Collections | Drawings & Prints

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
Portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter
Inscribed at upper left, in black ink, 28 juillet / XXXVI
20 3/16 x 13 3/8 inches (510 x 339 mm)
Thaw Collection, The Morgan Library & Museum; 2006,58
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Nearly thirty years younger than Picasso, Marie-Thérèse Walter was his mistress from the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s, and the mother of his daughter Maya. She inspired countless works, including some of Picasso's most erotically charged paintings. In this portrait, however, he emphasized her classical features. By placing her face in shadow he suggested the young woman's subdued personality, a trait that comes across as well in her tightly closed lips and in the remote expression of her eyes.

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