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Woman in a Chemise in an Armchair

Paris, late 1913–early 1914
Not on view
Woman in a Chemise marks a breakthrough in the style known as Synthetic Cubism, in which color, pattern, and texture enliven Cubist form. The painting represents a woman seated in a velvety purple armchair; her left arm is raised and her right hand holds a newspaper. Picasso included references to Fang and Baule sculptures from Gabon and the Ivory Coast, as well as to the sensuous imagery of the French neo-classical painter, Jean Auguste Dominque Ingres. The painting’s visual rhyming of hair and fringe, nipples and pegs, feet and hooves has elicited strong reactions: some see it as a misogynist image, others as a parody of sexualized depictions of woman in both high and popular culture.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Woman in a Chemise in an Armchair
  • Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
  • Date: Paris, late 1913–early 1914
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 59 × 39 1/8 in. (149.9 × 99.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.593
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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