Pablo Picasso at La Californie, Cannes

1957, printed February 1985

Not on view

When Penn arrived at Picasso’s house in the south of France, the artist pretended not to be home. But after Penn’s assistant climbed over the locked gate, Picasso granted the photographer ten minutes. Covering his sweat-shirt with a Spanish cape, Picasso tried to playfully deflect him. Variants of this image show how Penn patiently worked the pose, allowing the artist his costume play while progressively boring in to isolate the riveting gaze of his left eye.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Pablo Picasso at La Californie, Cannes
Artist: Irving Penn (American, Plainfield, New Jersey 1917–2009 New York)
Date: 1957, printed February 1985
Medium: Platinum-palladium print
Dimensions: Image: 18 5/8 x 18 5/8 in. (47.3 x 47.3 cm.)
Sheet: 24 15/16 x 22 in. (63.3 x 55.9 cm.)
Mount: 26 x 22 in. (66 x 55.9 cm.)
Overall: 26 x 22 in. (66 x 55.9 cm.)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gift of The Irving Penn Foundation, 2021
Object Number: 2021.72.36
Rights and Reproduction: © The Irving Penn Foundation
Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

By Irving Penn

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Nude No. 1 , Irving Penn American, Gelatin silver print — Nude No. 1
Irving Penn
1947, printed February 27, 1947

Gray and Brass, John Sloan American, Oil on canvas, American — Gray and Brass
John Sloan
1907

B4 Female, 34 Years, Andrea Modica American, Platinum-palladium print — B4 Female, 34 Years
Andrea Modica
2000

Scarred Dahomey Girl, Irving Penn American, Platinum-palladium print — Scarred Dahomey Girl
Irving Penn
1967, printed July 1984

Necklace, Meta Overbeck American, Gold, emeralds, Montana sapphires, topazes, enamel, American — Necklace
Meta Overbeck
Louis C. Tiffany
Manufacturer Tiffany & Co.
ca. 1914–15

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.