In Sculpteur et Deux Têtes sculptées, Pablo Picasso explores the act of creation itself, presenting the sculptor as both maker and mediator between classical tradition and modern invention. Executed in 1939 as part of La Suite Vollard, the composition juxtaposes a standing male sculptor with two sculpted heads—one abstracted and mask-like, the other resolutely classical—establishing a visual dialogue between past and present, figuration and transformation.

The linear economy of the etching is striking. Picasso relies on fluid, continuous lines to define form, allowing figures to emerge with remarkable immediacy and psychological tension. The sculptor’s tactile engagement with the work suggests an intimate, almost mythic relationship between artist and object, a recurring theme throughout La Suite Vollard, where the boundaries between creator, model, and artwork dissolve.

Produced on Montval paper bearing the Picasso watermark, this etching exemplifies the technical refinement and conceptual depth of Picasso’s graphic work from the late 1930s. Created on the eve of the Second World War, the image carries an underlying sense of introspection, as Picasso revisits classical ideals while simultaneously questioning their permanence. Hand-signed in pencil and issued unnumbered from the edition of 260, Sculpteur et Deux Têtes sculptées stands as a quintessential example of Picasso’s enduring investigation into art, identity, and the timeless act of making.