Le Vieux Roi

Description of Art: Le Vieux Roi (“The Old King”) is one of Pablo Picasso’s most celebrated lithographs, created in 1963 and printed by Fernand Mourlot in Paris. This striking portrait presents a monumental figure of a seated king, rendered with Picasso’s masterful combination of bold line work and nuanced expression.

The king’s face is both solemn and timeless, his elongated features reminiscent of African masks and Iberian sculpture—sources of inspiration that shaped Picasso’s artistic vocabulary. The composition is dominated by the regal figure, who holds a scepter upright, his massive form framed by a simplified throne-like space. Despite its economy of line, the work conveys an almost sculptural weight, suggesting dignity, authority, and introspection.

The color palette is deliberately restrained, often in rich tones of blue, ochre, or gray (depending on the printing variant), allowing the intricate black lithographic lines to define texture and character. The result is a composition that is both monumental and intimate, reflecting Picasso’s late-career fascination with archetypal figures and timeless human roles.

As part of Picasso’s exploration of kings, musketeers, and heroic archetypes in the 1960s, Le Vieux Roi can be seen as a meditation on power, age, and wisdom. It embodies the artist’s ability to reduce form to its essence while retaining emotional resonance and psychological depth.