Head of a Faun
Pablo Picasso
Spanish, 1881–1973
January 24 - February 6, 1956
A small enamel-on-tile picture in which Picasso turns a mythic faun’s head into playful, gestural marks and patterned glazes that read like both drawing and ceramic decoration.
What hits you first is the lemon-yellow field and dotted border like a sunburst, inside which a grinning, textured face of pale, mottled blobs and white crescent shapes feels at once childlike, decorative, and slightly uncanny.
Made during Picasso’s late ceramic experiments, the work shows how he fused classical themes and primitivist motifs with everyday craft techniques, collapsing the divide between painting, sculpture, and decorative art.
Medium
Enamel on tile
Dimensions
8 x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Philip Johnson Fund
Accession
275.1956
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
