Lot Essay
In 1963, Picasso returned to the linocut process and produced a group of prints which has come to be known as épreuves rincées (rinced proofs). He would take an old or new linoblock and print it in creamy white linocut ink, and then brush over the image with encre de chine. Once this had dried he would rince the print with water. Where the ink sat on top of the shiny linocut it would be washed away, whereas in the spaces between the ink had been absorbed into the paper, and would therefore remain. The result was, in effect, a negative of the original composition.