Woman with a Crow
Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish (active France), 1881-1973)
Date: 1904
Dimensions:
painting: 25 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (64.8 x 49.5 cm)
framed: 34 1/2 × 28 × 2 3/4 in. (87.6 × 71.1 × 7 cm)
Medium: charcoal, watercolor, and gouache on paper, mounted on pressboard
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1936.4
Label Text:Painted the year Pablo Picasso moved from his native Spain to Paris, Woman with a Crow is a portrait of “Margot” Luc, the stepdaughter of the owner of a Montmartre café Picasso frequented. During these early years in Paris, Picasso was merely an undiscovered artist in his 20s, and he and his fellow Montmartre compatriots lived in poverty.
Like other paintings of Picasso’s Blue Period—so called for their morose tone and the prevalence of the color blue in the works—Woman with a Crow portrays a downtrodden figure with an unhealthy pallor. The blue pastel background applied after the drawing further emphasizes the stony whiteness of the skin.
Even though the crow was Margot’s domesticated pet, its symbolic associations with death overshadow the affectionate relationship. With unnaturally elongated fingers, Margot gently strokes her pet as she leans forward to kiss the bird’s head. Her closed eyes and gaunt face strengthen the implied affinity with death.
Like other paintings of Picasso’s Blue Period—so called for their morose tone and the prevalence of the color blue in the works—Woman with a Crow portrays a downtrodden figure with an unhealthy pallor. The blue pastel background applied after the drawing further emphasizes the stony whiteness of the skin.
Even though the crow was Margot’s domesticated pet, its symbolic associations with death overshadow the affectionate relationship. With unnaturally elongated fingers, Margot gently strokes her pet as she leans forward to kiss the bird’s head. Her closed eyes and gaunt face strengthen the implied affinity with death.
Not on view
In Collection(s)