‘In 1947 when Picasso began to produce ceramics in the Madoura kilns near Vallauris, the faun was the central motif to many of his first plates. Here, the seated faun has been hand created. Picasso molded its shape and incised its body with the lines and crevices that designate its features. Quick impressions were used to create the faun’s human like hands and beard, leaving the gouges that define the fingers and give movement to the flowing beard. This statue is the unique example fired in white earthenware and probably dates to 1951. The following year, it was featured in photographs of Faunes et nymphes de Pablo Picasso, a book illustrating ceramic works by Picasso of Mediterranean origin, in which André Verdet situates them in a long tradition of terracotta and earthenware fetishes, dolls, and figures, inspired by mythology and folklore [1]. The statue relates to other miniature figures such as centaurs and to a series of seated musicians (Spies 426, 427, 457), including an example discussed in this catalogue (Seated Musician), all produced in Vallauris in the early 1950s.
Two bronzes of the seated faun, based on the present model, were cast by E. Godard in numbered examples of slightly smaller size (3 11/16 x 2 9/16" [9.3 x 6.5 cm])’ [2].
[1] VERDET, André. 1952. Faunes et nymphes de Pablo Picasso. Ginebra: Éditions Pierre Cailler, p. 9.
[2] GIMÉNEZ, Carmen (ed). Collection Museo Picasso Málaga. Malaga: Museo Picasso Málaga, 2003, pp. 348-349.
