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David and Bathsheba

Printer Fernand Mourlot French
1947
Not on view
Picasso appropriated Cranach's composition (1526, Staatliche Museen, Berlin) to retell the biblical story of King David's desire for Bathsheba, the wife of his military captain. He worked the lithograph in ten states between 1947 and 1949; this impression is from the fourth state. Proceeding from dark to light, Picasso drew the image by scraping out lines (which appear white when printed) on a zinc plate covered with black ink.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: David and Bathsheba
  • Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
  • Printer: Fernand Mourlot (French, 1895–1988)
  • Publisher: Galerie Louise Leiris (Paris)
  • Date: 1947
  • Medium: Lithograph; fourth state of ten
  • Dimensions: image: 25 3/8 x 18 7/8 in. (64.5 x 47.9 cm)
    sheet: 25 3/4 x 19 3/4 in. (65.4 x 50.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005
  • Object Number: 2007.49.603
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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