Man with a Lamb

Pablo Picasso, 1943–1944

Technical Details

About This Work

This monumental bronze figure of a man carrying a lamb was modeled in a single afternoon of intense creative work, with Picasso reportedly completing the entire sculpture in one session. The figure stands with quiet dignity, the lamb held firmly but gently against the man's body. The work deliberately evokes ancient archetypes — the Good Shepherd, the sacrificial offering — while remaining entirely modern in its rough, expressive surface.

Created during the darkest years of the Nazi occupation, the Man with a Lamb was Picasso's statement of enduring humanism in the face of barbarism. He donated the bronze cast to the town of Vallauris in 1950, where it stands in the public square to this day. A second cast is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Current Location

Valuation & Provenance

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