Original Françoise Gilot (Picasso’s Wife) Rêve (dream) Lithograph, 1951

Artist: Françoise Gilot (Picasso’s wife)
Title: Rêve (Dream)
Year: 1951
Technique: Original Lithograph
Paper: Marais-perkament
Dimensions: 28 × 22,5 cm
Printed at: Atelier Mourlot, Paris
Condition: Excellent

This exquisite original lithograph Rêve (Dream) was created in 1951 by Françoise Gilot, the brilliant French painter and the only woman who ever chose to leave Pablo Picasso. Printed at the legendary Atelier Mourlot in Paris, this work comes from a rare limited edition of just 366 copies, making it an exceptional collectible and a highly desirable original Françoise Gilot lithograph for collectors who also appreciate the history of the Picasso lithograph tradition.

Françoise Gilot and Pablo Picasso form one of the most fascinating and turbulent love stories in modern art. Their relationship was marked by passion, rivalry, creativity, and ultimately Gilot’s courageous escape from Picasso’s overwhelming shadow.

Gilot (1921–2023) was no ordinary muse. She was intelligent, self-assured, elegant, and fiercely independent. At 21 she met Picasso, then 61. The story of their meeting is almost mythical: Picasso sat in a restaurant, Le Catalan, with Dora Maar. Gilot sat at another table. Picasso tried to attract their attention by throwing olives across the room. Moments later he approached her and said:
“You have a nice face. I would like to paint you.”
Gilot replied:
“I don’t need you for that. I’m a painter myself.”

This resistance fascinated Picasso but also threatened him. Whenever she gained recognition, he tried to undermine her, famously saying:
“You will never become anything as a painter.”
(Ironic, since she ultimately outlived him and her works today sell for millions.)

Rêve embodies Gilot’s poetic strength, independence, and sensitive linework, a piece created at a turning point in her life, when she was both inside Picasso’s world and already envisioning a life beyond him. A rare and powerful artwork by an artist who refused to remain anyone’s shadow.