Picasso later 1930s
Except otherwise stated, all results below include the premium.
See also : Picasso
Chronology : 1930-1939 1934 1935 1937 1938 1939
See also : Picasso
Chronology : 1930-1939 1934 1935 1937 1938 1939
March 26, 1934 Femme écrivant
2017 SOLD for £ 35M by Christie's
Picasso is married to Olga and madly in love with Marie-Thérèse. The two lovers do not live together but maintain their passion in daily letters with inflamed phrases. Marie-Thérèse will continue to write to Pablo for many years, even when the artist had left with new muses.
On June 27, 2017, Christie's sold for £ 35M from a lower estimate of £ 25M Femme écrivant, oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm painted on March 26, 1934 at their nest of love in Boisgeloup, lot 8.
Painted with joyful colors, Femme écrivant is one of the most emotional portraits of Marie-Thérèse. Beyond the beauty of her face and body that triggered the eroticism of the 1932 paintings, beyond also the contemplation of a sweet and sleepy woman who made herself gently admired, this painting expresses the authenticity of their relationship.
Turning her back to the window, Marie-Thérèse is focusing on her writing. Pablo knows that at this moment she thinks only of him. Her unstructured head becomes transparent before the blue of the sky. The eyes have the romantic shape of moon crescents.
Picasso knew that Femme écrivant was one of his masterpieces among the many portraits of Marie-Thérèse : he kept it until 1961. Please watch the video shared by Christie's in which the artwork is discussed with sensitivity by Diana Widmaier-Picasso, the granddaughter of Pablo and Marie-Thèrèse, as blond haired as her grandmother.
Pablo is in full creativity. From the next day 27 of March he begins La Lecture which will be a series of six paintings demonstrating the variety of his styles. Breaking the secret intimacy of the Femme écrivant, Marie-Thérèse is accompanied by another woman looking together at a book or a letter in an atmosphere of mutual trust.
Who is the woman ? The subtitle of the sixth painting, Marie-Thérèse et sa soeur lisant, provides a key that does not close the issue because Marie-Thérèse had two sisters !
What then does the artist wish to tell with this intimacy that does not relate to him, if not expressing his desire to create a new family ? In the following year, Pablo left Olga and Marie-Thérèse gave him Maya. In the same period, he began to identify himself with the Minotaur. Times change, and also his artistic themes.
The opening opus, an oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm made on March 27, 1934, was sold for $ 21.3M by Sotheby's on May 3, 2011, lot 21. It looks like a child's drawing but with flat areas of color that compete with Léger and Matisse. One of the women, with a blue sky skin, is Marie-Thérèse. Or so we are told : the unstructured face is not really recognizable.
The following of the Deux Personnages series is a review of the art of Picasso in an increasing complexity.
On June 24, 2015, Sotheby's sold for £ 16.4M the fourth opus painted on March 30, 81 x 65 cm, lot 22. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The juvenile portrait of the reader does not require Cubism to express her studious involvement. The other woman, shared between the desires to help and to let go, is Cubist. The strong parts of the image are enhanced by a working of color with the knife.
The sixth painting, on April 10, offers the latest style of the artist with a priority to the attitude. All realism was replaced by a bizarre symbolism. This painting was sold for $ 18M by Christie's on November 6, 2008.
The book does not have the same meaning as in the erotic Lecture of 1932 where it covered the sex of the naked dozing woman. These tranquil scenes simply express the confidence of the artist in the intellectual learning of his muse.
On June 27, 2017, Christie's sold for £ 35M from a lower estimate of £ 25M Femme écrivant, oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm painted on March 26, 1934 at their nest of love in Boisgeloup, lot 8.
Painted with joyful colors, Femme écrivant is one of the most emotional portraits of Marie-Thérèse. Beyond the beauty of her face and body that triggered the eroticism of the 1932 paintings, beyond also the contemplation of a sweet and sleepy woman who made herself gently admired, this painting expresses the authenticity of their relationship.
Turning her back to the window, Marie-Thérèse is focusing on her writing. Pablo knows that at this moment she thinks only of him. Her unstructured head becomes transparent before the blue of the sky. The eyes have the romantic shape of moon crescents.
Picasso knew that Femme écrivant was one of his masterpieces among the many portraits of Marie-Thérèse : he kept it until 1961. Please watch the video shared by Christie's in which the artwork is discussed with sensitivity by Diana Widmaier-Picasso, the granddaughter of Pablo and Marie-Thèrèse, as blond haired as her grandmother.
Pablo is in full creativity. From the next day 27 of March he begins La Lecture which will be a series of six paintings demonstrating the variety of his styles. Breaking the secret intimacy of the Femme écrivant, Marie-Thérèse is accompanied by another woman looking together at a book or a letter in an atmosphere of mutual trust.
Who is the woman ? The subtitle of the sixth painting, Marie-Thérèse et sa soeur lisant, provides a key that does not close the issue because Marie-Thérèse had two sisters !
What then does the artist wish to tell with this intimacy that does not relate to him, if not expressing his desire to create a new family ? In the following year, Pablo left Olga and Marie-Thérèse gave him Maya. In the same period, he began to identify himself with the Minotaur. Times change, and also his artistic themes.
The opening opus, an oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm made on March 27, 1934, was sold for $ 21.3M by Sotheby's on May 3, 2011, lot 21. It looks like a child's drawing but with flat areas of color that compete with Léger and Matisse. One of the women, with a blue sky skin, is Marie-Thérèse. Or so we are told : the unstructured face is not really recognizable.
The following of the Deux Personnages series is a review of the art of Picasso in an increasing complexity.
On June 24, 2015, Sotheby's sold for £ 16.4M the fourth opus painted on March 30, 81 x 65 cm, lot 22. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The juvenile portrait of the reader does not require Cubism to express her studious involvement. The other woman, shared between the desires to help and to let go, is Cubist. The strong parts of the image are enhanced by a working of color with the knife.
The sixth painting, on April 10, offers the latest style of the artist with a priority to the attitude. All realism was replaced by a bizarre symbolism. This painting was sold for $ 18M by Christie's on November 6, 2008.
The book does not have the same meaning as in the erotic Lecture of 1932 where it covered the sex of the naked dozing woman. These tranquil scenes simply express the confidence of the artist in the intellectual learning of his muse.
July 17, 1934 Femme Endormie
2023 SOLD for $ 43M by Christie's
Marie-Thérèse is Picasso's sleeping muse, sometimes passively reading or writing. July is beach time.
Tête de femme endormie displays the head of the snoozing woman reclining on sand. The filtered sun light is an excuse for a radiant geometric figure that echoes the lines of the beach tent. A breast is nude. A necklace of round gems adds to the balance of the composition. The palette includes a variety of bright colors : yellow, violet, blue and soft rose for the flesh ahead of the red and yellow of the tent and the pattern of deep red lines of the sea.
This well preserved small impastoed oil on canvas 33 x 46 cm painted in Boisgeloup on July 12, 1934 was sold for $ 11.2M by Sotheby's on June 29, 2020, lot 1014. Please watch the video. shared by the auction house.
This painting expresses the quietness of their lover's life in Boisgeloup while an upset Olga had left the family home a few months before.
On July 17, 1934 in Boisgeloup, Picasso painted in parallel three bust length figures of Marie-Thérèse, with the same palette but in different styles.
Femme endormie, oil on canvas 72 x 54 cm, features the quietly sleeping muse in the follow of the the Tête de femme endormie executed five days earlier, narrated above. The young woman had moved from the beach to the bedroom. She is resting on a pillow in a bed sheet and blanket, her arms overlapping on the foreground.
This painting was sold for $ 43M from a lower estimate of $ 25M by Christie's on November 9, 2023, lot 22 B.
Tête de femme endormie displays the head of the snoozing woman reclining on sand. The filtered sun light is an excuse for a radiant geometric figure that echoes the lines of the beach tent. A breast is nude. A necklace of round gems adds to the balance of the composition. The palette includes a variety of bright colors : yellow, violet, blue and soft rose for the flesh ahead of the red and yellow of the tent and the pattern of deep red lines of the sea.
This well preserved small impastoed oil on canvas 33 x 46 cm painted in Boisgeloup on July 12, 1934 was sold for $ 11.2M by Sotheby's on June 29, 2020, lot 1014. Please watch the video. shared by the auction house.
This painting expresses the quietness of their lover's life in Boisgeloup while an upset Olga had left the family home a few months before.
On July 17, 1934 in Boisgeloup, Picasso painted in parallel three bust length figures of Marie-Thérèse, with the same palette but in different styles.
Femme endormie, oil on canvas 72 x 54 cm, features the quietly sleeping muse in the follow of the the Tête de femme endormie executed five days earlier, narrated above. The young woman had moved from the beach to the bedroom. She is resting on a pillow in a bed sheet and blanket, her arms overlapping on the foreground.
This painting was sold for $ 43M from a lower estimate of $ 25M by Christie's on November 9, 2023, lot 22 B.
1935 Tête de Femme
2013 SOLD for $ 40M by Sotheby's
Pablo Picasso admires the face and the eyes of Marie-Thérèse. She is pregnant, but Picasso is forced to leave her temporarily to prepare his divorce from Olga.
Tête de femme, oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm painted on March 12, 1935, is a tribute by Pablo to his goddess, with bright colors. The artist uncorrelated the two themes of his aesthetic admiration : the face is seen in profile, which is a great angle to highlight the beauty of this young woman, but the eyes look straight towards the observer.
Afterwards, particularly with Dora, Pablo abused with this theme of dislocating the face. Here, the result is fresh and surprising, generating a real illusion of movement of the pretty head.
This artwork is also unique in the career of Pablo. After completing it, he will stop painting during a few months to satisfy other fantasies, including the Minotauromachie.
It was sold by Sotheby's for $ 40M on November 6, 2013. and for £ 19M on February 3, 2016, lot 10. Please watch the video shared by the auction house in 2013.
Tête de femme, oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm painted on March 12, 1935, is a tribute by Pablo to his goddess, with bright colors. The artist uncorrelated the two themes of his aesthetic admiration : the face is seen in profile, which is a great angle to highlight the beauty of this young woman, but the eyes look straight towards the observer.
Afterwards, particularly with Dora, Pablo abused with this theme of dislocating the face. Here, the result is fresh and surprising, generating a real illusion of movement of the pretty head.
This artwork is also unique in the career of Pablo. After completing it, he will stop painting during a few months to satisfy other fantasies, including the Minotauromachie.
It was sold by Sotheby's for $ 40M on November 6, 2013. and for £ 19M on February 3, 2016, lot 10. Please watch the video shared by the auction house in 2013.
Special Report
The Minotaur
Picasso identified the Minotaur as a powerful alter ego primarily in the 1930s, especially during his Surrealist-influenced phase, though the motif appeared earlier and echoed throughout his career.
Time Period and Overview
The Minotaur (half-man, half-bull from Greek mythology, symbolizing unbridled instinct, duality, and the beast within) became a central autobiographical symbol for Picasso around 1928–1937, peaking in the early-to-mid 1930s. This coincided with personal turmoil: his marriage to Olga Khokhlova was collapsing, and he was deeply involved in an affair with the much younger Marie-Thérèse Walter (whom he met in 1927 when she was 17).
Key works include:
Sexual Frenzy and Bullfighting Inspiration
The Minotaur imagery is steeped in eroticism and violence, drawing heavily from Spanish bullfighting (corrida), which Picasso loved since childhood (his father took him to fights; his earliest surviving work, age ~8, is a picador). Bulls symbolized raw power, fertility, and mortality; the matador added machismo and ritualized death.
In the Vollard Suite and related works, Minotaurs appear in bacchanalian scenes, caressing or ravishing women (sometimes sleeping or centaurs), orgiastic frenzy, and aggressive embraces—mixing lust, rape-like struggle, and mutual passion. These reflect the artist’s “untamable beast” and link sexuality with artistic creation. Bullfights blurred into mythic violence: horse disembowelment, charging power, and the arena as a stage for desire and dominance.This was not just metaphor. The 1930s were a time of intense personal “frenzy” amid his affair with Marie-Thérèse, which he saw as breaking bourgeois constraints and unleashing primal urges.
Real Life vs. Artistic Reputation
It was very real in his personal life, not merely for reputation. Picasso had a well-documented, lifelong hyperactive sex drive starting in his early teens (brothels with his father in Spain). He had multiple wives (Olga, Jacqueline), several major mistresses (including Marie-Thérèse, Dora Maar, Françoise Gilot), and countless other lovers. Biographers like John Richardson describe it as “uncontrollable.” He viewed women in binary terms (“goddesses and doormats”) and often treated them possessively, drawing creative energy from these relationships while causing emotional (and sometimes greater) harm—two lovers later died by suicide.
The Minotaur self-portraits served as both boast (virile power) and confession (guilt, monstrosity, victimhood of his own nature). Picasso told Françoise Gilot that a Minotaur “knows he is a monster,” and in one context remarked on orgies stemming from feeling unlovable for himself. The art amplified and mythologized his reality rather than fabricating it for image alone—though as a master self-mythologizer, it certainly enhanced his persona.
In short, the Minotaur let Picasso explore his dual nature through a culturally resonant lens (myth + bullfighting), channeling real sexual and emotional intensity into some of his most psychologically raw work of the 1930s. It remains one of the clearest windows into his self-image.
Time Period and Overview
The Minotaur (half-man, half-bull from Greek mythology, symbolizing unbridled instinct, duality, and the beast within) became a central autobiographical symbol for Picasso around 1928–1937, peaking in the early-to-mid 1930s. This coincided with personal turmoil: his marriage to Olga Khokhlova was collapsing, and he was deeply involved in an affair with the much younger Marie-Thérèse Walter (whom he met in 1927 when she was 17).
Key works include:
- The Vollard Suite (1930–1937, published 1939): A series of ~100 etchings for dealer Ambroise Vollard, with a major section (~15–21 plates) dedicated to the Minotaur. These show the creature in seduction, violent coupling, drinking, tenderness, and defeat—often with Marie-Thérèse-like figures.
- Minotauromachy (1935): A complex etching blending bullfight violence, personal allegory (Picasso as Minotaur confronting family/mistress elements), and foreshadowing of Guernica (1937).
- Other prints, drawings, and later echoes (up to the 1950s), but the intense identification was 1930s-specific.
Sexual Frenzy and Bullfighting Inspiration
The Minotaur imagery is steeped in eroticism and violence, drawing heavily from Spanish bullfighting (corrida), which Picasso loved since childhood (his father took him to fights; his earliest surviving work, age ~8, is a picador). Bulls symbolized raw power, fertility, and mortality; the matador added machismo and ritualized death.
In the Vollard Suite and related works, Minotaurs appear in bacchanalian scenes, caressing or ravishing women (sometimes sleeping or centaurs), orgiastic frenzy, and aggressive embraces—mixing lust, rape-like struggle, and mutual passion. These reflect the artist’s “untamable beast” and link sexuality with artistic creation. Bullfights blurred into mythic violence: horse disembowelment, charging power, and the arena as a stage for desire and dominance.This was not just metaphor. The 1930s were a time of intense personal “frenzy” amid his affair with Marie-Thérèse, which he saw as breaking bourgeois constraints and unleashing primal urges.
Real Life vs. Artistic Reputation
It was very real in his personal life, not merely for reputation. Picasso had a well-documented, lifelong hyperactive sex drive starting in his early teens (brothels with his father in Spain). He had multiple wives (Olga, Jacqueline), several major mistresses (including Marie-Thérèse, Dora Maar, Françoise Gilot), and countless other lovers. Biographers like John Richardson describe it as “uncontrollable.” He viewed women in binary terms (“goddesses and doormats”) and often treated them possessively, drawing creative energy from these relationships while causing emotional (and sometimes greater) harm—two lovers later died by suicide.
The Minotaur self-portraits served as both boast (virile power) and confession (guilt, monstrosity, victimhood of his own nature). Picasso told Françoise Gilot that a Minotaur “knows he is a monster,” and in one context remarked on orgies stemming from feeling unlovable for himself. The art amplified and mythologized his reality rather than fabricating it for image alone—though as a master self-mythologizer, it certainly enhanced his persona.
In short, the Minotaur let Picasso explore his dual nature through a culturally resonant lens (myth + bullfighting), channeling real sexual and emotional intensity into some of his most psychologically raw work of the 1930s. It remains one of the clearest windows into his self-image.
masterpiece
May 1 to June 4, 1937 Guernica
Museo de Arte Reina Sofia
Detailed Analysis of Guernica
Pablo Picasso's Guernica (1937) is one of the most iconic and powerful anti-war artworks in history, a monumental oil painting on canvas measuring 3.49 meters tall and 7.76 meters wide. Created in response to the devastating aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, it transcends its historical origins to become a universal symbol of the horrors of violence, suffering, and chaos inflicted by war. The painting's raw emotional intensity, achieved through distorted forms and a stark monochromatic palette, continues to resonate in discussions of conflict and human rights.
Historical Context
In January 1937, Picasso was commissioned by the Spanish Republican government to create a mural for the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exposition (World's Fair). Initially lacking inspiration, Picasso found his catalyst in the April 26, 1937, bombing of Guernica, a civilian town in northern Spain's Basque region. German and Italian forces, allied with General Francisco Franco's Nationalist faction, unleashed a three-hour aerial assault as a terror tactic, killing hundreds and destroying much of the town. News reports and photographs of the atrocity reached Paris, profoundly affecting Picasso, who completed the painting in just over a month, from May to June 1937. Guernica was not a literal depiction of the event but an abstract condemnation of fascist aggression and the brutality of modern warfare. After its debut, the painting toured internationally to raise awareness and funds for the Republican cause, eventually finding a permanent home in Madrid's Museo Reina Sofía in 1981, symbolizing Spain's transition to democracy.
Description and Composition
Guernica is a sprawling, chaotic scene that defies traditional composition, lacking a single focal point to mirror the disorientation of war. The canvas is divided into a triangular structure, with figures and elements overlapping in a frenzied collage of anguish. Reading from left to right, the viewer's eye encounters a bull, a grieving mother with her dead child, a fallen warrior, a screaming horse pierced by a spear, a woman holding a lamp, and figures trapped in flames or fleeing destruction. The absence of color—rendered entirely in black, white, and shades of gray—evokes newspaper photographs or wartime reportage, stripping away any romanticism and forcing confrontation with the raw horror. This monochromatic scheme heightens the drama, creating a sense of timelessness and universality.
The enormous scale (comparable to a billboard) overwhelms the viewer, immersing them in the scene as if witnessing the event firsthand. Picasso's preparatory sketches, numbering over 45, show his evolution from initial ideas to the final chaotic assembly, emphasizing distortion and fragmentation to convey psychological turmoil.
Artistic Style and Techniques
Picasso blended Cubism's fragmented, multi-perspective forms with Surrealism's nightmarish, dreamlike elements, creating a hybrid style that rejects realistic representation. Bodies are disjointed—limbs bent unnaturally, faces contorted in agony—reflecting the physical and emotional shattering caused by violence. Influences from earlier art, such as Peter Paul Rubens's The Consequences of War (1638), are evident in mirrored compositions and allegorical figures, though Picasso inverts them for modern horror. Techniques like collage-like overlapping and exaggerated gestures (e.g., oversized hands and teardrop eyes) amplify expressiveness, while the flat, graphic quality mimics posters or murals, enhancing its propagandistic impact.
Symbolism
Guernica's power lies in its layered symbols, open to interpretation but unified by themes of suffering and inhumanity.
Impact and Legacy
Upon its unveiling, Guernica shocked audiences and became a rallying cry against fascism, influencing anti-war movements worldwide. It has been referenced in protests (e.g., Vietnam War, Iraq War) and art, from tapestries at the UN to modern reinterpretations. Critically, it redefined how art engages with politics, proving abstraction can convey profound humanism. Today, it remains a testament to art's role in bearing witness, with ongoing analyses exploring its relevance to contemporary co
Pablo Picasso's Guernica (1937) is one of the most iconic and powerful anti-war artworks in history, a monumental oil painting on canvas measuring 3.49 meters tall and 7.76 meters wide. Created in response to the devastating aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, it transcends its historical origins to become a universal symbol of the horrors of violence, suffering, and chaos inflicted by war. The painting's raw emotional intensity, achieved through distorted forms and a stark monochromatic palette, continues to resonate in discussions of conflict and human rights.
Historical Context
In January 1937, Picasso was commissioned by the Spanish Republican government to create a mural for the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exposition (World's Fair). Initially lacking inspiration, Picasso found his catalyst in the April 26, 1937, bombing of Guernica, a civilian town in northern Spain's Basque region. German and Italian forces, allied with General Francisco Franco's Nationalist faction, unleashed a three-hour aerial assault as a terror tactic, killing hundreds and destroying much of the town. News reports and photographs of the atrocity reached Paris, profoundly affecting Picasso, who completed the painting in just over a month, from May to June 1937. Guernica was not a literal depiction of the event but an abstract condemnation of fascist aggression and the brutality of modern warfare. After its debut, the painting toured internationally to raise awareness and funds for the Republican cause, eventually finding a permanent home in Madrid's Museo Reina Sofía in 1981, symbolizing Spain's transition to democracy.
Description and Composition
Guernica is a sprawling, chaotic scene that defies traditional composition, lacking a single focal point to mirror the disorientation of war. The canvas is divided into a triangular structure, with figures and elements overlapping in a frenzied collage of anguish. Reading from left to right, the viewer's eye encounters a bull, a grieving mother with her dead child, a fallen warrior, a screaming horse pierced by a spear, a woman holding a lamp, and figures trapped in flames or fleeing destruction. The absence of color—rendered entirely in black, white, and shades of gray—evokes newspaper photographs or wartime reportage, stripping away any romanticism and forcing confrontation with the raw horror. This monochromatic scheme heightens the drama, creating a sense of timelessness and universality.
The enormous scale (comparable to a billboard) overwhelms the viewer, immersing them in the scene as if witnessing the event firsthand. Picasso's preparatory sketches, numbering over 45, show his evolution from initial ideas to the final chaotic assembly, emphasizing distortion and fragmentation to convey psychological turmoil.
Artistic Style and Techniques
Picasso blended Cubism's fragmented, multi-perspective forms with Surrealism's nightmarish, dreamlike elements, creating a hybrid style that rejects realistic representation. Bodies are disjointed—limbs bent unnaturally, faces contorted in agony—reflecting the physical and emotional shattering caused by violence. Influences from earlier art, such as Peter Paul Rubens's The Consequences of War (1638), are evident in mirrored compositions and allegorical figures, though Picasso inverts them for modern horror. Techniques like collage-like overlapping and exaggerated gestures (e.g., oversized hands and teardrop eyes) amplify expressiveness, while the flat, graphic quality mimics posters or murals, enhancing its propagandistic impact.
Symbolism
Guernica's power lies in its layered symbols, open to interpretation but unified by themes of suffering and inhumanity.
- The Bull: On the left, it stands stoically, often interpreted as a symbol of fascism, brutality, or Spanish identity (the bullfight motif recurring in Picasso's work). Its impassive gaze contrasts with the surrounding chaos, perhaps representing the perpetrator's indifference.
- The Horse: Centrally placed and rearing in agony, impaled by a spear, it embodies the innocent victims of war—screaming with distended teeth and rolling eyes, evoking visceral pain.
- The Light Bulb: Hanging like an all-seeing eye or bomb, encircled by jagged rays, it symbolizes technological destruction (incendiary bombs) or false enlightenment amid horror.
- Mother and Dead Child: On the left, a pietà-inspired figure wails while cradling her limp infant, representing maternal grief and the loss of innocence.
- Fallen Soldier: Dismembered at the bottom, clutching a broken sword with a flower emerging, it signifies futile resistance and fragile hope for peace.
- Woman with Lamp: On the right, extending a light into the darkness, she may symbolize truth-seeking or futile aid amid devastation.
- Other Elements: Flames engulf buildings, a woman falls from a window with arms outstretched in despair, and distorted faces scream—collectively evoking universal terror.
Impact and Legacy
Upon its unveiling, Guernica shocked audiences and became a rallying cry against fascism, influencing anti-war movements worldwide. It has been referenced in protests (e.g., Vietnam War, Iraq War) and art, from tapestries at the UN to modern reinterpretations. Critically, it redefined how art engages with politics, proving abstraction can convey profound humanism. Today, it remains a testament to art's role in bearing witness, with ongoing analyses exploring its relevance to contemporary co
In Guernica (1937), the bull on the left side carries strong Minotaur symbolism, though it is not a literal half-man, half-bull hybrid. Picasso's long-standing identification with the Minotaur as his alter ego—developed intensely in the 1930s—infuses the bull with layers of personal, mythic, and political meaning.Here is the full painting for context:
The Bull in Guernica: Position and Appearance
The bull stands prominently on the left, its head turned toward the central chaos while its body remains somewhat detached. It has a calm yet watchful expression, with wide eyes and prominent horns, contrasting the writhing agony of the horse (center), the screaming mother with dead child (left), and other victims. Picasso rendered it in the painting's stark black-and-white palette, using Cubist fragmentation.A close-up detail of the bull:
Minotaur as Picasso's Alter EgoBy the mid-1930s, the Minotaur served as Picasso's autobiographical symbol of duality: human intellect/animal instinct, virility/violence, creator/destroyer. This peaked in the Vollard Suite etchings and especially Minotauromachy (1935), a direct precursor to Guernica sharing compositional and thematic elements (bull-headed figure, suffering horse, female figures, light sources).
Minotauromachy
Picasso once said (paraphrased): tracing the paths of his life would resemble a Minotaur. He posed in bull masks and used the figure to explore his subconscious, especially during his turbulent affair with Marie-Thérèse Walter.
Interpretations of the Bull/Minotaur in Guernica
Scholars debate its meaning due to Picasso's deliberate ambiguity, but key layers tied to Minotaur symbolism include:
Guernica was commissioned for the Spanish Pavilion at the 1937 Paris World's Fair as a protest against Franco and fascist violence. The Minotaur/bull motif bridges Picasso's personal Surrealist/Freudian explorations of the 1930s with overt political outrage. It transforms private myth into universal condemnation of war's irrational horror.
The symbolism remains polyvalent—Picasso resisted fixed interpretations—which amplifies the painting's power. The bull/Minotaur anchors the composition, embodying the beast within humanity that enables such atrocities, while hinting at the artist's haunted self-reflection. This fusion of personal alter ego and collective trauma makes Guernica one of the 20th century's most potent images.
In Guernica (1937), the horse is the central, most agonized figure, positioned in the middle of the composition with its head thrown back in a piercing scream, body contorted and pierced by a spear (or javelin-like form), and legs buckling in collapse. Its suffering dominates the canvas and serves as a primary emblem of pain and victimhood.
Close-up of the Horse
A detailed view is highlighting its screaming head, visible teeth (forming a hidden skull shape for some interpreters), and the spear wound:
Key Symbolism of the Horse
Picasso drew on lifelong motifs from Spanish bullfighting (corrida), where the horse (often blindfolded and vulnerable) is gored by the bull, symbolizing sacrifice and fragility amid ritual violence. In Guernica, this transforms into a broader anti-war allegory tied to the 1937 bombing of the Basque town by Nazi and Italian forces supporting Franco.
As with the bull/Minotaur, Picasso resisted fixed meanings: “This bull is a bull and this horse is a horse... The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them.” The figures evolved across his career (from erotic Minotaur scenes to political protest), making rigid readings difficult—but the horse consistently evokes vulnerability and raw suffering.
Overall Role in the Painting
The horse anchors the emotional core of Guernica’s anti-war message. Its central scream, illuminated by the bare light bulb (symbolizing harsh truth or bomb explosion), draws the viewer into the chaos. Together with the bull, grieving mothers, and dismembered figures, it universalizes the horror of the Spanish Civil War into a timeless condemnation of fascism, aerial terror, and human brutality. The horse’s agony remains one of the most unforgettable images in 20th-century art.
The Bull in Guernica: Position and Appearance
The bull stands prominently on the left, its head turned toward the central chaos while its body remains somewhat detached. It has a calm yet watchful expression, with wide eyes and prominent horns, contrasting the writhing agony of the horse (center), the screaming mother with dead child (left), and other victims. Picasso rendered it in the painting's stark black-and-white palette, using Cubist fragmentation.A close-up detail of the bull:
Minotaur as Picasso's Alter EgoBy the mid-1930s, the Minotaur served as Picasso's autobiographical symbol of duality: human intellect/animal instinct, virility/violence, creator/destroyer. This peaked in the Vollard Suite etchings and especially Minotauromachy (1935), a direct precursor to Guernica sharing compositional and thematic elements (bull-headed figure, suffering horse, female figures, light sources).
Minotauromachy
Picasso once said (paraphrased): tracing the paths of his life would resemble a Minotaur. He posed in bull masks and used the figure to explore his subconscious, especially during his turbulent affair with Marie-Thérèse Walter.
Interpretations of the Bull/Minotaur in Guernica
Scholars debate its meaning due to Picasso's deliberate ambiguity, but key layers tied to Minotaur symbolism include:
- Picasso's Self-Portrait / Witness: The bull often reads as the artist himself (via his Minotaur alter ego) observing the horror with detached yet pained awareness. It echoes the Minotaur's role as a figure confronting violence and guilt. Some see it as Picasso despairing at the suffering caused by war (and, by extension, his own "monstrous" nature in personal life).
- Brutality, Irrational Power, and Fascism: The Minotaur embodies raw, uncontrollable force. In the political context of the Spanish Civil War and the Nazi/Italian bombing of Guernica, the bull can represent fascist aggression or the "onslaught of Fascism." Picasso reportedly described it as symbolizing "brutality and darkness." This shifts the personal Minotaur (libidinous/violent in erotic works) to a public allegory of monstrous destruction.
- Spanish Identity and Bullfighting: Rooted in corrida imagery (bull as power, fertility, mortality), it stands for enduring Spanish resilience or the victim/aggressor duality of the conflict. The bull remains upright and stoic amid chaos, unlike the dying horse (often seen as the suffering Spanish people or Republic).
- Duality and Ambiguity: Like the Minotaur (beast yet part-human), the bull is neither fully attacker nor pure victim. It watches the scene, possibly complicit or horrified—mirroring Picasso's own contradictions and the painting's broader anti-war message.
Guernica was commissioned for the Spanish Pavilion at the 1937 Paris World's Fair as a protest against Franco and fascist violence. The Minotaur/bull motif bridges Picasso's personal Surrealist/Freudian explorations of the 1930s with overt political outrage. It transforms private myth into universal condemnation of war's irrational horror.
The symbolism remains polyvalent—Picasso resisted fixed interpretations—which amplifies the painting's power. The bull/Minotaur anchors the composition, embodying the beast within humanity that enables such atrocities, while hinting at the artist's haunted self-reflection. This fusion of personal alter ego and collective trauma makes Guernica one of the 20th century's most potent images.
In Guernica (1937), the horse is the central, most agonized figure, positioned in the middle of the composition with its head thrown back in a piercing scream, body contorted and pierced by a spear (or javelin-like form), and legs buckling in collapse. Its suffering dominates the canvas and serves as a primary emblem of pain and victimhood.
Close-up of the Horse
A detailed view is highlighting its screaming head, visible teeth (forming a hidden skull shape for some interpreters), and the spear wound:
Key Symbolism of the Horse
Picasso drew on lifelong motifs from Spanish bullfighting (corrida), where the horse (often blindfolded and vulnerable) is gored by the bull, symbolizing sacrifice and fragility amid ritual violence. In Guernica, this transforms into a broader anti-war allegory tied to the 1937 bombing of the Basque town by Nazi and Italian forces supporting Franco.
- Suffering of the Spanish People / Innocents: Picasso reportedly stated that the horse represented the people of Guernica. Its mortal wound and shriek convey civilian agony under aerial bombardment—helplessness, terror, and the destruction of everyday life. The horse stands for the Republic, the innocent victims, or humanity itself crushed by modern warfare.
- Contrast with the Bull: Paired with the more stoic bull (Picasso’s Minotaur alter ego, often linked to brutality, darkness, or fascism), the horse embodies the victim side of the duality. In bullfight terms, the horse is the vulnerable counterpart to the powerful bull. Scholars see this as Republican fighters vs. fascist forces, or the people vs. oppressive power. The horse collapses while the bull stands watchful.
- Resilience Amid Despair: Despite its wounds, the horse’s head rises and its mouth opens in a defiant or desperate cry. Some interpret this as the enduring spirit of the Spanish people or a call to resistance—fighting for life even in the face of annihilation.
- Hidden and Additional Layers:
- A subliminal skull formed by the horse’s nose and teeth, evoking death (memento mori).
- Possible personal elements: Links to Picasso’s relationships or broader Freudian/Surrealist themes of the subconscious and violence.
- Newspaper-like hatching on the body may reference how the Guernica atrocity was reported in the press.
As with the bull/Minotaur, Picasso resisted fixed meanings: “This bull is a bull and this horse is a horse... The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them.” The figures evolved across his career (from erotic Minotaur scenes to political protest), making rigid readings difficult—but the horse consistently evokes vulnerability and raw suffering.
Overall Role in the Painting
The horse anchors the emotional core of Guernica’s anti-war message. Its central scream, illuminated by the bare light bulb (symbolizing harsh truth or bomb explosion), draws the viewer into the chaos. Together with the bull, grieving mothers, and dismembered figures, it universalizes the horror of the Spanish Civil War into a timeless condemnation of fascism, aerial terror, and human brutality. The horse’s agony remains one of the most unforgettable images in 20th-century art.
masterpiece
October 1937 La Femme qui pleure
Tate
Picasso had the idea of inserting a weeping woman in his masterpiece Guernica and prepared many sketches on that specific sub-theme which he did not retain in the final version.
The paramount role of Dora Maar in Guernica's execution triggered a conception by Picasso for using Dora's face as the support of extreme human feelings. Dora was indeed a highly expressive woman.
In total 36 works depicting the weeping woman have been identified, executed between May and the end of October 1937, taking Dora as his model. The muse will become forever the impersonation of the woman who weeps against the horrible torments of the world. She indeed did not deserve it.
The most finished version is at the Tate Gallery.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Tate @Tate Aug 14, 2023
#PabloPicasso’s 'Weeping Woman' was created during the Spanish Civil War in response to the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by Nazi Germany's air force in April 1937. https://bit.ly/45tzGmY You can find this powerful work in #CapturingTheMoment at #TateModern.
The paramount role of Dora Maar in Guernica's execution triggered a conception by Picasso for using Dora's face as the support of extreme human feelings. Dora was indeed a highly expressive woman.
In total 36 works depicting the weeping woman have been identified, executed between May and the end of October 1937, taking Dora as his model. The muse will become forever the impersonation of the woman who weeps against the horrible torments of the world. She indeed did not deserve it.
The most finished version is at the Tate Gallery.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Tate @Tate Aug 14, 2023
#PabloPicasso’s 'Weeping Woman' was created during the Spanish Civil War in response to the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by Nazi Germany's air force in April 1937. https://bit.ly/45tzGmY You can find this powerful work in #CapturingTheMoment at #TateModern.
- Picasso's "Weeping Woman," created in late 1937, reflects the emotional toll of the Spanish Civil War, specifically the Nazi Luftwaffe's bombing of Guernica on April 26, 1937, which killed hundreds and inspired his anti-war mural "Guernica," as documented by historian Gijs van Hensbergen in his 2004 study of the event.
- The painting features Dora Maar, Picasso's muse, whose fragmented face symbolizes the suffering of Spanish civilians, a theme supported by art historian John Richardson’s 1996 analysis linking the work to Picasso's personal anguish and political outrage.
- Contrary to initial media exaggeration of 1,700 deaths, later historical revisions, including Soviet archives from May 1937, suggest around 400-800 casualties, highlighting how wartime propaganda shaped public perception of the bombing's impact.
September 2, 1937 Femme à la Coiffe d'Arlésienne
2025 SOLD for $ 28M by Christie's
Picasso painted Guernica between May 1 and June 4, 1937. A few weeks later he was declared a degenerate artist by the Nazis.
Arguably needing some escape, he spent a convivial summer in a pension hotel in Mougins over Antibes with a joyous Surrealist band for a total of 11 vacationers, including Dora Maar, Paul Eluard and Man Ray. The American model and photographer Lee Miller, a former muse of Man Ray, was also there with her new lover Roland Penrose. Picasso did not omit to pay several visits to Matisse in Nice.
Pablo made playful portraits of his friends in his signature style. Seven of them feature Lee Miller as L'Arlésienne. Other fancy portraits include Paul Eluard as a peasant woman and Nusch Eluard as a Niçoise.
L'Arlésienne (Lee Miller), oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm was painted in Mougins in a glowing palette of pink, yellow, green, turquoise and red.
This portrait is made with Picasso's signature double angled head on a brilliant sun-yellow background. Her typical features are the striking eyes and the gap toothed grin. The colorful Provençal folk attire and perched ribbon trimmed headdress along with the Arlésienne shawl are obviously a tribute to the portraits of Madame Ginoux by another newly declared degenerate artist, van Gogh.
Dated and numbered 1er Septembre 37 (I) on the stretcher, it was sold for $ 13.7M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 42C.
The painting dated and numbered 2 Septembre 37 II is another portrait of Lee Miller, also in half length, in the same size. Titled Femme à la Coiffe d'Arlésienne sur fond vert, it is introducing a highly vibrant palette for featuring the energy, vitality and smiling temperament of the seater rather than her like. This effect is further increased by the use of green ripolin on the background.
It was sold for $ 28M from a lower estimate of $ 20M by Christie's on May 12, 2025, lot 5A.
A lively portrait of Lee Miller in bust as L'Arlésienne was painted by Picasso in Mougins on September 11, 1937. In his signature style, he displays altogether the full profile and the two eyes. The vibrant colors may be a response to Matisse's portraits of the time.
This opus is also experimental in terms of texture. Picasso used striations to enhance the flat areas of headdress, armchair and shawl while the position of the breasts was marked by concentric circles.
The background is made bright yellow by incorporating some Ripolin house paint which created a chance inhomogeneity and even creasing when drying in thick layer. The effect of spontaneity is increased by a few drippings of the oil paint. That use of chance in the execution anticipated by several decades Twombly and Manzoni.
Dated and numbered 11 septembre 37 (I), this oil and Ripolin on canvas 73 x 60 cm was sold for $ 24.6M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 3A.
Back in October from these playful holidays, Picasso achieved the development of his new theme featuring his muse Dora as the haunting Femme qui pleure.
Arguably needing some escape, he spent a convivial summer in a pension hotel in Mougins over Antibes with a joyous Surrealist band for a total of 11 vacationers, including Dora Maar, Paul Eluard and Man Ray. The American model and photographer Lee Miller, a former muse of Man Ray, was also there with her new lover Roland Penrose. Picasso did not omit to pay several visits to Matisse in Nice.
Pablo made playful portraits of his friends in his signature style. Seven of them feature Lee Miller as L'Arlésienne. Other fancy portraits include Paul Eluard as a peasant woman and Nusch Eluard as a Niçoise.
L'Arlésienne (Lee Miller), oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm was painted in Mougins in a glowing palette of pink, yellow, green, turquoise and red.
This portrait is made with Picasso's signature double angled head on a brilliant sun-yellow background. Her typical features are the striking eyes and the gap toothed grin. The colorful Provençal folk attire and perched ribbon trimmed headdress along with the Arlésienne shawl are obviously a tribute to the portraits of Madame Ginoux by another newly declared degenerate artist, van Gogh.
Dated and numbered 1er Septembre 37 (I) on the stretcher, it was sold for $ 13.7M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 42C.
The painting dated and numbered 2 Septembre 37 II is another portrait of Lee Miller, also in half length, in the same size. Titled Femme à la Coiffe d'Arlésienne sur fond vert, it is introducing a highly vibrant palette for featuring the energy, vitality and smiling temperament of the seater rather than her like. This effect is further increased by the use of green ripolin on the background.
It was sold for $ 28M from a lower estimate of $ 20M by Christie's on May 12, 2025, lot 5A.
A lively portrait of Lee Miller in bust as L'Arlésienne was painted by Picasso in Mougins on September 11, 1937. In his signature style, he displays altogether the full profile and the two eyes. The vibrant colors may be a response to Matisse's portraits of the time.
This opus is also experimental in terms of texture. Picasso used striations to enhance the flat areas of headdress, armchair and shawl while the position of the breasts was marked by concentric circles.
The background is made bright yellow by incorporating some Ripolin house paint which created a chance inhomogeneity and even creasing when drying in thick layer. The effect of spontaneity is increased by a few drippings of the oil paint. That use of chance in the execution anticipated by several decades Twombly and Manzoni.
Dated and numbered 11 septembre 37 (I), this oil and Ripolin on canvas 73 x 60 cm was sold for $ 24.6M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 3A.
Back in October from these playful holidays, Picasso achieved the development of his new theme featuring his muse Dora as the haunting Femme qui pleure.
December 4, 1937 Femme au Béret et à la Robe Quadrillée
2018 SOLD for £ 50M by Sotheby's
In 1937 Picasso is deeply saddened by the Spanish war. He is no longer the matamore disguised as a Minotaur. The impromptu meeting of his two mistresses in his workshop during the preparation of Guernica also opens a major sentimental dilemma. He makes his choice : his fate attracts him to Dora but he will not break with Marie-Thérèse.
He tries by their portraits to compare the opposite temperaments of his two mistresses. Two paintings dated in the same day, December 4, 1937, displays them separately. The contours of the faces are identical, in his signature style defining altogether front side and profile. The eyes, nose, mouth and even the big heart-shaped tear that covers the entire cheek are similar.
Beyond such a similarity the differences are all the more significant, as for example between the white skin of Marie-Thérèse and the bright yellow of Dora. Maya's young mother is nicely dressed in a checkered dress and wears a beret. The new mistress has a circus hat and a fur collar.
Pablo has hidden his dual love in both individual portraits. The oval shadow that appears between Dora's face and her dark hair is Marie-Thérèse's cheek. On the dark background of Marie-Thérèse's portrait a black shadow is barely discernible. This one follows the right profile of the head in an angular line that evokes Dora.
This interpretation is not exaggerated. The symbolic use of shadow had already been practiced by Pablo as a self-portrait behind Olga in 1931 when he was still trying to hide his relationship with Marie-Thérèse but had already decided to part from his wife.
On January 12, 1938 Picasso gives a continuation to the double portrait of the previous month by amalgamating the features of Dora and Marie-Thérèse in a single figure. Buste de femme (femme à la résille) was sold for $ 67M by Christie's on May 11, 2015. These three artworks of 1937 and 1938 were highly important for Picasso seeking to control his own emotional crisis : he kept them until his death 35 years later.
On February 28, 2018, Sotheby's sold for £ 50M as lot 7 Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter), the oil on canvas 55 x 46 cm painted on December 4, 1937. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's France @SothebysFr Feb 1, 2018
Painted in 1937, ‘Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter)’ is a powerful depiction of #Picassos's muse and the star lot of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale (28 February, London). http://sothebys.com/en/news-video/videos/2018/01/masterworks-1937-a-pivotal-year-for-picasso.html…
He tries by their portraits to compare the opposite temperaments of his two mistresses. Two paintings dated in the same day, December 4, 1937, displays them separately. The contours of the faces are identical, in his signature style defining altogether front side and profile. The eyes, nose, mouth and even the big heart-shaped tear that covers the entire cheek are similar.
Beyond such a similarity the differences are all the more significant, as for example between the white skin of Marie-Thérèse and the bright yellow of Dora. Maya's young mother is nicely dressed in a checkered dress and wears a beret. The new mistress has a circus hat and a fur collar.
Pablo has hidden his dual love in both individual portraits. The oval shadow that appears between Dora's face and her dark hair is Marie-Thérèse's cheek. On the dark background of Marie-Thérèse's portrait a black shadow is barely discernible. This one follows the right profile of the head in an angular line that evokes Dora.
This interpretation is not exaggerated. The symbolic use of shadow had already been practiced by Pablo as a self-portrait behind Olga in 1931 when he was still trying to hide his relationship with Marie-Thérèse but had already decided to part from his wife.
On January 12, 1938 Picasso gives a continuation to the double portrait of the previous month by amalgamating the features of Dora and Marie-Thérèse in a single figure. Buste de femme (femme à la résille) was sold for $ 67M by Christie's on May 11, 2015. These three artworks of 1937 and 1938 were highly important for Picasso seeking to control his own emotional crisis : he kept them until his death 35 years later.
On February 28, 2018, Sotheby's sold for £ 50M as lot 7 Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter), the oil on canvas 55 x 46 cm painted on December 4, 1937. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's France @SothebysFr Feb 1, 2018
Painted in 1937, ‘Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter)’ is a powerful depiction of #Picassos's muse and the star lot of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale (28 February, London). http://sothebys.com/en/news-video/videos/2018/01/masterworks-1937-a-pivotal-year-for-picasso.html…
- This 2018 X post from Sotheby's France promotes Pablo Picasso's 1937 oil painting "Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter)," a cubist portrait of his former lover and muse, as the highlight of their upcoming Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in London.
- The work, from a private Swiss collection and appearing at auction for the first time, fetched £49.8 million ($69.4 million) on February 28, 2018, exceeding its £30-40 million estimate and becoming the most expensive Picasso portrait of Walter sold publicly.
- Painted amid Picasso's shifting affections toward Dora Maar, the piece captures Walter's serene yet fragmented form, symbolizing his psychological complexity during the lead-up to Guernica, as noted in art historical analyses of his 1930s output.
January 12, 1938 Buste de Femme (Femme à la Résille)
2015 SOLD for $ 67M by Christie's
After Guernica, Picasso accepts an evidence: he now has two mistresses. He loves them for opposite reasons and decides not to choose. The sweet Marie-Thérèse is the mother of Maya. Dora invites for a passionate relationship.
Of course, the two women can not get along. Pablo is amused. He executes parallel portraits and goes to mix their features in the same figure. Presented in the anonymity of the sitter, these portraits do not reveal their identity with certainty.
On May 11, 2015, Christie's sold for $ 67M at lot 15A Buste de femme (femme à la résille), oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm painted in Paris on January 12, 1938.
In front of a bright red background, the colors of the skin and the clothes are also strident. In her enthusiasm, Dora insinuated that when he changed his mistress Picasso changed also his style, his life, his friends and even his dog.
The exotic funny hat and the fishnet do not belong to Marie-Thérèse but Dora is not the only desire of the artist who is embarrassed by the colorist glory of his great rival Matisse. The eyes on two different levels are not only the reconstruction of perspective in the Cubist style, they also mark the duality of this figure whose face includes some lines from Marie-Thérèse.
This painting was important to Pablo who will never parted from it.
Response by Grok :
Quote
MoonStar Fine Arts @MoonStar_fa May 12, 2015
#AuctionUpdate #ChristiesInc NYC @ChristiesInc PABLO PICASSO BUSTE DE FEMME (FEMME À LA RÉSILLE) from 1938 sells …
Of course, the two women can not get along. Pablo is amused. He executes parallel portraits and goes to mix their features in the same figure. Presented in the anonymity of the sitter, these portraits do not reveal their identity with certainty.
On May 11, 2015, Christie's sold for $ 67M at lot 15A Buste de femme (femme à la résille), oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm painted in Paris on January 12, 1938.
In front of a bright red background, the colors of the skin and the clothes are also strident. In her enthusiasm, Dora insinuated that when he changed his mistress Picasso changed also his style, his life, his friends and even his dog.
The exotic funny hat and the fishnet do not belong to Marie-Thérèse but Dora is not the only desire of the artist who is embarrassed by the colorist glory of his great rival Matisse. The eyes on two different levels are not only the reconstruction of perspective in the Cubist style, they also mark the duality of this figure whose face includes some lines from Marie-Thérèse.
This painting was important to Pablo who will never parted from it.
Response by Grok :
Quote
MoonStar Fine Arts @MoonStar_fa May 12, 2015
#AuctionUpdate #ChristiesInc NYC @ChristiesInc PABLO PICASSO BUSTE DE FEMME (FEMME À LA RÉSILLE) from 1938 sells …
- The 1938 painting "Buste de femme (Femme à la résille)" by Pablo Picasso, sold for $67.36 million at Christie’s in 2015, reflects his deep personal attachment to the work, as it was one of the few he kept until his granddaughter Marina inherited it, showcasing a rare glimpse into his private collection.
- Created during Picasso’s intense relationship with Dora Maar, the painting’s bold style contrasts with his earlier lyrical works inspired by Marie-Thérèse Walter, aligning with a period of political turbulence including the 1937 Guernica bombing, suggesting Maar’s influence may have shifted his artistic and ideological focus.
- Christie’s 2015 auction data indicates a growing market for Picasso’s works, with this sale predating their record-breaking $1.5 billion Paul Allen collection auction in 2022, highlighting a steady rise in value driven by private collectors and institutional interest, though exact economic drivers remain understudied in peer-reviewed art market analyses.
January 14, 1938 Femme au Béret Rouge-Orange
2021 SOLD for $ 40.5M by Sotheby's
The duality of Picasso's mistresses in the post-Guernica period looks like a contest between the gentle Marie-Thérèse and the exuberant Dora. By mingling them in a single portrait, the artist is once again in quest of the ideal woman who would overcome both of them.
Some elements are readable by the viewer. Dora has a big hat and a dark hair and the blonde Marie-Thérèse has a beret. Picasso enjoys to blur such an identification by adding hidden symbols, in a surrealist mood, including in his choice of bold colors. This phase is highly experimental. The artist works for himself and keeps many of these pictures.
Femme au béret rouge-orange, a small size oil and ripolin on canvas 46 x 38 cm, was painted on January 14, 1938, two days after the dual Femme à la résille. On this new opus, the figure of Marie-Thérèse is obvious and no trace of Dora is appearing. Nevertheless the flamboyant color of the beret looks like a golden crown. Marie-Thérèse is the queen of that specific day. Dora will soon win the duel.
This opus went to Marina from Picasso's deceased estate. Coming now from the MGM art collection, it was sold for $ 40.5M from a lower estimate of $ 20M by Sotheby's on October 23, 2021, lot 11.
Some elements are readable by the viewer. Dora has a big hat and a dark hair and the blonde Marie-Thérèse has a beret. Picasso enjoys to blur such an identification by adding hidden symbols, in a surrealist mood, including in his choice of bold colors. This phase is highly experimental. The artist works for himself and keeps many of these pictures.
Femme au béret rouge-orange, a small size oil and ripolin on canvas 46 x 38 cm, was painted on January 14, 1938, two days after the dual Femme à la résille. On this new opus, the figure of Marie-Thérèse is obvious and no trace of Dora is appearing. Nevertheless the flamboyant color of the beret looks like a golden crown. Marie-Thérèse is the queen of that specific day. Dora will soon win the duel.
This opus went to Marina from Picasso's deceased estate. Coming now from the MGM art collection, it was sold for $ 40.5M from a lower estimate of $ 20M by Sotheby's on October 23, 2021, lot 11.
May 10, 1938 Buste de Femme
2026 SOLD for £ 24M by Sotheby's
The 1938-1939 Buste de femme series by Pablo Picasso forms part of his intense explorations of his two mistresses--Dora Maar (his intellectually sharp, volatile Surrealist photographer companion from around 1936) and Marie-Thérèse Walter (his softer, more curvaceous, golden-haired earlier lover and mother of his daughter Maya). Picasso alternated between them in bust-length portraits, often featuring flamboyant hats, creating a visual dialogue that reflected his divided affections, the emotional turbulence of the period (Spanish Civil War aftermath, looming WWII), and his evolving Cubist-Surrealist distortions.
These works, painted primarily in Paris or during summer stays (e.g., Mougins), show high productivity: rows of Dora portraits filled his studio, as documented in Dora's own photos. The series highlights Picasso's mastery of fragmentation, vibrant non-naturalistic color, and psychological intensity. Dora's depictions often convey sharper, more angular energy and inner tension, while Marie-Thérèse's tend toward softer, more sculptural or serene forms.
Diversity in Attitude, Mood, Colors, and Distortions
Focus: Sotheby's May 10, 1938 Buste de femme (Dora Maar), Lot 3, Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection (June 24, 2026)
This large work (oil on paper laid down on canvas, 78.7 x 60.5 cm) is dated 10.5.38. It has strong provenance (e.g., Vladimir Golschmann collection, exhibited in museums, long in the Lewis Collection, unseen publicly for over 50 years) and an estimate of £12–18 million. Realized price £ 24M.
It exemplifies the series' peak: Dora in an ornate red hat and richly arabesque-patterned outfit, erupting from a luminous white background. Her dark hair is tucked behind an ear; the face fragments into a radiant, multi-colored web of bold facets, with dazzling pinks, oranges, yellows, turquoises, and blues. The mood is majestic, self-assured, and celebratory—a "joyous affirmation" of love amid darkening times—yet with underlying psychological depth from the distortions. The scale and energy make it one of the finest in the hat series started in 1937.
Comparison with Christie's May 20, 1938 Buste de femme (Dora Maar)
Painted just 10 days later (oil on canvas, smaller at ~45 x 40.3 cm), this "dazzling and jewel-like" portrait shows Dora in a similar flamboyant hat and patterned attire, with dark hair tucked back, on a luminous ground. Her face is a complex network of colored facets and lines (both eyes visible), pulsing with bold intensity.
Similarities: Both capture Dora at the height of the relationship with regal poise, vibrant interlocking colors, and Cubist-Surrealist fragmentation. They belong to the same highly colored bust-length hat sub-series, embodying admiration for her enigmatic persona.
Differences:
This series remains a pinnacle of Picasso's portraiture, blending personal passion, artistic innovation, and historical tension. The Sotheby's lot offers a rare chance to acquire a major, fresh-to-market example.
These works, painted primarily in Paris or during summer stays (e.g., Mougins), show high productivity: rows of Dora portraits filled his studio, as documented in Dora's own photos. The series highlights Picasso's mastery of fragmentation, vibrant non-naturalistic color, and psychological intensity. Dora's depictions often convey sharper, more angular energy and inner tension, while Marie-Thérèse's tend toward softer, more sculptural or serene forms.
Diversity in Attitude, Mood, Colors, and Distortions
- Attitude and Mood: Dora appears regal, enigmatic, intense, or tormented—staring directly with a powerful gaze, reflecting her independent, fiery personality and the era's anxieties. Marie-Thérèse often seems more passive, sensual, or dreamlike, embodying tranquility or fertility. Moods shift from joyous celebration to anguish, mirroring Picasso's personal life and broader historical context.
- Colors: Explosive and symbolic. Dora portraits frequently burst with interlocking streaks of pink, orange, yellow, turquoise, blue, and white against luminous grounds, creating jewel-like or electrified effects. Marie-Thérèse versions use softer pastels (e.g., green skin tones against pink florals) for a gentler, more harmonious palette.
- Distortions: Picasso deconstructs faces into angular facets, multiple viewpoints (e.g., both eyes visible in profile), exaggerated features, and labyrinthine patterns. Dora's features fragment more aggressively into "tangled threads" of color and line, conveying complexity or suffering. Marie-Thérèse's forms remain more volumetric or biomorphic, with fluid curves. Hats and clothing become ornate, patterned elements that amplify abstraction.
Focus: Sotheby's May 10, 1938 Buste de femme (Dora Maar), Lot 3, Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection (June 24, 2026)
This large work (oil on paper laid down on canvas, 78.7 x 60.5 cm) is dated 10.5.38. It has strong provenance (e.g., Vladimir Golschmann collection, exhibited in museums, long in the Lewis Collection, unseen publicly for over 50 years) and an estimate of £12–18 million. Realized price £ 24M.
It exemplifies the series' peak: Dora in an ornate red hat and richly arabesque-patterned outfit, erupting from a luminous white background. Her dark hair is tucked behind an ear; the face fragments into a radiant, multi-colored web of bold facets, with dazzling pinks, oranges, yellows, turquoises, and blues. The mood is majestic, self-assured, and celebratory—a "joyous affirmation" of love amid darkening times—yet with underlying psychological depth from the distortions. The scale and energy make it one of the finest in the hat series started in 1937.
Comparison with Christie's May 20, 1938 Buste de femme (Dora Maar)
Painted just 10 days later (oil on canvas, smaller at ~45 x 40.3 cm), this "dazzling and jewel-like" portrait shows Dora in a similar flamboyant hat and patterned attire, with dark hair tucked back, on a luminous ground. Her face is a complex network of colored facets and lines (both eyes visible), pulsing with bold intensity.
Similarities: Both capture Dora at the height of the relationship with regal poise, vibrant interlocking colors, and Cubist-Surrealist fragmentation. They belong to the same highly colored bust-length hat sub-series, embodying admiration for her enigmatic persona.
Differences:
- Scale and Impact: The Sotheby's version is significantly larger and more monumental, amplifying the explosive energy and presence. The Christie's feels more intimate and jewel-like.
- Color and Fragmentation: Both use radiant, multi-hued palettes, but specifics vary in patterning and emphasis (e.g., the Sotheby's may emphasize broader arabesques and luminosity). Distortions in both deconstruct the face angularly, but the larger format allows more elaborate labyrinthine complexity.
- Mood: Both are affirmative, but the Christie's essay highlights a direct, intent gaze and youthful radiance; the Sotheby's shares this while its scale and history underscore its status as a standout.
This series remains a pinnacle of Picasso's portraiture, blending personal passion, artistic innovation, and historical tension. The Sotheby's lot offers a rare chance to acquire a major, fresh-to-market example.
December 1938 Femme assise dans un Jardin
1999 SOLD for $ 49.5M by Sotheby's
In 1935 Picasso was obsessed with his illusion of incarnation in the Minotaur. The sweet Marie-Thérèse, who gives birth to Maya, cannot help him in this satisfaction. He meets Dora Maar at that time.
Everything opposes the blonde and the brunette. Dora is a photographer and an artist. She is exuberant in the colors of her hats, brooches and nails, and her lipstick is too intense. As early as 1936 Picasso paints her in the nude, handed over to the Minotaur.
In 1937 Dora participates in the preparation of Guernica by Pablo and becomes his mistress. La Femme qui pleure is Dora's incorporation into the drama of Spain. From 1938 Pablo develops a new iconography of his goddess by placing her on a large armchair that looks like a throne.
On November 10, 1999, Sotheby's sold for $ 49.5M Femme assise dans un jardin, which is a portrait of Dora.
This 130 x 97 cm oil on canvas is an explosion of bright colors. Pablo painted it in a single day, December 10, 1938. The garden is a naive drawing of stylized branches. The war is temporarily forgotten.
Femme assise dans un jardin is illustrated in 2006 in an article shared by Artnet, alongside Dora Maar au chat which had just been sold by Sotheby's for $ 95M.
The resemblance is striking between these two works of same dimensions. The composition is similar. Dora Maar au chat, painted in 1941, is a war painting. The joyous freedom of the garden is replaced by a mere wall. This lockdown is compensated by a forced smile and the black cat, the only additional symbol that supersedes the garden, is an evil intrusion.
Grok thought :
Quote
El Club del Arte @Arteymas_ Feb 24, 2021
Mujer sentada en el jardín, 1938, Pablo Picasso
Everything opposes the blonde and the brunette. Dora is a photographer and an artist. She is exuberant in the colors of her hats, brooches and nails, and her lipstick is too intense. As early as 1936 Picasso paints her in the nude, handed over to the Minotaur.
In 1937 Dora participates in the preparation of Guernica by Pablo and becomes his mistress. La Femme qui pleure is Dora's incorporation into the drama of Spain. From 1938 Pablo develops a new iconography of his goddess by placing her on a large armchair that looks like a throne.
On November 10, 1999, Sotheby's sold for $ 49.5M Femme assise dans un jardin, which is a portrait of Dora.
This 130 x 97 cm oil on canvas is an explosion of bright colors. Pablo painted it in a single day, December 10, 1938. The garden is a naive drawing of stylized branches. The war is temporarily forgotten.
Femme assise dans un jardin is illustrated in 2006 in an article shared by Artnet, alongside Dora Maar au chat which had just been sold by Sotheby's for $ 95M.
The resemblance is striking between these two works of same dimensions. The composition is similar. Dora Maar au chat, painted in 1941, is a war painting. The joyous freedom of the garden is replaced by a mere wall. This lockdown is compensated by a forced smile and the black cat, the only additional symbol that supersedes the garden, is an evil intrusion.
Grok thought :
Quote
El Club del Arte @Arteymas_ Feb 24, 2021
Mujer sentada en el jardín, 1938, Pablo Picasso
- This 1938 oil painting by Pablo Picasso, titled "Femme assise dans un jardin," portrays his muse and lover Dora Maar seated amid lush foliage, using Cubist fragmentation to blend her angular form with the garden's organic curves for a sense of distorted tranquility.
- Created in a single day on December 10 after Picasso's year-long painting hiatus focused on poetry, it marks his return to canvas during a period of personal turmoil following the Spanish Civil War's Guernica.
- The work sold for $49.5 million at Sotheby's in 1999, underscoring its significance as a vibrant example of Picasso's late 1930s style, now held in private collections and admired for its bold color contrasts evoking emotional depth.
October 1939 Femme Assise, Robe Bleue
2017 SOLD for $ 45M by Christie's
While Dora Maar was doing the photographic survey of his creation of Guernica, Picasso observed her feminine hypersensitivity and conceptualized his new muse as a prophetess of the political catastrophes.
This artist's vision was incomplete and even unfair for this activist woman who loved surrealism and eccentric attires. It certainly did not help to preserve her fragile mental balance. They will terminate their affair in 1943.
Another catastrophe occured. In September 1939 Picasso in fear of the aerial attacks left Paris and established his small circle at Royan in two different places so that his two rival mistresses shall not meet.
In the cyclothymia of this anxious artist the date of 25 October 1939 was a short period of lull. Pablo was celebrating his birthday in Royan with Dora. He painted Femme assise, robe bleue.
This oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm was sold for £ 18M by Christie's on June 21, 2011 over a lower estimate of £ 4M. The appeal to the international market from Dora's portraits is growing. It was sold for $ 45M by Christie's on May 15, 2017, lot 12 A. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
On that day Pablo's mistress is no longer an allegory but a young woman loved by him. The colors are bright and cheerful and the hat is exuberant. The face in multiple perspectives according to the taste of the artist at that time reinforces the expression of a wide and friendly smile close to laughter.
This artist's vision was incomplete and even unfair for this activist woman who loved surrealism and eccentric attires. It certainly did not help to preserve her fragile mental balance. They will terminate their affair in 1943.
Another catastrophe occured. In September 1939 Picasso in fear of the aerial attacks left Paris and established his small circle at Royan in two different places so that his two rival mistresses shall not meet.
In the cyclothymia of this anxious artist the date of 25 October 1939 was a short period of lull. Pablo was celebrating his birthday in Royan with Dora. He painted Femme assise, robe bleue.
This oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm was sold for £ 18M by Christie's on June 21, 2011 over a lower estimate of £ 4M. The appeal to the international market from Dora's portraits is growing. It was sold for $ 45M by Christie's on May 15, 2017, lot 12 A. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
On that day Pablo's mistress is no longer an allegory but a young woman loved by him. The colors are bright and cheerful and the hat is exuberant. The face in multiple perspectives according to the taste of the artist at that time reinforces the expression of a wide and friendly smile close to laughter.
