Image: Artwork image rights managed by holding institution; source link provided
View source →Guitar
Pablo Picasso, October–December 1912
Technical Details
Medium
Paperboard, paper, thread, string, twine, and coated wire
Dimensions
65.4 × 33 × 19 cm
Style
Cubist Construction
Decade
1910s
About This Work
Picasso cut, bent, and fastened humble materials into the outline of a guitar, making an instrument that is both image and object. Its open planes, strings, and shallow body refuse the solid mass associated with traditional carving or casting. The construction asks viewers to understand volume through gaps, shadows, and assembled parts. By using paperboard, thread, twine, and wire, Picasso makes the guitar a radical statement about how sculpture can be built from ordinary materials rather than modeled as a permanent monument.
MoMA dates Guitar to Paris, October–December 1912, and records it as a gift of the artist. The museum explains that Picasso displayed the construction in changing studio arrangements between 1912 and 1916. This flexible installation history is central to the work’s meaning: the object was not simply a sculpture but an experiment in recombination, a way of expanding Cubism beyond the painted canvas. It became a crucial precedent for later assemblage and mixed-media sculpture.
Current Location
Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Public Collection — Open to visitors
Visit museum website →Collection record status
manual_institutional_review.
Holding collection documented; a full ownership chain is not asserted unless the cited institutional record provides one.
Image access: Permission required.
Valuation & Provenance
2026 Estimated Value
Public collection / market value not asserted
* Estimates are based on comparable auction results and market analysis. Not a formal appraisal.
Last Known Sale
No public auction record — held in permanent museum collection
Keywords
Continue Exploring
Related Artworks
Chosen for shared style, era, medium, subject, or date.
Still Life
1914 · same style · same era
Guitar (Sheet Metal Sculpture)
1914 · same era · shared subjects
Guitar (Sheet Metal and Wire)
1914 · same era · shared subjects
Harlequin (1915)
1915 · same era · similar medium
Guitar, Sheet Music and Glass
1912 · same era · similar medium
Head of a Man with a Hat
1912 · same era · shared subjects
Shop Related Products
If you love this synthetic cubism masterpiece, explore these curated books and resources on Amazon.
The Cubist Epoch by Douglas Cooper
In-depth analysis of Picasso's Cubist period and innovations
Cubism Series Posters
Collection of Cubist compositions showcasing geometric innovation
The Mystery of Picasso (Henri-Georges Clouzot)
Classic documentary showing Picasso painting in real-time
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Each product link is unique to help us track which recommendations resonate most with our visitors.