Rare first edition of the catalogue for Picasso’s final exhibition at the Galerie Paul Rosenberg in Paris, held from 17 January to 18 February 1939 at 21 rue La Boétie. The front wrapper is illustrated with a black-and-white photograph of the exhibition’s centrepiece: La sculpture nègre devant la fenêtre, now known as Buste de Minotaure devant une fenêtre (Private Collection; see Zervos, vol. VIII, p. 360). Painted on 19 April 1937, the work is widely regarded as a precursor to the bull of Guernica, executed only a few weeks later.
An excellent, well-preserved copy.
The plaquette lists the 33 works exhibited, arranged by year of execution- 1936, 1937, and 1938. The verso carries the notice of the next exhibition, “Centenary of Cézanne”, dated 20 February 1939. These two events were followed only by a final show devoted to Georges Braque, before the gallery closed and Paul Rosenberg left France for permanent exile in the United States.