The 100 etchings that make up the Vollard Suite were created between 1930–1937. The suite was commissioned by the dealer and art critic, Ambroise Vollard. Vollard died in a car accident in 1939 and the etching plates were acquired by Henri Petiet who worked with Picasso to finish printing the suite.

The Suite includes five themes: The Battle of Love, The Sculptors Studio, Rembrandt, The Minataur and The Blind Minataur. The Suite also includes three portraits of Ambroise Vollard. The Battle of Love theme show both the tenderness of couples as well as male dominance and violence. The Sculptors Studio include images of life in an artist’s studio. This group includes self-portraits of Picasso and models at work amid various pieces of art. The Rembrandt series are combinations of Rembrandt’s self-portraits and Picasso’s female nudes. The two Minataur series focus on the Greek mythology of half-man/half-bull creatures and some might be sketches for Picasso’s mural Guernica.

Picasso worked with etching, drypoint and aquatint to create his prints. He mastered the technique of sugar lift to achieve a variety of tonal qualities. Master printer Roger Lacouriйre was commissioned to print the suite. Three rare editions were printed on parchment and signed in red, 50 editions are on large format Montval paper and 250 on smaller format Montval paper. Between 1930 and 1936 Picasso signed in Roman numerals and after 1936 he used Arabic numbers. The Vollard Suite was not available for sale until 1950.