Collection Online as of July 6, 2020

(Spanish, 1881-1973)

Oil on canvas

Framed: 239 x 170 x 10 cm (94 1/8 x 66 15/16 x 3 15/16 in.); Unframed: 196.5 x 129.2 cm (77 3/8 x 50 7/8 in.)

Gift of the Hanna Fund 1945.24

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Picasso began drawing as a child and studying at an art school at age eleven. He later remarked that "art is a lie that makes us realize the truth."

Description

In 1901, depressed over the suicide of a close friend, Picasso launched into the melancholic paintings of his Blue period (1901–4). Only 21 years old and desperately poor, he restricted his palette to cold colors suggestive of night, mystery, dreams, and death. His obsession with themes of human misery and social alienation reached its climax with this painting. The subject has been interpreted variously as an allegory of sacred and profane love, a symbolic representation of the cycle of life, and a working-class couple facing the hazards of real life.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed upper left: "Picasso"

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881-1973), the most prolific and influential artist of the 20th century, shifted the emphasis of art from its traditional concern with beauty toward radical innovation. The son of an art teacher, Picasso demonstrated remarkable talents as a child and entered the royal art academy in Madrid at age sixteen. Less than a year later, he abandoned his studies and soon joined several avant-garde artist and anarchist groups in Barcelona and Paris. After passing through a succession of stylistic periods, most notably the Blue (1901-1904) and Rose (1904-1906) Periods, he collaborated with Georges Braque (1882-1963) in 1908 to invent Cubism, a revolutionary method of restructuring pictorial space. Picasso remained active until his death in 1973. Although his art still appears radical, many of his works are over one hundred years old. Cubism, perhaps the most important development in 20th-century art, was invented around 1908 by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Georges Braque (1882-1963). The most revolutionary aspect of the style was not its obvious emphasis on geometric form; rather, it was the introduction of a radically new approach to configuring pictorial space. Since the Renaissance, artists had used various methods to create the illusion of distant space receding behind the canvas surface. The Cubists rejected that idea and collapsed space by compressing foreground, middle ground, and background into a continuous web of overlapping, intersecting planes. During the 1910s, other painters and sculptors embraced or adapted Cubism to their own ends. This revolutionary approach inspired a host of related movements and continues to influence the visual language of artists, architects, and designers throughout the world.

Provenance

1904

Sebastià Junyent [1865-1908], Barcelona, Spain (acquired from Picasso along with The Old Jews in 1904 for 500 pesetas)

(Ambroise Vollard, Paris, France)

1926

(Justin K. Thannhauser [1892-1976], Munich/Berlin/Lucerne, acquired by 1926)

1931

(Reid & Lefevre, London, United Kingdom, by 1931, shared with Thannhauser)

1932

(Etienne Bignou, Paris,France, by 1932, shared with Thannhauser and Reid & Lefevre)

1937

Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, 1937

1944

(Theodore Schempp [1904-1988], New York, NY,1944)

1944-1945

(Jacques Seligmann and Company, New York, NY,1944)

1945

(Jacques Seligmann and Company, New York, NY, 1945 sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1945-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1945. Reproduced: p. [6] archive.org

Picasso, Pablo. Picasso, "L'atelier": Paintings of 1956. [Lucerne]: [Galerie Rosengart], 1957. p. 91, no. 25

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 521 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 196 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 195 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 241 archive.org

Kitaj, R. B., and Timothy Hyman. "A Return to London." Kitaj Paintings, Drawings, Pastels. John Ashebury, Joe Shannon, Jane Livingston, 41. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 1983. Mentioned: p. 41

Chipp, Herschel Browning, Alan Wofsy, and Fernand Mourlot. Picasso's paintings, watercolors, drawings and sculpture: a comprehensive illustrated catalogue, 1885-1973. San Francisco, California: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1995. Reproduced: p. 24, fig. 1903-071

Daix, Pierre, and Pablo Picasso. Dictionnaire Picasso. Paris, France: R. Laffont, 1995. Reproduced: p. 628-629, pl. 1

Asahi Shinbunsha. Pikaso: 20-seiki no kyoshō = Pablo Picasso. Tōkyō, Japan: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1995. Reproduced: fig. 8

McCully, Marilyn and Natasha Staller. Picasso--the Early Years, 1892-1906. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1997. Reproduced: p. 6, 190

Warncke, Carsten-Peter, Ingo F. Walther, and Michael Hulse. Pablo Picasso: 1881-1973. Koln, Germany: Taschen, 1998. Reproduced: p. 39

Arnason, H. H., and Marla Prather. History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Photography. New York, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1998. Reproduced: p. 165, pl. 87

Fukaya, Katsunori. Pikaso ten: kaikan 10-shūnen kinen = Pablo Picasso : 10th anniversary. Japan: Chūnichi Shinbunsha, 1998. Reproduced: p. 19, no. 11

Spieler, Reinhard, and Hans Belting. Max Beckmann: Bildwelt und Weltbild in den Triptychen. Köln, Germany: DuMont, 1998. Reproduced: p. 93, no. 15

Kosinski, Dorothy M. The Artist and the Camera: Degas to Picasso. Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1999. Reproduced: p. 300, fig. 146

Hunter, Sam, John M. Jacobus, and Daniel Wheeler. Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture. New York, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000 Reproduced: p. 134, no. 222

Léal, Brigitte, Christine Piot, Marie-Laure Bernadac, and Pablo Picasso. The ultimate Picasso. New York, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000. Reproduced: p. 69, no. 133

Picasso: Museo Nacional de Colombia : mayo 13-agosto 11, Bogotá, 2000. Bogotá, Colombia: Museo Nacional de Colombia, 2000. Reproduced: p. 139

Cox, Neil. Cubism. London, United Kingdom: Phaidon, 2000. Mentioned: p. 34-35, Reproduced: fig. 15

Clair, Jean. Picasso Érotique. Munich, Germany: Prestel, 2001 Reproduced: p. 91, fig. 5

Tōkyō Shōkō Kaigisho. Karā kōdinēshon no kiso: karā kōdinētā kentei shiken 3-kyū kōshiki tekisuto = Introduction to color coordination. Tōkyō, Japan: Tōkyō Shōkō Kaigisho, 2001 Reproduced: p. 28

Demetrion, James. Clyfford Still: Paintings, 1944-1960. Washington, D.C.: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution in association with Yale University Press, New Haven, 2001. Reproduced: p. 28, fig. 13

May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Mentioned: p. 54-55; Reproduced: p. 54

FitzGerald, Michael C., and William H. Robinson. Picasso: The Artist's Studio. Hartford: Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 2001. cat. no. 5; Mentioned: p. 98-99; p. 19, 22, 24, 63-87; Reproduced pp. 62, 98

Lemoine, Serge. From Puvis De Chavannes to Matisse and Picasso: Toward Modern Art. Milano, Italy: Bompiani, 2002. Reproduced: p. 41, fig. 19

Sekai bijutsukan no tabi. Tōkyō, Japan: Shōgakukan, 2002. Reproduced: p. 310

Andersen, Wayne V. Picasso's Brothel: Les Demoiselles D'Avignon. New York, New York: Other Press, 2002 Reproduced: p. 192, fig. 19

Picasso joven = Young Picasso : Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, A Coruña, 17 diciembre 2002-17 marzo 2003 = The Pedro Barrié de la Maza Foundation, A Coruña, December 17, 2002 - March 17, 2003. La Coruña: Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, Conde de Fenosa, 2002. Reproduced: p. 72

Senzoku, Nobuyuki. Seiyō kaiga meisaku hyakuissen. Tōkyō, Japan: Shōgakukan, 2003. Reproduced: p. 182, fig.100

Meyer, Richard. Representing the Passions: Histories, Bodies, Visions. Los Angeles, California: Getty Research Institute, 2003. Reproduced: p. 236, fig. 10

Becht-Jördens, Gereon, and Peter Matthias Wehmeier. Picasso und die christliche Ikonographie: Mutterbeziehung und künstlerische Position. Berlin, Germany: Reimer, 2003. Reproduced: fig. 1

Picasso in Istanbul. Istanbul, Turkey: Sabanci University, Sakip Sabanci Museum, 2005. Reproduced: p. 19, fig. 2

Lara Elizondo, Lupina. Referencias de Picasso en México: ocho pintores (1900-1950) : Angel Zárraga, Diego Rivera, Carlos Mérida, Manuel Rodríguez Lozano, Alfonso Michel, Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Gutiérrez, Federico Cantú. México, D.F.: Qualitas Compañía de Seguros, 2005. Reproduced: p. 53

Adams, Laurie. The Making and Meaning of Art. Upper Saddle River, : New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006. Reproduced: p. 147, fig. 8.2

Calvo Serraller, Francisco. Picasso : tradición y vanguardia : guía antológica de la exposición, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, del 6 de junio al 3 de septiembre de 2006.[Madrid, Spain: Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado, 2006. Reproduced: p. 9

Calvo Serraller, Francisco. Picasso : tradición y vanguardia : guía antológica de la exposición, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, del 6 de junio al 3 de septiembre de 2006. Madrid, Spain: Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado, 2006. Mentioned: p. 76-83; Reproduced: no. 1

Berggruen, Olivier, and Max Hollein. Picasso und das Theater. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2006. Reproduced: p. 28, fig. 1

Robinson, William H., Jordi Falgàs, Carmen Belen Lord, and Josefina Alix Trueba. Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Yale University Press, 2006. fig. 1 (cat. 4:17), p. 135; Reproduced p. 134

Calvo Serraller, Francisco. Picasso : tradición y vanguardia: guía antológica de la exposición, Madrid, Spain: Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado, 2006. Mentioned: p. 8-9; Reproduced: p. 9

Rondeau, James, Douglas W. Druick, Mark Pascale, and Nan Rosenthal. Jasper Johns: Gray. Chicago, Illinois: Art Institute of Chicago, 2007. Reproduced: p. 42. fig. 22

Robinson, William H., Laurence Channing, Barbara J. Bradley, and Margaret Burgess. Monet to Dalí: Impressionist and Modern Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art : an Exhibition. [Cleveland, OH]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.

Seki, Naoko. Pikaso. Tōkyō, Japan: Shōgakukan, 2006. Reproduced: p, 51

Hall, James. The Sinister Side: How Left-Right Symbolism Shaped Western Art. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2008. Reproduced: p. 333, fig.37

Duchting, Hajo. Pablo Picasso. London, United Kingdom: Prestel, 2008. Reproduced: p. 6

Yūki, Masako. Pikaso egakareta koi: yattsu no koigokoro de yomitoku pikaso no miryoku. Tōkyō, Japan: Shōgakukan, 2008. Reproduced: p. 21

Cox, Neil, and Pablo Picasso. The Picasso Book. London, United Kingdom: Tate Publishing, 2010. Reproduced: p. 10, fig. 2; Mentioned: p. 273-274

Giedion, Sigfried, Gotthard Jedlicka, and Piet Meyer. Pablo Picasso in Zürich - 1932. Bern, Switzerland: Meyer, 2010. Reproduced: p. 80, Abb.15

Tinterow, Gary, Susan Alyson Stein, Magdalena Dabrowski, Lucy Belloli, and Christel Hollevoet. Picasso in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010. Reproduced: p. 63, fig. 22.4

Arnason, H. Harvard, and Elizabeth Mansfield. History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Photography. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010. Reproduced: p. 160, no. 8.2

Galassi, Susan Grace, Pablo Picasso, and Marilyn McCully. Picasso's Drawings, 1890-1921: Reinventing Tradition. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2011. Reproduced: p. 100, fig. 51

Zuffi, Stefano. Colour in Art. Antwerpen, Belgium: Ludion, 2012. Reproduced: p. 139

Robinson, William H.. Picasso and the Mysteries of Life: La Vie. Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012. Reproduced: p. 31

Ramon, Artur. Nada es bello sin el azar: quince episodios sobre pintura. Barcelona, Spain: Elba, 2012. Reproduced: p. 137, fig. 44

Treasures of the Cleveland Museum of Art. London, United Kingdom: Scala Books, 2012. Reproduced: p. 292-293

Gual, Malén, Reyes Jiménez, and William H. Robinson. Journey Through the Blue: La Vie : Museu Picasso, Barcelona, 10 October 2013-19 January 2014. Barcelona, Spain: Museu Picasso, 2013. p. 103, cat. no. 20

Robinson, William H. Picasso and the Mysteries of Life: La Vie. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013. p. XII, fig. 1

Bozal Fernández, Valeriano. Historia de la pintura y la escultura del siglo XX en España. Madrid, Spain: Machado Grupo de Distribucion, 2013. Reproduced: p. 45

Gual, Malén, Reyes Jiménez, and William H. Robinson. Journey Through the Blue: La Vie : Museu Picasso, Barcelona, 10 October 2013-19 January 2014. Barcelona, Spain: Ajuntament de Barcelona, Institut de Cultura : Museu Picasso, 2013. Reproduced: p. 103, no. 20

Vallès, Eduard and Isabel Cendoya. Yo Picasso: self-portraits. Barcelona, Spain : Ajuntament de Barcelona: Institut de Cultura : Museu Picasso, 2013. Reproduced: p. 80, fig. 6,7

Andral, Jean-Louis, Marilyn McCully, Michael Raeburn, Claire Mulkai, Elisabeth Guillot, John Tittensor, James Gussen, and Philippe Mothe. Picasso dans la collection Nahmad = Picasso in the Nahmad collection. 2013. Reproduced: p. 273-274, fig. 4; Mentioned: p. 419

The Art Newspaper 23, no. 252 (December 2013). Reproduced: p. 32

Castaño, Antonia, M. Teresa Ocaña, Neil Cox, Brigitte Léal, Valeriano Bozal Fernández, Christopher Green. Picasso en el taller: 12 febrero-11 mayo 2014. Madrid, Spain: Fundación MAPFRE, Instituto de Cultura, 2014. Reproduced: p. 15, fig. 3

Fundación Mapfre, Antonia Castaño, M. Teresa Ocaña, Neil Cox, Brigitte Léal, Valeriano Bozal Fernández, and Christopher Green. Picasso en el Taller: 12 febrero-11 mayo 2014. Madrid: Fundación MAPFRE, Instituto de Cultura, 2014. Reproduced: p. 15, fig. 3

Pratesi, Ludovico. "Le Sfide del Grande Transfiguratore." Art e dossier, no. 316 (December 2014). Mentioned: p. 30-35; Reproduced: p. 31

"Avec le Bleu une Histoire qui Dure." Beaux arts magazine, no. 368 (Fevrier 2015). Mentioned: p. 52-53; Reproduced: p. 52

Vallès, Eduard. Picasso: obra catalana. Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2015. Reproduced: p. 236-[237]

Roglán, Mark A. Spanish Art in America. [Madrid, Spain]: Ediciones El Viso 2016. Reproduced: p. 82

Müller, Markus. "The Many Metamorphoses of the Minotaur." In Pablo Picasso. Munich, Germany: Hirmer, 2016. Reproduced: p. 14, fig. 4

Jones, Caroline A. The Global Work of Art: World's Fairs, Biennials, and the Aesthetics of Experience. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2016. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 58-59, fig. 2.8

Jiménez-Blanco, María Dolores. Antes, Desde y Después del Cubismo: Picasso, Gris, Blanchard, Gargallo y González, y Vuelta a Picasso. Boadilla del Monte (Madrid): Machado Libros, 2017. Reproduced: p. 97, fig. 1

Picasso. Milano: Skira, 2017. Reproduced: p. 90-91

Koldehoff, Stefan. "Marketing Modernism: The Thannhauser Gallery and Its Clients." Marketing Van Gogh. Stefan Koldehoff, and Chris Stolwijk, eds., 56-81. Brussels: Mercatorfonds; Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum, 2017. Reproduced: p. 61, fig. 43

Kisters, Sandra. The Lure of the Biographical: On the (Self-)Representation of Modern Artists. Amsterdam: Valiz, 2017. Reproduced: p. 57, n.171

Rynck, Patrick de and Jon Thompson. Understanding Painting: From Giotto to Warhol. NY: Ludion; Distributed by Abrams, 2018. Reproduced: p. 237

Lloyd, Christopher. Picasso and the Art of Drawing. London: Modern Art Press, 2018. Reproduced: p.44, fig. 25

Betard, D. "Picasso en bleu, en rose et en chefs-d'oeuvre." Beaux arts magazine 411, (Sept. 2018). Mentioned: p. 78-86; Reproduced: p. 81

Toscano, F. "Becomin Picasso." Modern Painters (Sept. 2018). Mentioned: p. 104-110; Reproduced: p. 107

De Micci, L. "L'alba del Genio e Blu e Rosa." Il giornale dell'arte 36, no. 389 (Sept. 2018). Mentioned: p. 39-40

Le Bon, Laurent, Claire Bernardi, and Stephanie Molins. Picasso, Bleu et Rose. Vanves: Hazan, 2018. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 180-182

Bouvier,Raphaël, ed. Picasso: The Blue and Rose Periods. Riehen/Basel, Switzerland: Fondation Beyeler; Berlin, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2019. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 118-119; 122-123

Berggruen, Olivier. "Painting as Drama: Picasso's Late Paintings." In Picasso: The Late Work: from the Collection of Jacqueline Picasso. Ortrud Westheider, and Michael Philipp, eds., 28-35. Munich: Prestel, 2019. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 29-31

Exhibition history

In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958).

Picasso: The Early Years, 1892-1906. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (March 30-July 27, 1997); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (September 10, 1997-January 4, 1998).

Picasso: The Artist's Studio. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT (organizer) (June 7-September 23, 2001); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 28, 2001-January 6, 2002).

Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).

Picasso: Tradición y Vanguardia. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain (organizer) (June 5-September 17, 2006).

Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí (1868-1939). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 15, 2006-January 7, 2007); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (co-organizer) (March 4-June 3, 2007).

Picasso and the Mysteries of Life: La Vie. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-April 21, 2013); Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain (October 10, 2013-January 19, 2014).

Lend-Back: Painting the Modern Garden. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT (organizer) (September 11-December 7, 2015).

Picasso: Blue and Rose. Musée d'Orsay, 75343 Paris, France (organizer) (September 18, 2018-January 6, 2019); Fondation Beyeler, CH-4125 Riehen/Basel, Switzerland (February 3-June 16, 2019).

Picasso and Paper. Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (co-organizer) (January 25-August 2, 2020) https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/picasso-and-paper; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (co-organizer) (September 22-December 13, 2020).