Head of a Woman
This work and Fruit Dish and Glass (1912, MMA 2016.237.33, The Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection) are among Braque’s first papiers collés. He had already drawn most of the still-life motifs in charcoal. Holes in the collage elements indicate that Braque pinned on the pieces of mass-produced, cheap wallpaper, experimenting with their placement before pasting them onto the fine-art paper sheet. He then drew on top of the wallpaper to integrate it into the composition and to blur the distinction between real and fake, hand drawn and mechanically printed. Braque’s inspiration for this woman, with her tilted head, long curls, and kewpie-doll lips, probably came from newspaper and poster advertisements.
Artwork Details
- Title: Head of a Woman
- Artist: Georges Braque (French, Argenteuil 1882–1963 Paris)
- Date: Sorgues, autumn 1912
- Medium: Charcoal and cut-and-pasted printed wallpaper with gouache on paper
- Dimensions: 24 × 18 1/2 in. (61 × 47 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2016
- Object Number: 2016.237.25
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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