BALTHUS
Signed and numbered lithograph 1/10 - Young girl reading
Dimensions of the lithograph: 58 x 42 cm.
Gilt frame: 70 x 95 cm.
Signature by Balthus bottom right
Numbering: non(sale 1/10. Comes from the n°1 edition reserved by the editor
Of Polish origins, Balthus follows his family throughout Germany before settling in Paris in 1924.
The poet Rilke encourages the young autodidact of 12 years to publish his first drawings in the publication "Mitsou" which he prefaced himself. Figurative painter preserving the easel as a support, he quickly frees himself from the avant-garde movements of the period. He is little known by the general public.
His talent is recognised when Malraux named him director of the Villa Médicis from 1961 to 1976, then during the retrospectives devoted to him by the Centre Pompidou in Paris and MOMA in New York in 1983 and 1984.
The lithographs by Balthus are regularly sold at auction and making prices around 3700 euros, fees included.