Playing Card, Fruit Dish, Glass

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.

A streamlined version of the neoclassical, early nineteenth-century French Empire style became fashionable for interior decoration shortly before the outbreak of World War I. Picasso echoed this trend by depicting a console table with a beaded edge and an imperial porphyry top (made with faux granite wallpaper); paneling in an off-white tone (the natural color of the paper plus ruled graphite lines and shading); and a towering fruit dish resembling a classical column (a cutout painted white to distinguish it from the paneling). Beside the cutout of a bunch of grapes are staring, eye-like forms that may represent cross-sections of the fruits. The duo of wineglass and ace of clubs—the lucky card—appears in many of Picasso’s collages, likely signifying conviviality.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Playing Card, Fruit Dish, Glass
Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
Date: 1914
Medium: Cut-and-pasted printed wallpaper, laid and wove papers, oil and graphite on paper
Dimensions: 24 × 18 11/16 in. (61 × 47.5 cm)
Classification: Collages
Credit Line: Private collection
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art