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Chess

Paris, autumn 1911
Not on view
The pyramid that dominates the composition delineates the edge of a draped curtain, which is pulled back with an oversize tassel at right to reveal a round table with a cord-fringe tablecloth and coffee cup in the foreground. Thanks to the title, recorded by dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, the viewer is encouraged to find elements related to chess in an otherwise difficult-to-discern mix of marks and facets. The two most obvious pieces are the knight—the bright white oval with a horse’s curved head and shoulder at upper left—and the orb-topped, crenellated rook at center. The light and dark angular shapes at upper center may even allude to the contrasting squares—or in this case, cubes—of a chessboard.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Chess
  • Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
  • Date: Paris, autumn 1911
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 13 × 16 1/8 in. (33 × 41 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.616.32
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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