and printing of the text were executed by Imprimerie Union, Paris. The pochoir plates were produced by Daniel Jacomet, one of the leading French pochoir printers of the 20th century, using the traditional hand-cut stencil technique. All plates were printed on Vélin BFK Rives paper. Printing was completed in December 1963.
Physical description
Portfolio size: 54 × 42 cm (approx. 21.25 × 16.5 inches)
Paper: Vélin BFK Rives
Technique: Original colour pochoir lithographs, hand-coloured
Presentation: Loose plates, individually mounted, issued in the original publisher’s portfolio
Edition details
Total edition: 500 numbered copies (1–500)
Plus 40 hors commerce copies (H.C. 1–40)
Copies 1–75 were accompanied by an original aquatint (eau-forte) printed at Ateliers Crommelynck, individually numbered and signed
This copy: No. 138 / 500
Aquatint not included, as expected for numbers outside the 1–75 range.
Contents of this example
6 original pochoir lithographs (from the complete set of 12) all signed in the plate and numbered 138/500
Each pochoir individually mounted on Vélin de Rives
Hand-applied colour pochoirs after Picasso’s original drawings, watercolours and pastels
Original title page, colophon, and complete printed text by Jaime Sabartés present

Important clarification:
This portfolio is INCOMPLETE, containing 6 pochoir plates only (out of the original 12).
The missing elements are:
6 pochoir plates
The original aquatint (never issued with this copy number)
Table of plates (complete portfolio reference)
Portrait de Sabartés en moine – Crayon – Paris, 1938
Lola, sœur de l’artiste – Fusain rehaussé – Barcelone, 1899
Femme à la mèche – Aquarelle – Barcelone, 1903
Le divan – Pastel – Barcelone, 1899
Le peintre Sebastian Junyer – Aquarelle – Paris, 1904
Femme devant le miroir – Pastel – Paris, 1900
Mère et enfant au fichu – Pastel – Barcelone, 1903
La diseuse – Pastel – Paris, 1901
Les amants dans la rue – Pastel – Paris, 1900
Le poète décadent – Fusain rehaussé – Barcelone, 1899
La femme au châle – Pastel – Barcelone, 1899
Le fou – Aquarelle – Paris, 1904
(Only 6 of the above plates are present in this example.)
Bibliographic references
Cramer, Pablo Picasso – The Illustrated Books: No. 122
Bloch, Picasso Lithographs: No. 1130
Orozco, Picasso: 70 Years of Book Illustration: No. 217
Remarks
Les Bleus de Barcelone is a key post-war editorial tribute to Picasso’s Blue Period, valued both for the exceptional quality of Daniel Jacomet’s pochoir technique and for the documentary importance of Sabartés’ text, which links these early works to the creation and development of the Musée Picasso in Barcelona.
This example is offered strictly as an incomplete portfolio, suitable for collectors seeking original Picasso pochoirs from this celebrated publication, institutional reference, or for completion projects.