Pablo Picasso

(Spanish, 1881-1973)

Sueño y Mentira de Franco (The Dream and Lie of Franco the complete set of two)

, 1937

etchings with aquatint

each signed and numbered 49/150 in pencil

12 3/8 x 16 5/8 inches.

Lot Essay:

Art is not made to decorate rooms. It is an offensive weapon in the defense against the enemy.

-Pablo Picasso

Commenced by Picasso in January 8, 1937, Sueno y Mentira de Franco (The Dream and Lie of Franco) is a vitriolic artistic response to the onset of the Spanish Civil War, which began in July 1936. Although the artist had left Spain for France at the turn of the 20th century, his former home continued to exert an influence. The atrocities committed by General Francisco Franco’s military campaign spurred Picasso to openly condemn the regime with the creation of the present work.

Composed as a grim comic, the two prints are each subdivided into three rows of three scenes that together form an eighteen-scene narrative. Picasso executed the images on the plates from left to right, but because of the printing inversion of etched plates, the scenes on paper must be read right to left. Rather than correcting the mistake, the artist chose to keep the reversal in order to express the chaos of war.

Beginning in the first plate, General Franco is depicted as a grotesque medieval knight carrying out parodies of heroic feats. He is shown being gored by a bull, a symbol of Spain; dressed as a woman; and riding a pig. On the second plate, in the upper right image, the general is devouring the innards of his own horse, which he has just killed. The remaining scenes were added on June 7, six weeks after the Basque town of Guernica was levelled by bombs. The images include a portrayal of a screaming figure and a wailing woman grieving over a dead child. These scenes are directly related to Picasso’s powerful mural Guernica, also created in 1937.

On each plate, Picasso has etched the date he began the work. Not only does this document the artworks, but also overtly declares his critique of the violence. In yet another act of defiance, all proceeds from the sale of prints were donated by Picasso to Spain’s Republican government. The pair of prints were produced in an edition of 800 with a stamped signature as well as an edition of 150 on larger sheets with pencil signatures. The present works are part of the rare hand-signed edition of 150.

Framed together: 40 1/2 x 28 1/4 inches. Sheets: 15 x 22 1/2 inches each.
Three deckled edges on each sheet, each sheet taped to mat on upper edge of sheet verso.
First sheet: slight handling creases in margins, very slight uv staining to sheet, mat burn around image only potentially from a previous mat, one brown stain in left center square no longer than 3/4 inch in height, graphite inscription along upper edge recto and lower edge verso.
Second sheet: bump in lower edge no more than 1 inch in length, 2 inch crease to lower right corner, one fox mark in right margin, slight skinning to sheet to the right of the signature, mat burn around image only potentially from a previous mat, horizontal creasing to upper edge of sheet. Please see images.

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Joseph Stanfield

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[email protected]312.280.1212

As the head of Hindman’s Fine Art Department, Mr. Stanfield is instrumental in bringing in major consignments from private collectors, estates, dealers and institutions. He has led the department to dozens of auction records, with a particular focus on Chicago Modernism. Mr. Stanfield has played an integral role in the development of the American & European and Post War & Contemporary Art categories, with the most successful year for the department in company history coming in 2021. He also oversaw a house record for total sales for a week of Fine Art auctions in May 2022. Mr. Stanfield is also the lead auctioneer for the Fine Art sales at Hindman. Prior to returning to Hindman in 2019, he was at Toomey & Co. for eight years, where he oversaw important collections including the estate of Candice B. Groot, the collection of Governor Jim Thompson, and the estate of Robert E. Beck. Mr. Stanfield earned a BA from the University of Kansas where he studied Art History.

Monica Brown

Managing Director, Vice President, Fine Art, Head of Department, Prints and Multiples

[email protected]303.825.1855

Ms. Brown rejoined the firm in 2019 as a senior specialist in the Fine Art department, where she has been the resident expert and Head of Sale for Prints and Multiples. She has over 17 years of art-market experience, most recently as founder of Monica Brown Fine Art. In addition to working for renowned auction houses, she has extensive knowledge in over five centuries of works on paper from her tenure at the Newberry Library in Chicago, and eight years of experience with one of London’s leading dealers of Pop Art editions.

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Pablo Picasso

(Spanish, 1881-1973)

Sueño y Mentira de Franco (The Dream and Lie of Franco the complete set of two)

, 1937

etchings with aquatint

each signed and numbered 49/150 in pencil

12 3/8 x 16 5/8 inches.

Lot Essay:

Art is not made to decorate rooms. It is an offensive weapon in the defense against the enemy.

-Pablo Picasso

Please email for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

Prints and Multiples

Sueño y Mentira de Franco (The Dream and Lie of Franco the complete set of two)

Lot Description

Condition Report

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