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Nessus and Deianira

A work made of graphite on tan wove paper, prepared with a white ground.
© 2018 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A work made of graphite on tan wove paper, prepared with a white ground.

Date:

September 22, 1920

Artist:

Pablo Picasso
Spanish, 1881-1973

About this artwork

Picasso first used a specific subject from Classical mythology during his stay in the French town of Juanles- Pins between September 11 and September 22, 1920, when he made a series of six drawings based on the Greek myth of Nessus and Deianira. Recounted in the ninth book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the story centers on the abduction of Hercules’ s bride, Deianira, by the centaur Nessus, who had promised to ferry her across a river. In this drawing, we see the climax of the story, when the struggling woman is about to be raped by her abductor.

Status

On View, Gallery 127A

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Pablo Picasso

Title

Nessus and Deianira

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.

1920

Medium

Graphite on tan wove paper, prepared with a white ground

Inscriptions

Signed recto, upper left, in pen and blue ink: "Picasso" (underlined); inscribed upper left, in graphite: "22-9-20"

Dimensions

21.5 × 27 cm (8 1/2 × 10 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Clarence Buckingham Collection

Reference Number

1965.783

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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