Guitar and Wine Glass

1912

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 abstracted trellis pattern of this wallpaper, which Picasso also pasted into his first papier collés, recalls the network of straps in letter-rack compositions, one of its joints acting as the hook for the guitar. Like the letter-rack painters, Picasso teases the viewer to make sense of the combination of disparate elements, including a piece of his hand-painted wood-grain, his drawing of a wineglass, and snippets from a song sheet and Le Journal. The viewer must become “LE JOU[EUR]” (the player). Many collages by Picasso include news clippings about the Balkan Wars, but here he omitted reference to that specific war from the headline. “LA BATAILLE S’EST ENGAGE[É]” (The battle has begun) has been interpreted as a private allusion to his creative rivalry with Braque.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Guitar and Wine Glass
Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
Date: 1912
Medium: Cut-and-pasted newspaper, printed sheet music, laid and wove papers, oil, and charcoal on printed wallpaper mounted on paperboard
Dimensions: 18 7/8 × 14 3/4 in. (47.9 × 37.5 cm)
Classification: Collages
Credit Line: The McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay (1950.112)
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art