Image: Image reproduction rights managed by Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; institutional source link provided
View source →Pablo Picasso, 1904
Medium
Gouache on tan wood pulp board
Dimensions
42.7 × 31.3 cm (16 13/16 × 12 3/8 in.)
Style
Blue Period figuration
Decade
1900s
The official Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois record identifies Woman with a Helmet of Hair as a Pablo Picasso gouache, dated 1904, in Gouache on tan wood pulp board. We know very little about the woman depicted in this blue-hued drawing beyond her first name: Madeleine. She was likely Picasso’s model and lover during the summer of 1904; this depiction of her shows him experimenting with color and form to explore somber emotional states.
Woman with a Helmet of Hair is grouped under Blue Period for gallery navigation using the date published by Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. This period label provides high-level art-historical orientation and does not supersede the primary collection record. The institutional credit line is: Bequest of Kate L. Brewster.
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Public Collection — Open to visitors
Visit museum website →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
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Chosen for shared style, era, medium, subject, or date.
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