The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Vertically oriented painting in peach tones of six people with light skin tones. A muscular nude person leans against a wall, food and glass at their side as they look up at two nude young people, one fixing their hair the other bending over. Behind, two more young nude people stand, one stretching, the other leaning against a wall. A final person in yellow crouches in the corner, wrinkled face looking to the side.

The Harem

spring–summer 1906

Pablo Picasso

(Spanish, 1881–1973)
Spain, 20th century
oil and graphite on canvas
Framed: 174 x 130.5 x 11.4 cm (68 1/2 x 51 3/8 x 4 1/2 in.); Unframed: 154.3 x 110 cm (60 3/4 x 43 5/16 in.); Former: 163.2 x 120 x 6.1 cm (64 1/4 x 47 1/4 x 2 3/8 in.)
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr. 1958.45
© Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Catalogue raisonné: Zervos I.321; Sutton/Lecaldano 274; Daix, Boudaille, Rosselet XV.40; Palau i Fabre 1266; PP 1906-073
Location: 223 20th Century Avant-Garde

Did You Know?

This painting dates from Picasso's Rose Period, named for the rosy pink and orange hues that dominate many of his compositions during this time. The Rose Period followed his Blue Period, and the colors are reflective of his mood. The Blue Period is connected to a period of depression following the death of his close friend Carlos Casagemas, while the happier tones of the Rose Period coincide with his happiness in his relationship with Fernande Olivier.

Description

In 1904, Pablo Picasso abandoned the cool palette and somber mood of his Blue Period (1901–4)— exemplified by La Vie of 1903—for the warmer, more sensual imagery of the Rose Period (1904–6). In the summer of 1906, he and his romantic partner Fernande Olivier visited Spain. Picasso sketched Olivier, who often served as a model for the artist, in private moments bathing and combing her hair. Such studies came to life in The Harem, Picasso’s first large-scale representation of nude figures. He added a seated man who clasps a flower in one hand and a porrón (a phallic-shaped drinking vessel) in the other.
  • before 1924
    John Quinn [1870-1924], New York, NY
    1928
    (P. Rosenberg, New York, NY, 1928)
    1929-1958
    Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. [1889-1957], Cleveland, OH, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1958-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Watson, F. John Quinn Collection of Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture. Huntington: Pidgeon Hill Press, 1926. Mentioned: p. 13; Reproduced: p. 89.
    Twenty-Seventh International Exhibition of Paintings, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh October 18-December 9, 1928. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Institute, 1928. Mentioned and reproduced: cat. 201
    Steinberg, Leo. "The Philosophical Brothel, Part 1." Art News 71, no. 5 (September 1972): 20-29. Reproduced: p. 29. fig. 28
    Henning, Edward. "Pablo Picasso: Bouteille, Verre, et Fourchette." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 59, no. 7 (September 1972): 194-203. Reproduced: p. 196, fig. 4 www.jstor.org
    Daix, Pierre. "Picasso's Time of Decisive Encounters." Art News (April 1987): 136-141. Mentioned and reproduced; p. 140
    Steinberg, Leo. "The Philosophical Brothel." October 44 (Spring 1988): 7-74. Mentioned: p. 35; Reproduced: p. 34, fig. 30 undefined
    Robert, Rosenblum. "Picasso in Gósol: The Calm before the Storm." In Picasso: The Early Years, 1892-1906. Marilyn McCully, ed., 263-275. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1997. Mentioned: p. 265-266; Reproduced: p. 264, fig. 1
    Picasso and Celestina: The Artist's Vision of the Procuress. Newark, Delaware: Juan de la Cuesta, 2015. Reproduced: p. 82, figure 17
    Steinberg, Leo. Picasso: Selected Essays. Edited by Sheila Schwartz. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2022. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 90-91, fig. 4.30
  • 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) (December 8, 2024-March 23, 2025).
    Picasso 1906. La Gran Transformación. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina SofÍa, Madrid, Spain (organizer) (November 14, 2023-March 4, 2024) https://www.museoreinasofia.es/exposiciones/picasso-1906.
    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: Tradición y Vanguardia. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain (organizer) (June 5-September 17, 2006).
    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 Art Museum, 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 et Ingres. Musée national Picasso-Paris, Paris, France (March 16-June 21, 2004).
    Picasso Erotique. Galerie national du Jeu de Paume, Paris, France (February 19-May 15, 2001); Montréal Museum of Fine Arts (June 15-September 15, 2001); Museu Picasso (October 25, 2001-January 20, 2002).
    1900. Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 75008 Paris, France (March 14-June 26, 2000).
    Picasso: The Early Years, 1892-1906. National Gallery of Art (organizer) (March 30-July 27, 1997); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (September 10, 1997-January 4, 1998).
    Picasso, 1905-1906. Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain (organizer) (February 5-April 19, 1992); Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland (May 8-July 26, 1992).
    Les Demoiselles D'Avignon (The Ladies of Avignon). Musée national Picasso-Paris, Paris, France (January 26-April 18, 1988); Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain (May 10-July 14, 1988).
    Picasso. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia (co-organizer) (July 27-September 23, 1984); Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (October 9-December 2, 1984).
    Pablo Picasso. The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (organizer) (co-organizer) (April 2-May 29, 1983); Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan (co-organizer) (June 10-July 24, 1983).
    Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (organizer) (May 22-September 16, 1980).
    Man: Glory, Jest, and Riddle: A Survey of Human From Through the Ages. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA (organizer) (November 10, 1964-January 3, 1965).
    In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958).
    Pictures Collected by Yale Alumni. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT (organizer) (May 8-June 18, 1956)
    Picasso "Blue" and "Rose" Periods: 1901–1906. Jacques Seligmann & Co., New York (organizer) (November 2-November 26, 1936)
    The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
    Century of Progress. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (June 1-November 1, 1933) (as Figures [Pink])
    French Art Since Eighteen Hundred. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 8-December 8, 1929). [as Figures [Pink])
    Twenty-Seventh International Exhibition of Paintings, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA (October 18-December 9, 1928). [as Figure (pink)]
  • {{cite web|title=The Harem |url=false|author=Pablo Picasso|year=spring–summer 1906|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.45