Guitar
Pablo Picasso
Spanish, 1881–1973
Paris, January–February 1914
A pared-down representation of a guitar in ferrous sheet metal and wire, in which Picasso translates the instrument into flattened, intersecting planes and assembled parts to realize Cubist space in three dimensions.
At a glance it reads as a guitar—neck, round soundhole, curving body—but the brown metal sheets, cut edges and taut wires fragment the form and cast crisp shadows that alternately suggest volume and flatness.
Made in Paris in 1914, this work moves Cubist collage into sculpture by using industrial materials and assemblage to rethink how everyday objects can be abstracted, influencing later modern sculpture and found-object art.
Medium
Ferrous sheet metal and wire
Dimensions
30 1/2 x 13 3/4 x 7 5/8" (77.5 x 35 x 19.3 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the artist
Accession
94.1971
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
