Classical Head

1922

Pablo Picasso

Artist, Spanish, 1881 - 1973

Shown from the chest up, a young woman with peach-colored skin standing angled to our left takes up right two-thirds of this vertical portrait painting. Her blond hair is accentuated with strokes of tawny brown and gathered at the back of her head. A long tendril cascades down her back. She is lit from the upper left, which casts the back of her head in shadow. Her eyes are downcast, and her long nose and small mouth are set in a round face. She wears an almost sheer white, sleeveless dress with a low scooped neckline. A background painted with long streaks of fawn brown and tan fills the space behind her. The artist signed and dated in the upper right, “Picasso 22.”
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On View

East Building Ground Level, Gallery 103-B

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 61 x 50.2 cm (24 x 19 3/4 in.)
    framed: 82.5 x 72 x 6.3 cm (32 1/2 x 28 3/8 x 2 1/2 in.)

  • Accession

    1963.10.189

  • Copyright

    © 2012 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Purchased from the artist by Yvon Helft, Paris.[1] (Paul P. Rosenberg et Cie., Paris); sold 5 June 1930 to Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.
[1] Provenance compiled from information in NGA curatorial records.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • A Group of Twentieth Century Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1931, no. 4, repro. frontispiece

  • Picasso-Braque-Léger, Museum of French Art, New York, 1931, no. 7.

1938

  • Contemporary Movements in European Painting, Toledo Museum of Art, 1938, no. 83, repro.

1943

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, Art Institute of Chicago, 1943-1952 (extended loan), unnumbered catalogue, repro. p. 50

1952

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1952, no. 53, repro.

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

2010

  • From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, January 2010-January 2012, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1932

  • Zervos, Christian. Pablo Picasso. 33 vols. Paris, 1932-1978: 4(1951): no. 396, pl. 165.

1943

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1943:, 50, repro.

1952

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1952 (2nd ed., 1960; rev. ed., 1965): 53, repro.

1960

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1960 (2nd ed.): 55, repro.

1965

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965 (rev. ed.): 74, repro.

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 101.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 90, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 264, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 608, no. 943, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 305, repro.

Inscriptions

upper right: Picasso / 22

Wikidata ID

Q20192390

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