The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 17, 2025
Two Nude Women (A series of progressive proofs)
1945–46
(Spanish, 1881–1973)
printer and publisher
Image: 26 x 34.9 cm (10 1/4 x 13 3/4 in.); Sheet: 32.5 x 44.3 cm (12 13/16 x 17 7/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1972.53.2
© Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Catalogue raisonné: Bloch 390; Mourlot 16
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
The two figures in this print are thought to represent the painter Françoise Gilot and the photographer Dora Maar, both of whom were romantically involved with Picasso around this time.Description
Picasso printed each of these 10 lithographs from the same stone. This technique involves chemically sealing a drawing to the surface of a printing stone so that ink adheres to the design and the stone can be run through a printing press. Picasso edited and reprinted his stone as he transformed the image. The artist ultimately created 21 states, or variations, highlighting his fascination with what he described as the “metamorphosis” possible through printmaking. He experimented with realistic and abstract versions of the composition, which features women sitting and sleeping, while also adding and removing marginal images as he worked.- Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1972." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 60, no. 3 (March 1973): 63-115. P. 112, #214. www.jstor.org
- Picasso and Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (co-organizer) (December 8, 2024-March 23, 2025).
- {{cite web|title=Two Nude Women (A series of progressive proofs)|url=false|author=Pablo Picasso, Mourlot|year=1945–46|access-date=17 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.53.2