Sorcerers from Bohemia: Picasso’s Saltimbanques

Sorcerers from Bohemia: Picasso’s Saltimbanques — a special exhibition exploring Pablo Picasso’s first serious engagement with printmaking, and a defining moment in his early artistic development - is now showing at QAG (Queensland Art Galley) until February 12th, 2027.

In these artworks we see Picasso beginning to test the expressive possibilities of etching and drypoint, pushing their technical and emotional limits in ways that would continue to shape his practice for decades. The earliest work in the group, Le repas frugal (The frugal meal), created in 1904, is considered one of the last great works of Picasso’s Blue period. Remarkable for its refinement and emotional depth, the print stands as a striking achievement by a 22 year old artist still in the earliest stages of his career.

The Saltimbanques prints capture Picasso at a moment of significant personal and artistic transition, as he moved from the melancholy subject matter of his Blue period — focused on poverty, isolation and society’s most marginalised figures — towards the warmer, more intimate themes of his Rose period. This shift coincided with Picasso’s relocation from Barcelona to Montmartre in Paris, where he became immersed in a bohemian milieu of writers, poets, thinkers and circus performers, or ‘saltimbanques’, who became enduring subjects in his work.

Living in poverty, Picasso frequently repurposed older etching plates for these works, traces of earlier compositions still visible beneath his own imagery. Despite these constraints, he was inspired by the free spirited creativity and strong social bonds of the circus community, qualities that resonate throughout the suite. Paintings from this same period, including the Gallery’s iconic La Belle Hollandaise (1905) (also on display), reflect similar concerns and artistic developments.

Although now known collectively as La Suite des Saltimbanques, the 15 etchings and drypoints were not conceived by Picasso as a formal series. Printmaking was initially pursued as a potential means of financial survival, yet the early works sold poorly and many were given to friends. Several years later, as Picasso’s reputation grew, renowned publisher and dealer Ambroise Vollard acquired the plates, had them steel faced to allow larger print runs, and published them together under the title La Suite des Saltimbanques.

Bringing these works together, Sorcerers from Bohemia: Picasso’s Saltimbanques offers rare insight into the ambitions, experiments and influences shaping one of the most important artists of the twentieth century at the very outset of his career.

Good to know – The exhibition will be open from 12 noon on Anzac Day and is closed on Good Friday, Christmas Day & Boxing Day.

Need to know – For info on how to get to the gallery and parking, go here.

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Image credits:

1. Pablo Picasso / Téte de Femme: Madeleine (from 'La Suite des Saltimbanques' series) 1905, printed 1913 / Purchased 2022 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA / © Succession Picasso/Copyright Agency

2. Pablo Picasso / Le Repas frugal (The frugal meal) (from 'La Suite des Saltimbanques' series) 1904, printed 1913 / Purchased 2015 with funds from the Margaret Olley Art Trust through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA / © Succession Picasso/Copyright Agency

3. Pablo Picasso / Au Cirque (At the circus) (from 'La Suite des Saltimbanques' series) 1905-6, printed 1913 / Purchased 2019 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA / © Succession Picasso/Copyright Agency