Color lithograph;
Stamp on verso "Diffusion nouvelle image" with numbering 73/200;
Sheet size: 19.29 x 25.59 in / Plate size: inch
Catalogue raisonné by Bloch no. 712
Some creases in the image as well as two tears (4 cm / 2.5 cm) along the lower edge of the sheet. They do not detract from the overall impression; a very color-fresh sheet.
The black part dates from 10 October 1952; the color lithograph was pulled off later.
The 1952 color lithograph Colombe volant (à l’Arc-en-ciel) (Flying Dove in the Rainbow) by Pablo Picasso is among the most iconic visual symbols of the international peace movement. The elegantly ascending white dove, set against a rainbow, condenses into a universal emblem of hope and peace between peoples.
The motif dates back to 1949, when Louis Aragon selected an early lithograph of a dove in Picasso’s studio for the World Peace Congress. Through personal associations—Picasso’s studio doves, gifted by Henri Matisse, and the birth of his daughter Paloma—the motif gained additional meaning and was further developed into a symbol of peace in the following years.
The 1952 color lithograph, created in collaboration with the printer Fernand Mourlot, expands the image through the introduction of the rainbow, combining technical refinement with powerful symbolism. It became one of the defining peace images of the 20th century and was widely used in political campaigns.
