Picasso Vallauris Ceramics

The ramies owned the madoura workshop a ceramics studio in vallauris where picasso who was eager to delve into a new medium made his first venture into ceramics.

Picasso vallauris ceramics.

A freeman of the town picasso greatly contributed to the renaissance of the vallauris pottery industry in the 1950s this legendary golden age when everyone was a potter including famous ceramicists roger capron and charles voltz. Picasso himself as well as chagall and miró created a wide range of models ushering in a new era for ceramics. All of picasso s ceramics were produced at the madoura pottery run by the ramie family in vallauris in the south of france. After he left vallauris for cannes and then for mougins he continued his ceramic work and his collaboration with madoura until his death in 1973.

The arrival of picasso in the 1950s raised vallauris to the rank of ceramic capital of france as he brought in many artists wanting to learn about the fired arts. He became so enthralled with ceramics that he decided to move to vallauris to pursue his new. In a room adjacent to the museum of ceramics the photographs by andré villers represent picasso either as a public personage attending public events and feasts or working alone in his studio as a man fully integrated with the community of vallauris which made him an honorary citizen in 1950. He took a particular interest in the madoura stand and asked to be introduced to the owners suzanne and georges ramié.

Today only a handful of craftspeople still uphold this tradition. The small coastal town was known for its pottery and picasso quickly became enamored with the ceramics being produced by the atelier madoura owned by suzanne and georges ramié. Pablo picasso was undoubtedly an extraordinary 20th century painter but i also feel that in the field of abstract impressionism his ceramics were also remarkable. Many inhabitants still evoke his presence and that of his contemporaries françoise gilot and her children.

In 1946 picasso in golfe juan with his friend louis fort decided to visit the pottery exhibition in vallauris. The pottery and gallery madoura edits and exhibits picasso s edited ceramic work. The 25 years which picasso spent on the côte d azur starting with his move to vallauris in 1948 until his death in mougins on 8 april 1973 were those of a great star.