Picasso, in addition to his genius as a painter, created a new standard for excellence in lithography, and part of the credit is due to his partnership with renowned lithographer and chromist Marcel Salinas, whose work will soon appear at the QCC Art Gallery.Picasso heard of Salinas' work when he was looking for new interpretations of his "Imaginary Portraits" painting series. Initially he asked Salinas for two prototypes, but was so deeply impressed with the quality of Salinas' work that, between 1969 and 1972, together they produced new versions of the "Imaginary Portraits" series, twenty-nine in all. And after the death of his great collaborator in 1973, Salinas recreated the lithographs on hand-drawn lithographic plates to honor his friend.
