Sugar Bowl and Fan

Pablo Picasso

Paris, autumn 1909 · Watercolor on white laid paper · Modern and Contemporary Art

With its basic arrangement of an inclined tabletop, apple, and seemingly unfinished passages, this watercolor owes much to the art of Paul Cézanne, who Picasso once referred to as his “only master.” While the object at right traditionally has been identified as a fan, it may depict the blue paper in which sugar was packaged, folded into a series of knife-edged planes. The rhythmic expanse not only animates the composition but also highlights the faceted structures that are the hallmark of Picasso’s early Cubist style.

Artist

Pablo Picasso

Date

Paris, autumn 1909

Medium

Watercolor on white laid paper

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

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