The uncanny resemblance of this figure's face to Picasso's own suggests that he may have begun the drawing as a self-portrait. Very quickly, however, he transformed it into a full-figured bather, reminiscent of the ample nudes that Renoir painted at the end of his career, which Picasso and others in his circle admired. The artist lavished attention on this drawing using a delicate pencil technique.
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Inscription: Signed (lower left, in graphite): Picasso
the artist, Paris (1922–at least 1925; sold between June 1925 and June 1927 to Rosenberg); [Paul Rosenberg, Paris, by 1927; stock no. 1780); Frank Crowninshield, New York (by 1939–43; his sale, Parke Bernet Galleries, New York, October 20, 1943, no. 5); Gregoire Tarnopol, New York (by 1965–d. 1979; his bequest to MMA) and his brother, Alexander Tarnopol, New York (until 1980; his gift to MMA)
Galerie Paul Rosenberg, Paris. "Exposition de cent dessins par Picasso chez Paul Rosenberg," June–July 1927, no. 50.
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Picasso: Forty Years of His Art," November 15, 1939–January 7, 1940, no. 168.
Canberra. Australian National Gallery. "20th Century Masters from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," March 1–April 27, 1986, unnumbered cat. (p. 21).
Brisbane. Queensland Art Gallery. "20th Century Masters from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," May 7–July 1, 1986, unnumbered cat.
Kunsthalle Bielefeld. "Picassos Klassizismus: Werke von 1914-1934," April 17–July 31, 1988, no. 50.
New York Studio School. "Image and Eye: The Art of Goya and Picasso," October 24–November 11, 1995, unnumbered cat.
Venice. Palazzo Grassi. "Picasso 1917–1924: Il viaggio in Italia," March 14–July 12, 1998, no. 212.
Stadthalle Balingen. "Pablo Picasso: Metamorphoses des Menschen; Arbeiten auf Papier, 1895–1972," June 20–September 24, 2000, no. 91.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 27–August 1, 2010, no. 70.
Rome. Scuderie del Quirinale. "Picasso Between Cubism and Classicism: 1915–1925," September 22, 2017–January 21, 2018, no. 168.
Christian Zervos. Pablo Picasso. Vol. 4, Oeuvres de 1920 à 1922. Paris and New York, 1951, p. 154, no. 377, ill.
Herschel B. Chipp and Alan Wofsy. The Picasso Project: Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings, and Sculpture, A Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue, 1885-1973. Vol. 3, Neoclassicism II, 1922–1924. San Francisco, 1996, pp. 33, 265, no. 22-101, ill.
Josep Palau i Fabre. Picasso: From the Ballets to Drama (1917-1926). Cologne, 1999, pp. 327, 510, fig. 1207.
Gary Tinterow inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, p. 11.
Magdalena Dabrowski inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, pp. 194–96, no. 70, ill. (color).
Rachel Mustalish inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, p. 196.
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
1921
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