The Dreamer

1932
Not on view
Marie-Thérèse Walter, the subject of this sensuous painting, met the artist in 1927, when she was seventeen and he was forty-five. She became his lover and muse soon after. While the female form was not a new subject for Picasso, the flowing, curvilinear style and bright, saturated tones used to depicted Marie-Thérèse are departures from his earlier portrayals of women. By simplifying her voluptuous form into primary shapes, Picasso presents her figure as something resembling an ancient fertility object.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Dreamer
  • Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
  • Date: 1932
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 39 7/8 × 36 3/4 in. (101.3 × 93.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls Collection, 1997
  • Object Number: 1997.149.4
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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