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Portrait of Nusch Éluard

A pencil drawing on cream paper of a woman from the waist up. She is portrayed in three-quarter view and wears a double-breasted jacket or coat with a striped scarf around her neck. Her long hair is down, brushed away from a face that looks alert and confident.
© 2018 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A pencil drawing on cream paper of a woman from the waist up. She is portrayed in three-quarter view and wears a double-breasted jacket or coat with a striped scarf around her neck. Her long hair is down, brushed away from a face that looks alert and confident.

Date:

May 1941

Artist:

Pablo Picasso
Spanish, 1881–1973

About this artwork

Nusch Éluard, wife of Paul Éluard, the French poet, collector, and champion of Surrealism, posed for Picasso many times. These depictions of Nusch, as well as their close relationship, led to rumors that the two were having an affair. Indeed, Paul was thought to have blessed and even encouraged the liaison as a way of symbolizing his love for both of them.

In this drawing of Nusch, the sitter is elegantly dressed and formally presented—she is erect and dignified. Her self-possession is emphasized by the constraints of her jacket. Of all Picasso’s portraits of Nusch, this is the most indebted to a realist vocabulary and the truest to the sitter’s beauty.

Status

On View, Gallery 126

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Pablo Picasso

Title

Portrait of Nusch Éluard

Place

Spain (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1941

Medium

Graphite, with stumping and touches of scraping and incising, on cream wove paper

Inscriptions

Signed, dated, and dedicated, recto, lower center, in blue pencil: "Pour Nusch/Paris Mai 41/ Picasso" (underlined)

Dimensions

36.9 × 26.2 cm (14 9/16 × 10 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection

Reference Number

2013.1001

Copyright

© 2018 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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