Of the seven oil paintings by Pablo Picasso in the Norton Simon’s collections, ranging in date from 1913 to 1955, three were included in the artist’s first retrospective, held at the Galeries Georges Petit in Paris between June 16 and July 30, 1932: The Ram’s Head (1925), Woman with Mandolin (1925) and Head of a Woman (c. 1927). This exhibition has attracted considerable attention from art historians, both because it was the first comprehensive assembly of the artist’s work to date, and because Picasso curated the show himself. READ
The Ram's Head
1925
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
On View
Pablo Picasso, one of the most influential and celebrated artists of the 20th century, is perhaps best known for his championing of Cubism. During the 1920s, he combined elements from the Classical, Cubist, and Surrealist movements creating a series of still life paintings. Compactly arranged, Picasso's "Ram's Head" imposes the cubist idiom over cups, tablecloths, and other motifs re-presenting them as geometric circles and flat planes of color, which then border and taunt the imposing head of a ram. The classically derived subject matter of the still life, a table laden with sea life and an animal head -- all the elements necessary for a meal -- slips into a disorienting, Surrealist dreamscape in which still life appears to float in water, suggested by the blue waves, as much as it exists on a flat table.
Details
- Artist Name: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
- Title: The Ram's Head
- Date: 1925
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 31-1/2 x 39 in. (80.0 x 99.1 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Gift of Mr. Alexandre P. Rosenberg
- Accession Number: P.1978.6
- Copyright: © Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Object Information
Pablo Picasso, gift 1925? to;
Paul Rosenberg, Paris (until 1940) and New York, by inheritance to;
Alexandre P. Rosenberg, New York, offered 30 January 1975 and subsequently given as a gift 29 December 1978/13 November 1979 to;
Norton Simon Museum.
Paul Rosenberg, Paris (until 1940) and New York, by inheritance to;
Alexandre P. Rosenberg, New York, offered 30 January 1975 and subsequently given as a gift 29 December 1978/13 November 1979 to;
Norton Simon Museum.
Exposition d'oeuvres choisies de Pablo Picasso
- Paris, Paul Rosenberg, 1936-03-03 to 1936-03-31
Boggs, Jean S., Picasso & Things, p. 201
Cahiers d'Art, p. 93
Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, p. 196
Cahiers d'Art, p. 165
Picasso, An American Tribute, no. 44
Barr, Alfred H., Picasso: Fifty Years of his Art, p. 138
Picasso: Forty Years of His Art, no. 191 p. 125
Giuere, M., Initiation à l'oeuvre de Picasso, no. 64
Susan Landauer, Elmer Bischoff, the Ethics of Paint, fig. 21 p. 23
Elsen, A., Purposes of Art, p. 49
Henning, E., Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, fig. 18 p. 201
Cahiers d'Art, p. 93
Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, p. 196
Cahiers d'Art, p. 165
Picasso, An American Tribute, no. 44
Barr, Alfred H., Picasso: Fifty Years of his Art, p. 138
Picasso: Forty Years of His Art, no. 191 p. 125
Giuere, M., Initiation à l'oeuvre de Picasso, no. 64
Susan Landauer, Elmer Bischoff, the Ethics of Paint, fig. 21 p. 23
Elsen, A., Purposes of Art, p. 49
Henning, E., Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, fig. 18 p. 201
Additional Artwork by Artist
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