Pablo Picasso

Maternité is one of five rare, experimental hectographs produced by Picasso in 1938. A precursor to the modern photocopying processes, hectography involved transferring an image, executed with specially formulated ink, onto a gelatin matrix from which successive impressions could be taken. Although the technique was capable of yielding multiple examples, typically between twenty and one hundred impressions before the deterioration of the image, only a very limited number of examples from Picasso's brief engagement with the medium are known today, making these works exceptionally scarce.