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Card Players at a Table

1914
Not on view
In his studio at Avignon in the summer of 1914, Picasso explored a new path, contrasting, in a single work, a Cubist treatment of objects and figures with a simple, at times naive, naturalism. Although Picasso had been thinking about Cézanne episodically since he first saw his works at Ambroise Vollard's gallery in 1901, being in Provence—Cézanne country—triggered a new set of associations. In the cafés of Avignon, he saw men dressed identically to those in Cézanne's late paintings, and he made a number of works inspired by the cardplayers of the Master of Aix (see MMA 61.101.1). The subject conveniently provided a pretext for Picasso to juxtapose two figures in contrasting styles, as he does here in such an amusing manner.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Card Players at a Table
  • Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
  • Date: 1914
  • Medium: Graphite on paper
  • Dimensions: 11 3/4 × 7 13/16 in. (29.8 × 19.9 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Morse G. Dial Foundation Gift, in memory of Ethelwyn G. Dial and Morse G. Dial, 1984
  • Object Number: 1984.5.2
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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