Image: Image reproduction rights managed by Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; institutional source link provided
View source →Pablo Picasso, 1936, published 1942
Medium
Aquatint, sugar lift etching, scraping, and drypoint on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 32.5 × 21.5 cm (12 13/16 × 8 1/2 in.); Sheet: 36.5 × 27.8 cm (14 3/8 × 11 in.)
Style
Surrealist-influenced modernism
Decade
1930s
The official Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois record identifies La puce, from Histoire naturelle as a Pablo Picasso aquatint, dated 1936, published 1942, in Aquatint, sugar lift etching, scraping, and drypoint on ivory wove paper. This catalog entry preserves the holding institution’s title and object metadata rather than inferring undocumented imagery, sitter identity, or artist intent.
La puce, from Histoire naturelle is grouped under Surrealist Period for gallery navigation using the date published by Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. This period label provides high-level art-historical orientation and does not supersede the primary collection record. The institutional credit line is: Print and Drawing Club Fund.
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Public Collection — Open to visitors
Visit museum website →2026 Estimated Value
Public collection / market value not asserted
* Estimates are based on comparable auction results and market analysis. Not a formal appraisal.
Last Known Sale
No public auction record — held in permanent museum collection
Continue Exploring
Chosen for shared style, era, medium, subject, or date.
Minotauromachia
March 23–May 3, 1935 · same style · same era
Bacchic Scene with Minotaur, from the Vollard Suite
May 18, 1933, printed and published 1939 · same style · same era
Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu (The Unknown Masterpiece)
published 1931, reworked late 1950s · same style · same era
Reading
1925–26 · same style · same era
Faun Uncovering a Sleeping Woman (Jupiter and Antiope, after Rembrandt), from the Vollard Suite
June 12, 1936, printed and published 1939 · same style · same era
Bald Painter Before his Easel, plate six from Le Chef d'oeuvre inconnu
1927, printed and published 1931 · same style · same era
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The Weeping Woman Art Print
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Picasso: A Life Documentary
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