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Danae
Date: January 22, 1962
Medium: Linocut printed in colors
Dimensions: P 273 x 350mm, 10.8 x 13.8"; S 446 x 628mm, 17.6 x 24.7"
References: Bloch 1084; Baer 1286, the first state of four; Kramer 81
Edition: EXTREMELY RARE: One of only two recorded impressions of this state. Signed, titled, and inscribed by the printer, "Danaé - 1962. Linogravure originale de Picasso. EPREUVE BLANC SUR FOND NOIR le 22.1.1962. H. Arnera". This is the impression and inscription referred to by Baer. (The other impression was sold by a private dealer in 1999.) There was an edition of 50 of the fourth and final state.
Paper:

Arches; untrimmed

Impression: Very fine; the creamy white printed over black yielded a very appealing light blue color with a tinge of gray. This rich blue hue is not conveyed in the image reproduction in Baer, where it appears merely gray.
Condition: Flawless apart from slight soiling and slight toning of the mat, both located in the wide margins far from the print; framed
Price: Upon request


In Greek mythology, Danae was the daughter of Acrisius, the king of Argos. An oracle had foretold that Danae's future son would slay his grandfather. In order to prevent this event from taking place, King Acrisius locked his daughter in an inaccessible tower, thereby removing her from contact with any potential suitors. Or so he thought…. The god Zeus, who always had an eye for female charms, was struck by Danae's beauty and desired her. Zeus, who unlike us mere mortals possessed the powers of transmogrification, therefore transformed himself into a shower of gold, and in this form impregnated Danae. The result of this union of human and divine was the great Greek hero Perseus. 

The myth of Danae has interested artists through the ages, including Titian, Correggio, Rembrandt, and Klimt.  A joke of presumably similar vintage about the moral of this story, unfortunately told at the expense of the fairer gender, is that a sure-fire way to get to a woman is through gold....





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