Bust of a Woman

Pablo Picasso, 1931

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About This Work

Created in 1931 at Pablo Picasso’s Normandy studio in Boisgeloup, 'Bust of a Woman' (Buste de femme) is a commanding and psychologically charged original plaster sculpture measuring 62.5 by 28 by 41.5 centimeters. The sculpture depicts a stylized female bust characterized by swelling, biomorphic contours, bulbous facial volumes, and an expressive, open-mouthed protrusion that evokes both primal aggression and ecstatic vulnerability. Picasso masterfully utilizes the tactile qualities of raw plaster to model sweeping, volumetric forms that merge organic anatomical features with architectural monumentality. The smooth, rounded cranial dome contrasts sharply with the jagged, cavernous facial features and columnar neck, creating a powerful sculptural tension. Rather than relying on realistic mimesis, Picasso distorts and exaggerates facial proportions to reflect profound psychological interiority and surrealist metamorphosis. The monochromatic white surface of the plaster captures shifting light and shadow across its undulating planes, emphasizing mass, void, and tactile presence in space.

Executed in 1931 during a watershed period of sculptural revival in Picasso’s career, 'Bust of a Woman' was conceived at the Château de Boisgeloup near Gisors, a property he acquired in 1930 to escape Parisian distractions and pursue large-scale sculpture. This rural refuge catalyzed an extraordinary surge in three-dimensional production, deeply intertwined with the intense artistic and romantic inspiration provided by his secret muse, Marie-Thérèse Walter. The biomorphic distortions and eroticized, monumental forms of this plaster sculpture reflect the broader intellectual currents of Surrealism championed by André Breton and Georges Bataille, exploring the subconscious, metamorphic anatomy, and primal urges. Many of the plasters created at Boisgeloup served as master models intended for subsequent casting in bronze or iron, capturing a fragile, direct stage of Picasso's tactile creation. Entering the state collection via the historic Dation Pablo Picasso in 1979, the work is now permanently housed at the Musée National Picasso-Paris under inventory number MP293, standing as a pivotal monument of interwar modernist sculpture.

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