La Paix

Pablo Picasso, 1952

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About This Work

Painted in 1952 by Pablo Picasso, La Paix (Peace) is a monumental mural installation executed in oil on isorel (hardboard) measuring 470 × 1020 centimeters, housed within the Musée national Picasso de La Guerre et la Paix in Vallauris, France. The composition unfolds across a vast expanse characterized by tender, restful colors and abundant natural symbolism. On the right, a nurturing mother reads while nursing her child beneath a sun urchin with vibrant rays and a fruitful tree. In the expansive central blue field, a winged horse pulls a harrow guided by a child, embodying agricultural fertility and mythic resonance. Two nude women dance gracefully to the music of a diaule-playing faun, accompanied by playful children. Playful elements such as caged birds, fish, and an owl perched on a child head are inverted into benign, joyous symbols rather than omens of darkness. A delicate hourglass atop a white stand and a spiral shell echo human time inscribed within eternity.

Created in 1952, La Paix forms the counterpart to La Guerre as part of Pablo Picasso major monumental decorative project for the 14th-century Romanesque chapel in Vallauris, which was converted into the Musée national Picasso de La Guerre et la Paix. During this post-war period, Picasso engaged deeply with political activism and international peace movements, contributing significantly to the World Peace Council. The murals reflect his passionate commitment to humanity and reconciliation following the devastation of World War II, utilizing allegorical motifs rooted in classical mythology, such as the winged centaur and the pastoral faun, alongside universal symbols of fertility, motherhood, and communal harmony. Documented extensively in official institutional records and scholarly studies, this monumental cycle represents Picasso synthesis of civic engagement and grand-scale decorative muralism, establishing an enduring artistic monument to peace and creative freedom. The documented holding collection is Musée national Picasso de La Guerre et la Paix, Vallauris, France; its direct institutional object record (https://musees-nationaux-alpesmaritimes.fr/picasso/en/collection/objet/la-paix) is retained as the factual source for the catalog entry and its provenance trail.

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