Standing Female Nude

Pablo Picasso

Paris, winter 1906–7 · Ink and gouache on white laid paper · Modern and Contemporary Art

This broad-shouldered and muscular female figure seems even more powerful because her body is too large for the sheet of paper: the top of her hair and the bottom of her feet are cropped by its edges. Rendering hands is difficult for many artists, particularly when the arm is foreshortened to create the impression that the figure is reaching toward the viewer. Picasso assumes the challenge at left, while at right, he uses a “wet on wet” technique to create a striking pooling effect. In this drawing, we see Picasso beginning to separate color from line; the washes of red pigment neither fill in nor model form.

Artist

Pablo Picasso

Date

Paris, winter 1906–7

Medium

Ink and gouache on white laid paper

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2016