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Pablo Picasso

Femmes d’Alger

1955

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Pablo Picasso, a cofounder of Cubism, was one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. In addition to working in painting, sculpture, collage, and ceramics, he was also a prolific printmaker. This lithograph is related to Picasso’s series of fifteen paintings known as "Les femmes d’Alger" produced between 1954 and 1955, in which Picasso responds to the work of the nineteenth-century French painter Eugène Delacroix. Delacroix’s two paintings titled "Les femmes d’Alger dans leur appartement" "(Women of Algiers in Their Apartment," 1834 and 1848) inspired Picasso’s extensive exploration of the theme, including "Les femmes d’Alger," Variation N (WU 3898), also in the collection of the Kemper Art Museum. This lithographic variation, produced in an edition of five,was created halfway through the series of paintings and is a marked departure from the artist’s previous works on canvas. Using an engraving needle Picasso distilled the scene through the reduction of line and modeling. The lithograph is less decorative and dimensional than the paintings, which increases the legibility of the typically crowded scenes. The starkness of the black-and-white composition further enhances the sharp contrast to his vibrantly painted works. Following this lithograph, Picasso’s painted variations on the theme shifted toward increasingly simplified interiors, suggesting that his formal experimentation in lithography directly influenced his painted work. [Permanent collection text, 2018]

  • Artist Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973)
  • Title Femmes d’Alger
  • Date 1955
  • Medium Lithograph
  • Dimensions image | 11 x 13 3/4 in.
    sheet | 13 3/16 x 18 in.
  • Credit line University purchase, Nathan Cummings Fund, 1994
  • Copyright © Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Object number WU 1994.20

Postwar Prints and Multiples: Investigating the Collection
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 02/02/2018 - 04/16/2018

Made in France: Art from 1945 to the Present
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 01/17/2003 - 04/20/2003

Exoticism and Orientalism in Modern Art
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 08/30/2002 - 12/08/2002

Cubism and Abstraction
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 01/12/1998 - 04/05/1998

11/14/1994
Sotheby's

Inscription Verso in pencil: “265/1er variation”

This artwork record may be incomplete or need refinement. Our staff actively researches the collection and revises records when new information is available. If you have questions or comments about this record, please contact us.

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Installation view, Postwar Prints and Multiples: Investigating the Collection
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February 02, 2018 - April 16, 2018

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