Nude in a Black Armchair
Nude in a Black Armchair (Nu au Fauteuil Noir) is a painting by Pablo Picasso. Painted on March 9, 1932, a time at which Picasso lived in Boisgeloup outside Paris,[1] it is the first and largest of a series of paintings Picasso completed that year of his mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter.[1]
| Nude in a Black Armchair | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Pablo Picasso |
| Year | 1932 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 162 cm × 130 cm (63.74 in × 51 in) |
| Location | Wexner Center for the Arts |
The art critic Richard Lacayo cites the painting as an example of the creative give-and-take between Picasso and Henri Matisse, in which Picasso "borrowed Matisse's voluptuous curves as a sign for pleasure and his use of black to intensify pink".[2] Former Museum of Modern Art curator William Rubin deemed it a "squishy sexual toy,"[3] and other critics have described a theme of fecundity being mutually displayed by both the female figure and the plant.[3]
In 1999 it was bought by Les Wexner, founder of Limited Brands, for $45.1 million.
References
- INSIDE ART; Now Starring: A Picasso Nude, New York Times, September 24, 1999
- When Henri Met Pablo, Time Magazine, Monday, February 24, 2003 By Richard Lacayo
- ART REVIEW; Old Rivals, Immortal but Still Competing, New York Times, February 14, 2003
External links
- 'Matisse Picasso' Exhibit Pairs Masters of Art, npr.org
- Frick Art Reference Library record of provenance and exhibition
