Woman with a Guitar
Pablo Picasso
Spanish, 1881–1973
Paris, March 1914
A tall oil painting with sand and charcoal on canvas in which Picasso compresses a woman's form and a guitar into layered, collage-like planes to suggest a seated figure without literal detail.
At first glance you register stacked, interlocking shapes—a dark blue guitar silhouette, curved striped arcs like arms or clothing, and a torn poster fragment with Cyrillic lettering—set against a pale, gritty ground that emphasizes texture and surface.
Made in Paris in 1914, the work exemplifies Synthetic Cubism's move to incorporate everyday materials and printed text, helping to redefine pictorial space and tie modern painting to the visual language of urban life.
Medium
Oil, sand, and charcoal on canvas
Dimensions
45 1/2 x 18 5/8" (115.5 x 47.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David Rockefeller
Accession
415.1975
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
