
Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio open-access image route
View source →Pablo Picasso, September 1904, printed 1913
Medium
etching
Dimensions
Image: 45.5 x 37 cm (17 15/16 x 14 9/16 in.); Plate: 46.3 x 37.6 cm (18 1/4 x 14 13/16 in.); Sheet: 63 x 49.8 cm (24 13/16 x 19 5/8 in.)
Style
Blue Period figuration
Decade
1900s
The official Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio record identifies The Frugal Meal as a Pablo Picasso artwork, dated September 1904, printed 1913, in etching. In this early print, Pablo Picasso depicted a couple—possibly two performers—sitting before a meager meal. Although the woman gazes forward directly, her male companion's unfocused stare suggests his blindness. This subject was one that Picasso explored during his Blue Period (1901–4), a stage of his career when he used a predominantly cool palette to depict figures marginalized by society.
The Frugal Meal is grouped here under Blue Period for gallery navigation based on the date published by Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio. This period label is interpretive context, not a replacement for the cited primary object record. The holding collection is documented by the cited institutional source.
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
Continue Exploring
Chosen for shared style, era, medium, subject, or date.
The Donkey Driver
1902 · same style · same era
Woman with a Cape
early 1901 · same style · same era
The Frugal Meal, from The Saltimbanques
September 1904, printed and published 1913 · same style · same era
Woman in Profile
1901 · same style · same era
Mother and Child on a Bench
1901 · same style · same era
Study of a Harlequin
1904–5 · same style · same era
If you love this blue period masterpiece, explore these curated books and resources on Amazon.
Picasso: A Biography by John Richardson
Comprehensive biography exploring Picasso's life and artistic evolution
The Cubist Epoch by Douglas Cooper
In-depth analysis of Picasso's Cubist period and innovations
Blue Period Collection Prints
Set of prints featuring Picasso's melancholic Blue Period works
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.