Rethinking the Image

Image source: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/prints-multiples-2/artist-and-model (Accessed: 8 February 2026). © David Hockney

David Hockney, Artist and Model (1973-74), Liverpool, Victoria Gallery & Museum, 57.7 cm x 44.2 cm, etching on paper.

Artist and Model depicts a fictional meeting between two figures, seated at a table in a nondescript interior. On the left is the great Pablo Picasso, glassy and ghost-like, wearing his signature striped Breton shirt; on the right, a young David Hockney, curiously naked, appears solid and three-dimensional. Picasso studies Hockney intently, while Hockney holds Picasso’s gaze.

Etched in 1973 and printed in 1974, Artist and Model closely follows the equally intriguing Homage to Picasso.^[1] The two works represent Hockney’s immediate response to Picasso’s death, demonstrating his skill as a printmaker while paying tribute to the artist who had inspired him above all others.^[1]

Hockney was born in Bradford in 1937 – the same year in which Picasso painted Guernica, arguably his greatest masterpiece.^[2] In 1962, Hockney graduated from the Royal College of Art, where he had been part of the emerging British Pop Art movement, studying alongside artists such as Derek Boshier, R. B. Kitaj, Pauline Boty, and Patrick Caulfield.^[3]

Over the following years, as Picasso’s relentless creativity continued to rage in spite of his advancing years, Hockney produced some of his most recognisable work – bold, colourful, joyous canvases such as A Bigger Splash (1967)^[4] and Peter Getting Out of Nick’s Pool (1966).^[5] As Picasso lived out his final years on the Côte d’Azur, the young Hockney found artistic inspiration in California, with its vast skies and strong sunlight.^[4]

For roughly a decade, Picasso, who began his career in earnest before the end of the 19th century, and Hockney, who continues to produce new work in the second quarter of the 21st century, were both major artists on the international stage. Together, their careers span the entire history of modern and contemporary art.

Aside from their longevity, Picasso and Hockney share numerous similarities. Both artists’ oeuvres are vast and varied, displaying mastery of a wide range of mediums while demonstrating considerable stylistic innovation. Although Picasso is significantly more famous than Hockney, both artists occupy an important place in art history; a meeting between them is a prospect which will remain forever, tantalisingly, unfulfilled.

[1] Andipa Editions (no date) David Hockney The Student: Homage to Picasso. Available at: https://andipaeditions.com/viewing-room/536-david-hockney-the-student-homage-to-picasso-for/ (Accessed: 8 February 2026).

[2] Pablo Picasso (no date) Guernica, 1937 by Pablo Picasso. Available at: https://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp (Accessed: 8 February 2026).

[3] Saywell, D. (no date) Artists and Places: David Hockney and His Contemporaries at the Royal College of Art, London in the 1950s and Early 1960s. Available at: https://artuk.org/discover/curations/artists-and-places-david-hockney-and-his-contemporaries-at-the-royal-college-of-art-london-in-the-1950s-and-early-1960s/template/storyline (Accessed: 8 February 2026).

[4] Tate (no date) A Bigger Splash. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hockney-a-bigger-splash-t03254 (Accessed: 8 February 2026).

[5] National Museums Liverpool (no date) Peter Getting Out of Nick’s Pool. Available at: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/peter-getting-out-of-nicks-pool (Accessed: 8 February 2026).