Fernande Olivier
Pablo Picasso
(Spanish (worked in France), 1881–1973)
1905–06
Object PlaceFrance
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions100 x 81 cm (39 3/8 x 31 7/8 in.)
Credit LineArthur K. Solomon Collection
Accession number2004.446
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
In 1904 Picasso moved from Spain to Paris where he eventually settled in a studio in Montmartre. Shortly thereafter he met Fernande Olivier, an artist’s model. For the next six years Fernande was Picasso’s lover and muse, as well as model for paintings, drawings, and sculpture. (One of Picasso’s sculptures of her is in the MFA’s collection.) Painted with subtle assurance in thin, red-brown oils on a white ground, this work is an elegant hybrid of painting and drawing.
ProvenanceA. Saint, Paris [see note 1]. By 1928, Galerie Percier, Paris [see note 2]; January 5, 1939, sold by Galerie Percier, through Justin K. Thannhauser (dealer; b. 1892 - d. 1976), Paris, to Arthur K. Solomon (b. 1912 - d. 2002), Cambridge, England and Cambridge, MA [see note 3]; 2004, gift of the Arthur K. Solomon collection to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 23, 2004)
NOTES:
[1] According to Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, vol. 1, Oeuvres de 1895 à 1906 (Paris, 1932), xlvi, no. 254. [2] André Level, Picasso (Paris, 1928), p. 54, no. 13. [3] Many thanks to Megan Fontanella for her assistance confirming the details of the sale.
Copyright© 2011 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.NOTES:
[1] According to Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, vol. 1, Oeuvres de 1895 à 1906 (Paris, 1932), xlvi, no. 254. [2] André Level, Picasso (Paris, 1928), p. 54, no. 13. [3] Many thanks to Megan Fontanella for her assistance confirming the details of the sale.
Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof
Barbara Longhi
