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La
Suite Des Saltimbanques

Pablo Picasso's La Suite Des Saltimbanques, a series of etchings produced in the early 20th century, delves into the world of itinerant circus performers. This collection, one of Picasso's earliest ventures into printmaking, reveals a tender, introspective narrative on the themes of poverty, isolation, and the transient life, reflecting a significant period of artistic and personal development for Picasso.

Pablo Picasso La Suite Des Saltimbanques For sale

La Suite Des Saltimbanques Value (5 Years)

Works from the La Suite Des Saltimbanques series by Pablo Picasso have a strong market value presence, with 118 auction appearances. Top performing works have achieved standout auction results, with peak hammer prices of £152716. Over the past 12 months, average values across the series have ranged from £2659 to £148120. The series shows an average annual growth rate of 0.59%.

La Suite Des Saltimbanques Market value

Annual Sales

Auction Results

ArtworkAuction
Date
Auction
House
Return to
Seller
Hammer
Price
Buyer
Paid
18 Oct 2025
Mainichi Auction, Osaka
£59,500
£70,000
£80,000
6 Jun 2025
Karl & Faber
£2,125
£2,500
£3,400
19 May 2025
Leonard Joel, Melbourne
£2,253
£2,650
£3,300
1 Feb 2024
Phillips London
£3,485
£4,100
£5,500
8 Mar 2023
Freeman's Online
£850
£1,000
£1,400
25 Nov 2022
Ader
£7,650
£9,000
£12,500
25 Nov 2022
Ader
£2,295
£2,700
£3,750
24 Oct 2022
Phillips New York
£5,100
£6,000
£8,500

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Meaning & Analysis

La Suite Des Saltimbanques, executed between 1904-05, marks a pivotal moment in Pablo Picasso's career, coinciding with his Blue Period. This series of etchings offers a poignant exploration of the lives of circus performers, a motif that fascinated Picasso and recurred throughout his work. The series includes notable pieces such as Le Repas Frugal, Tête De Femme: Madeleine, Buste D'Homme, and La Danse Barbare, among others, each providing a window into the sombre and poetic world of the saltimbanques.

Picasso's engagement with the saltimbanques, a French term for acrobats or street performers, serves as a metaphor for the artist's own sense of alienation and outsider status during his early years in Paris. The subjects of these prints, often depicted alone or in intimate groups, convey a profound sense of introspection and melancholy, characteristics that define Picasso's Blue Period. Through La Suite Des Saltimbanques, Picasso not only captures the physicality of his subjects but also their psychological depth, using the simplicity of line and shadow to evoke complex emotional landscapes.

This series also underscores Picasso's technical experimentation with etching, a medium that allowed him to explore texture, line, and form with newfound subtlety and precision. Works such as Le Repas Frugal exemplify Picasso's mastery of etching, combining technical rigour with expressive freedom to capture the stark realities of his subjects' lives.