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Head of a Woman

A work made of gouache, watercolor, and black and ochre chalks, manipulated with stump and wet brush, on cream laid paper.
© 2018 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A work made of gouache, watercolor, and black and ochre chalks, manipulated with stump and wet brush, on cream laid paper.

Date:

spring 1909

Artist:

Pablo Picasso
Spanish, 1881-1973

About this artwork

This remarkable drawing, likely modeled on Fernande Olivier, shows how Picasso approached the human head as a group of faceted planes as if it were a sculpture in two dimensions. Instead of delineating her face as a portrait likeness, the artist formed her cheeks, eye sockets, nose, and hair out of geometric shapes that reflect light and shadow in earth tones of beige, brown, and black.

Status

On View, Gallery 125

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Pablo Picasso

Title

Head of a Woman

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.

1909

Medium

Gouache, watercolor, and black and ochre chalks, manipulated with stump and wet brush, on cream laid paper

Inscriptions

Signed verso, upper left, in graphite: "Picasso / 09"

Dimensions

62.5 × 48 cm (24 5/8 × 18 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Edward E. Ayer Endowment Fund in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson

Reference Number

1945.136

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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