Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, who was a pioneering historian of Cubism as well as its preeminent dealer, wrote that in the summer of 1910, Picasso "pierced the closed form." In doing so, he made "the decisive advance which set [C]ubism free from the language previously used by painting." As seen in this ink drawing, space flows freely through the mass of the figure, producing a scaffolding of planes. Without the title, there is little to suggest the subject matter, let alone the gender of the figure, which was likely rendered without a model. Only the vertical orientation and varying combinations of curved and diagonal lines prompt us to visualize the head, breasts, shoulder blades, and limbs.
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Inscription: Signed (lower right, in pencil): Picasso [underlined]
the artist, Paris (1912–at least 1935); [Galerie Renou et Colle, Paris, 1936; sold in February 1936 for £10, to Cooper]; Douglas Cooper, London (1936–d. 1984; estate no. DC 37/36; his bequest to McCarty Cooper); his partner and adopted son, William McCarty Cooper, London (1984–86; sold in November 1986 to Lauder); Leonard A. Lauder, New York (from 1986–13; transferred on April 8, 2013 to the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Trust); The Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Trust, New York (2013–16; gift to MMA)
Paris. Galerie Renou et Colle. "Dessins de Picasso," February 14–March 11, 1936 [probably this picture].
London. Tate Gallery. "The Essential Cubism, 1907–1920: Braque, Picasso & their friends," April 27–July 10, 1983, extended to July 31, 1983, no. 167 (as Paris, autumn–winter 1911–12).
Kunstmuseum Basel. "Douglas Cooper und die Meister des Kubismus," November 22, 1987–January 17, 1988, no. 56 (as 1911–12).
London. Tate Gallery. "Douglas Cooper and the Masters of Cubism," February 3–April 4, 1988, no. 56.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Picasso, Braque, Léger, Gris: Drawings from the Douglas Cooper Collection," June 16–July 31, 1988, no catalogue.
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism," September 24, 1989–January 16, 1990, unnumbered cat. (p. 251).
Houston. Museum of Fine Arts. "Picasso, Braque, Gris, Léger: Douglas Cooper Collecting Cubism," October 14–December 30, 1990, no. 59 (as 1911–12).
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Picasso, Braque, Gris, Léger: Douglas Cooper Collecting Cubism," January 31–April 21, 1991, no. 59.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "1908–1914: Cubist Drawings Collected by Douglas Cooper," June 12–October 4, 1991, no catalogue.
Boston. Museum of Fine Arts. "Facets of Cubism," December 7, 2005–April 16, 2006, unnum. brochure (ill.; as 1911–12).
New York. Frick Collection. "Picasso's Drawings, 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition," October 4, 2011–January 8, 2012, no. 48 (as Paris, winter 1911–12).
Washington, D.C. National Gallery of Art. "Picasso's Drawings, 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition," January 29–May 6, 2012, no. 48.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection," October 20, 2014–February 16, 2015, no. 68.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Picasso: A Cubist Commission in Brooklyn," September 14, 2023–January 14, 2024, unnumbered cat. (pl. 10).
Christian Zervos. Pablo Picasso. Vol. 2b, Works from 1912 to 1917. Paris, 1942, unpaginated (list of plates), no. 725, pl. 316, as Paris, spring 1911.
Franco Russoli and Fiorella Minervino. L'opera completa di Picasso cubista. Milan, 1972, p. 107, no. 403, ill., as "Nudo femminile stante," Paris, spring 1911.
Françoise Cachin and Fiorella Minervino. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Picasso, 1907–1916. Paris, 1977, p. 107, no. 403, ill., as Paris, spring 1911.
Douglas Cooper and Gary Tinterow. The Essential Cubism: Braque, Picasso & their friends, 1907–1920. Exh. cat., Tate Gallery. London, 1983, p. 332, no. 167, ill. p. 333.
Dorothy M. Kosinski. Douglas Cooper and the Masters of Cubism. Exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Basel. Basel, 1987, pp. 144, 212, no. 56, ill. p. 145.
William Rubin, ed. Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1989, ill. p. 251 (German ed., 1990, fig. 282; French ed., 1990, and Spanish ed., 1991, ill. p. 245).
Dorothy M. Kosinski. Picasso, Braque, Gris, Léger: Douglas Cooper Collecting Cubism. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts. Houston, 1990, pp. 43, 57–58 n. 122, p. 62, no. 59.
Linda Dalrymple Henderson. "Making Waves: Penetrating the Essence of Modernism (with a Little Help from Science)." Edge: Arts Research at the College of Fine Arts, the University of Texas at Austin 1, no. 1 (1991), p. 19, fig. 2, as 1911–12.
Facets of Cubism. Exh. brochure, Museum of Fine Arts. Boston, 2005, unpaginated, ill.
Holland Cotter. "When Cubism Fractured Art's Delicate World." New York Times (December 30, 2005), p. E38, as 1911–12.
Marilyn McCully in Susan Grace Galassi and Marilyn McCully. Picasso's Drawings, 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition. Exh. cat., Frick Collection. New York, 2011, pp. 195, 197, no. 48, ill. p. 196.
"Objects Promised to the Museum during the Year 2012–2013." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, One Hundred Forty-third Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013 (2013), p. 47, as 1911–12.
Emily Braun inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 150–53, no. 68, ill. p. 152 (color).
Anna Jozefacka and Luise Mahler inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, p. 291, fig. 68 (installation photo, Exh. New York 2011–12).
Max Hollein in Anna Jozefacka with Lauren Rosati. Picasso: A Cubist Commission in Brooklyn. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2023, p. 7.
Anna Jozefacka in Anna Jozefacka with Lauren Rosati. Picasso: A Cubist Commission in Brooklyn. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2023, pp. 36–37, colorpl. 10.
Anna Jozefacka and Lauren Rosati inPicasso: A Cubist Commission in Brooklyn. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2023, p. 86.
Professor of Art History Christopher Green discusses Picasso’s foray into Cubism before his invention of collage primarily through his figure drawings.
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
1929
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