Nude Standing by the Sea
A cocreator, with Georges Braque, of Cubism, Picasso responded to many different artistic stimuli throughout in his career. Nude Standing by the Sea testifies to his contribution to Surrealism, a movement that aspired to tap into and visualize psychological states of being, often through the distortion of the human body. Here, Picasso rearranged anatomical parts and altered the proportions of a standing nude, thereby creating an ambiguous sculptural mass. This rather threatening bather perhaps reflects Picasso’s inner turmoil over the dissolution of his marriage to Olga Khokhlova and his affair with Marie-Thérèse Walter.
Artwork Details
- Title: Nude Standing by the Sea
- Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
- Date: 1929
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 51 1/8 × 38 1/8 in. (129.9 × 96.8 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Bequest of Florene M. Schoenborn, 1995
- Object Number: 1996.403.4
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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