Pablo Picasso is a name etched into the fabric of modern art – not just for what he painted, but for how he saw the world. His influence shaped the course of the 20th century, and his restless curiosity produced a body of work that still challenges and inspires.
While he is most often associated with his paintings and collages, Picasso’s exploration didn’t stop at the canvas. His sculptures reveal a fascination with volume and negative space, while his ceramics offer a more intimate glimpse into his creative process – a quieter counterpoint to his bold, fragmented imagery in paint.
His ceramic works mark a highly creative period in his life during the time spent in the South of France. Driven by boundless artistic energies and ambitions, Picasso created numerous ceramics between 1947 and 1971, and the full extent of his works remains mostly unknown to the general public. These pieces have seen a renewed appreciation in the art market in recent years and they remain one of the more accessible entry points into his work. While still highly collectible, they tend to sit at a lower price point than his paintings or sculptures. With demand growing, many pieces now exceed their auction estimates by a wide margin, and such was the case with Grand vase aux femmes voilées, which sold for $1,145,407 in 2012, well above expectations.
Picasso London Auction
Sotheby’s will bring its annual Picasso Ceramics auction to London this June, with bidding open from the 20th. The sale offers a rare look at the more playful, spontaneous side of Picasso – a body of work shaped largely during his time in Vallauris, in the South of France, where he spent two decades collaborating with the Madoura Pottery studio. Across more than 3,500 pieces – from bowls and plates to sculptural jugs and vases – Picasso explored myth, animals, and expressive faces, often with a sardonic sense of humour and unmistakable flair.
Many of these ceramics were originally sold for modest sums in the 1950s and ’60s, reflecting Picasso’s desire to make art more accessible. Today, their value ranges widely, from a few thousand to over a million dollars, depending on rarity, condition, and provenance. Sotheby’s offers both online and in-person valuations to help collectors navigate this unique market. The upcoming auction presents a thoughtful selection of works that capture one of the most energetic and experimental periods in Picasso’s long career. The Sotheby’s London auction closes on 27 June with additional consignments currently being accepted. Find out more or register to bid.
Picasso in Clay: A Match Made in Madoura Pottery
Picasso was in his sixties when he first stepped inside the Madoura Pottery workshop. Tucked between olive groves and citrus trees on France’s southern coast, the quiet town of Vallauris became the setting for a dramatic change in direction. By then, he had produced tens of thousands of works and was, without question, the most recognisable artist alive.
Vallauris had a long association with ceramics, but its workshops had grown still. The war had left its mark, and few had the appetite for decorative arts in a continent still recovering from conflict. But in that small studio, away from the noise of the world, Picasso found something new. After meeting Georges and Suzanne Ramié, he took to the wheel with curiosity, and what began as a brief experiment soon became a lifelong pursuit. Georges and Suzanne Ramié shared with him secrets about firing the clay and painting the glaze, inspiring him to reclaim the art of pottery. What followed was the completion of over 1,000 unique ceramic pieces for which the artist drew inspiration from light and Mediterranean nature.
Clay as Legacy
For Picasso, ceramics offered something close to a refuge, an escape from the pressures of painting and the expectations that came with it. There was something elemental about working with earth and fire that agreed with him. The process was physical, immediate, and full of possibility. He wasn’t seeking perfection in form or material. He simply embraced the decorative traditions of Spanish folk pottery, where spirit mattered more than symmetry.
The themes he returned to again and again – roosters, the sun, the human face – carried a visual language entirely his signature. Transferring these motifs onto clay allowed him to explore cubist principles in three dimensions, using shape and volume to animate his designs. As he gained confidence with the medium, he pushed further, cutting into the clay, building it up, introducing sculptural motifs that played with light and shadow. Many of his ceramics from this period radiate a kind of joy, shaped as much by his newfound passion as by the optimistic air of postwar France.
His lifelong fascination with the human face – its symmetry, its distortions, its range of emotion – features heavily in his ceramic output. One piece that stands out is Visage aux yeux rieurs (Laughing-eyed Face), created in 1969. What began as a simple turned pitcher becomes, in his hands, a vivid character. Bold lines, layered glazes and playful detailing lend it a sense of animation that feels tangible.
Final Note
Picasso’s ceramics reveal an artist who is liberated and free to experiment, to play, to turn tradition on its head. What began as a curiosity in the workshops of Vallauris grew into a long-term pursuit. These pieces in clay carry the full weight of his imagination and are rendered with both wit and reverence. In ceramics, Picasso found not just another medium, but a way to transcend life and its contradictions. The upcoming Sotheby’s auction is a chance to witness these works as they continue to speak across time, reminding us that in the hands of Picasso, art is always becoming.
