Blue Vase

1905–6
Not on view
Picasso presumably drew Blue Vase to catch the attention of the dealer Ambroise Vollard, who at the time was commissioning other young painters (such as André Derain, Jean Puy, Ker-Xavier Roussel, and Maurice de Vlaminck) to decorate ceramics. Vollard had hosted Picasso's first Paris exhibition in 1901, and although he began making purchases from him in May 1906 (at the suggestion of Leo and Gertrude Stein), he did not invite Picasso to participate in his ceramics venture.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Blue Vase
  • Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
  • Date: 1905–6
  • Medium: Pen and black ink and blue and green crayon on board
  • Dimensions: 12 7/8 × 9 1/4 in. (32.7 × 23.5 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Douglas Dillon, in honor of William S. Lieberman, 1998
  • Object Number: 1998.455
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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