Nude Woman with Guitar

Paris, spring 1909
Not on view
It is likely that this unique, large-scale charcoal drawing on canvas was initially intended as an underdrawing for a painting. It reveals that Picasso drew in the basic outlines of his figural compositions before breaking up the forms and surrounding space into multidirectional planes and facets. Pentimenti, or traces of an earlier stage of conception, indicate alterations to the position of the model. The jagged line to the left of the head, which evokes the profile of a face, may also be interpreted as hair or part of the chair back.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Nude Woman with Guitar
  • Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
  • Date: Paris, spring 1909
  • Medium: Charcoal on primed canvas
  • Dimensions: 58 3/8 × 38 1/4 in. (148.3 × 97.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.616.26
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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