By virtue of its theme and style, Les pauvres (The poor ones) belongs to the last developments of Picasso’s Blue period, in which he was preoccupied with society’s most downtrodden. A dark and densely worked etching, it depicts an impoverished family in a rural setting, with a horse grazing nearby. A man stares distractedly out of frame, while a malnourished woman hunches over, potentially cradling a baby whose form is lost among the shadows. At her feet, two children play, oblivious to the family’s desperate plight so powerfully suggested by the artist’s vigorous cross-hatching.

This print reveals an artist in thrall to the possibilities of printmaking, having been introduced to the medium by Spanish painter and engraver Ricard Canals. Hoping to improve his finances, Picasso entrusted a small first edition to master printer Auguste Delâtre. Les pauvres was one of the few saltimbanque images included in an exhibition held at the Galeries Serrurier in 1905. When few of these early impressions sold, Picasso instead gave the remainder to friends, including poets André Salmon and Guillaume Apollinaire.

Despite an unpromising start, Picasso remained fascinated by printmaking’s potential, experimenting tirelessly over the course of his career. He once said, ‘If the subjects I have wanted to express have suggested different ways of expression, I have never hesitated to adopt them’.