Woman in beret and checked dress (Marie-Therese Walter)

Pablo Picasso • Painting, 1937
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About the artwork
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Art form: Painting
Subject and objects: Portrait
Style of art: Cubism
Technique: Oil
Materials: Canvas
Date of creation: 1937
Artwork in collection: Picasso Irina Olikh
Artwork in selections: 35 selections

Description of the artwork «Woman in beret and checked dress (Marie-Therese Walter)»

"A woman in a beret and plaid dress»is bright, sharp and intense image of Marie-Therese Walter, "the Golden Muse" of Picasso. The portrait was created in December 1937, becoming the culmination of perhaps the most intense year in the life of the artist. Five months earlier, he created his greatest masterpiece — "Guernica"dedicated to the bombing of the eponymous town during the civil war in Spain. Although Picasso still continued relationship with Walter, an increasingly significant position in his life conquered another woman — Dora Maar, with whom Rodin met in 1935.

It seems that through this portrait, Picasso was trying to Express their feelings towards both women. This duality is visible in the transition of the two styles — more soft, festive feel "of the period, Marie-thérèse" gives way to more painful cubist forms associated with politically minded Dora Maar (1937 in the same year she posed for «Weeping woman»that is now part of the collection of the Tate Modern in London).

For the face of Marie-thérèse on "Women take" silhouette emerges, in which the artist could mean your next lover. Picasso himself said: "The girl must be painful to see the picture that her time is running out».

It is interesting to compare the evolution of portraits of Walter over the past few years. In 1932, Picasso created an extraordinarilysensual and lyrical images his lover, indicating the peak of happiness. But a dynamic "Woman in a beret and plaid dress" shows how much has changed in five years. Sharp cubist borders, paint, imposed rough brush strokes and black outlines give the work a strong emotional charge. This is not the voluptuous curves and smooth curves, which Picasso painted the woman who gave birth to his child. However, the portrait suggests that she still occupies a Central place in the life of the artist.

More than 80 years since the creation of "Woman in a beret and plaid dress" did not appear on the market. After the artist's death in 1973, she moved to a private collection and only in February of 2018 was put up for sale the works of the Impressionists and modernists Sotheby's in London. Painting for 49.8 million pounds (69.2 million U.S. dollars) acquired Harry Smith, head of the Advisory and consulting firm Gurr Johns.

Author: Vlad Maslov
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