Pablo Picasso
1881-1973.
Portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter
1936
Pen and black ink and wash.
20 1/8 x 13 1/2 inches (511 x 343 mm)
Thaw Collection.
© Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
2006.58
Notes:
Watermark: Arches a la Main.
Inscription:
Inscribed at upper left, in black ink, "28 juillet / XXXVI".
Provenance:
Estate of the artist; Marina Picasso; Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw, New York.
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Nearly thirty years younger than Picasso, Marie-Thérèse Walter was his mistress from the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s and the mother of his daughter Maya. She inspired countless works, including some of Picasso's most erotically charged paintings. In this portrait, however, he emphasized her classical features. By placing her face in shadow, he suggested the young woman's subdued personality, a trait that also comes across in her tightly closed lips and the remote expression of her eyes.