Yaneff.com

Advertising an exhibition of his "Les Menines" studies at the Louise Leiris Gallery in the Summer of 1959, with a loose rendering of a segment of Velasquez's painting "Las Meninas" (see lower left) done in vibrant colours, of two of young ladies in billowing dresses with the impression of a dog in blue at their feet.

"Picasso uses various elements from Velasquez's celebrated painting "Las Meninas"(see left) in forty-four "studies". This constitutes a fascinating analysis of Velasquez's work. Picasso became interested in Velasquez' work, repudiated it, dismembered it, and then like a child, become weary of taking a toy to pieces, he moves on, leaving trailing behind him a heap of spare parts, devoid of meaning, transformed into decorative elements (Arthur Conte).

One of the aspects of Picasso's genius, be it posters or paintings, that is altogether awesome is his ability to create permanence and vitality from a few, relatively-harried, series of brushstrokes, evoking whatever he chooses with the facility of doodling" (Rennert, PAI-XXXII, 469,471)

During the 1950s the renowned French printer, Mourlot Freres, printed most of the "original" posters of the most important artists of the day. In 1959 they printed the series "Affiches Originales" for collectors. They are reduced lithographic versions of the "original" posters created by the contemporary masters, Picasso, Chagall, Braque, Matisse, Miro, Leger, and Dufy.