Portrait d'Olga dans un fauteuil (Portrait of Olga in an Armchair)

An homage to Picasso's Spanish roots is evident in this astounding figurative portrait of the Ballets Russes ballerina, Olga Koklova: the woman that would become the artist’s first wife. With previous lovers, Fernande and Eva, Picasso reinstated a traditional, realistic, aesthetic method to convey their beauty and their relationship to art. Here, Olga sits calmly with a doll-like face looking down wistfully at the viewer. The elaborately painted backdrop of the chair and the colorful, half-opened fan contrasts and softens the severity of the black clothing and Olga’s tight black hair. Picasso's involvement with Olga and the Ballet Russes revolutionized his lifestyle as he started to mix with high society: something the artist had not yet explicitly experienced within his artistic career.  
SKU: 6970
Creator: Pablo Picasso
Date: 1917-18
Original Medium: oil on Canvas
Original Size: 51 3/16 x 34 15/16 in
Location: Musée National Picasso
© Succession Picasso 2010 – Gestion droits d'auteur