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Head of a Man with a Mustache

1913
Not on view
This drawing is on a full sheet of newspaper, a rare and radical choice for Picasso, who enjoyed the quality of fine-art paper. Here the artist tests the limits for identifying facial features by depicting only the curve of the ear that echoes the outline of a cheek or skull and the upturned curls of a mustache placed below a trapezoid that can also be read as a nose. By orienting this sheet of newspaper upside down, Picasso encouraged the viewer to see the printed words as visual and graphic marks devoid of semantic meaning: for example, the letter "B" from the "Scrubb’s Ammonia" advertisement mirrors the shape of the double-curved ear.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of a Man with a Mustache
  • Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
  • Date: 1913
  • Medium: Brush and black ink, charcoal, and graphite on newspaper
  • Dimensions: 21 7/8 x 14 3/4 in. (55.6 x 37.5 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2016
  • Object Number: 2016.237.1
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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