Still Life with a Glass and Ace of Clubs

1914

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

The construction technique Picasso used when making both three-dimensional reliefs and papiers collés perfectly suited his quickfire imagination, gift for improvisation, and dexterity. To speed up the creative process, he standardized his representation of key tabletop motifs, such as the fluted wineglass, and prepared a corps of cutout fruit, pipes, and playing cards that he could draw from when assembling his papiers collés. The brightly colored quarter apple in this example came from his existing stock. A few meandering black lines and deft snips transformed a scrap of paint-daubed paper into a surprisingly convincing marble shelf, the hand-drawn line beneath it enhancing the impression of physical projection.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Still Life with a Glass and Ace of Clubs
Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
Date: 1914
Medium: Pasted printed wallpaper, laid and wove papers, charcoal, graphite, and gouache on paperboard
Dimensions: 13 5/16 × 7 15/16 in. (33.8 × 20.2 cm)
Classification: Collages
Credit Line: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon (2012.89.6)
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art