Image: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
View source →Head of a Woman (Tête de femme)
Pablo Picasso, 1907
Technical Details
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
35.5 × 25.5 cm (14 × 10 in)
Style
Primitivism / Proto-Cubism
Decade
1900s
About This Work
Painted in the same year as Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, this small but powerful head study shows the direct influence of African and Iberian masks on Picasso's developing proto-Cubist style. The face is flattened and geometricized, with angular planes replacing naturalistic modeling. It is one of the earliest examples of the radical formal language that would transform 20th-century art.
In 1907, Picasso visited the ethnographic collections at the Trocadéro museum in Paris and was profoundly affected by the African and Oceanic masks and sculptures he saw. This encounter catalyzed the formal revolution visible in this work and in Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, painted in the same year.
Current Location
Valuation & Provenance
2026 Estimated Value
Priceless / Not for sale
* 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
Keywords
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Related Artworks
Chosen for shared style, era, medium, subject, or date.
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
1907 · same era · similar medium
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1909 · same era · similar medium
Self-Portrait with Palette
1906 · same era · similar medium
Two Nudes
1906 · same era · similar medium
Three Women
1907–1908 · same era · similar medium
Nude with Joined Hands
1906 · same era · similar medium
Shop Related Products
If you love this african / proto-cubist period masterpiece, explore these curated books and resources on Amazon.
The Cubist Epoch by Douglas Cooper
In-depth analysis of Picasso's Cubist period and innovations
Picasso: A Life Documentary
Comprehensive documentary chronicling Picasso's entire artistic journey
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon Reproduction
High-quality print of this revolutionary proto-Cubist masterpiece
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