Picasso, Pablo (1881-1973)
Jeune femme tenant une cigarette (Young Woman Holding a Cigarette)
1901
Oil on canvas, 73.7 x 51.1 cm
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
Picasso painted this picture of a sickly-looking prostitute during a trip to Paris in the fall of 1901. It is typical of his Blue Period, when he often depicted subjects from the margins of society. One clue to this woman’s social status is the cigarette; in Paris of 1901, proper French women were not seen smoking in public. Picasso emphasizes his subject’s weariness with subtle dabs of red beneath her eyes. This was one of the first paintings in Dr. Barnes‘s collection. (BF)