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Student with a Newspaper

Paris, late 1913–early 1914
Not on view
The college student, identifiable by his beret, reads a newspaper and clutches the dotted form of a bottle in the crook of his arm. The face—a dark triangle with white oval eyes, arched eyebrows, a curved mustache, and a toothy grin—was inspired by a Wobe mask from West Africa. Picasso reveled in the work’s multiple textures. The grit of the sand mixed into some of the paint catches the light, an effect repeated by the colorful dots that animate the surface. Students showed up en masse for the annual Carnival celebrations, which involved copious amounts of paper confetti. The spray of red dots on this student’s face hints at his inebriation, an interpretation supported by the inclusion of a bottle of alcohol and by the shortening of the newspaper masthead to “UR[I]NAL.”

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Student with a Newspaper
  • Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
  • Date: Paris, late 1913–early 1914
  • Medium: Plaster, oil, Conté crayon, and sand on canvas
  • Dimensions: 28 3/4 × 23 1/2 in. (73 × 59.7 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.616.35
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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