The Flea (La Puce)
Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish (active France), 1881-1973)
Date: 1942
Dimensions:
Overall: 14 5/8 x 11 1/8 in. (37.2 x 28.2 cm);
Image: 12 7/8 x 8 3/4 in. (32.8 x 22.3 cm)
Medium: Lift ground aquatint, etching and drypoint on china paper
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1985.127
Label Text:As the flea was not described by Buffon, it was not used to illustrate the book, but was added to the deluxe edition suites. Obviously, Picasso found it hard to resist an opportunity to render, yet again, the lovely female form to humorously suggest the presence of an annoying insect. The facial features were inspired by Marie-Threse Walter, his companion in the early 1930s. The French would probably catch on to Picasso's visual pun of a "pucelle" (a young girl or maiden) snatching a flea ("puce").
Not on view
In Collection(s)