Nude, Green Leaves and Bust

Pablo Picasso, 1932

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About This Work

This monumental and sensuous painting depicts Picasso's golden muse, Marie-Thérèse Walter, reclining nude, her voluptuous form rendered in vibrant blues and lilacs. Her profile is simultaneously visible in the classical bust positioned above her, a recurring motif in Picasso's works from this period that merges her physical presence with sculptural form. The curvilinear forms and intense colors are characteristic of his Surrealist-influenced period, reflecting both his passionate affair with Walter and his exploration of the female body as a landscape of desire. The painting is a powerful celebration of sensuality, fertility, and the transformative power of love and artistic inspiration.

Painted in a single day, March 8, 1932, this work is part of a series of paintings Picasso created of Marie-Thérèse Walter, his secret mistress and the subject of many of his most lyrical and sensual works from the early 1930s. This period is often referred to as his 'Marie-Thérèse period,' characterized by its vibrant colors, flowing lines, and overt eroticism. The painting was part of the legendary collection of Sidney and Frances Brody and had been in their private collection for nearly six decades. Its sale at Christie's New York on May 4, 2010, for an astounding $106.5 million, set a new world record for any artwork sold at auction at the time, underscoring its immense artistic and market value. The painting had been on long-term loan to Tate Modern before its historic sale, making it a rare public viewing opportunity for a work that had largely remained hidden from public view.

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