Musée National Picasso-París
© Sucesión Picasso, VEGAP, Madrid, 2024
Picasso's Head of a Woman (Fernande) (1909) represents a turning point in Picasso's exploration of Cubist language in round sculpture.
In the fall of 1909, after his stay in Horta, Picasso sculpted a portrait of Fernande Olivier, his partner at the time, in the studio of his Spanish sculptor friend Manuel Hugué.
This work transgressed the artistic conventions of his time by taking to the extreme the geometric recomposition of the human figure, using the deformations of the faceted cut. Head of a Woman (Fernande) (1909) marked the beginning of cubist sculpture by introducing a new system to define the volumes of the face and hair, inverting the volumes, transforming concave shapes into convex ones, without losing the concept that gives unity to the whole.
The sculpture was an immediate success both commercially and artistically. In 1910, the French art dealer Ambroise Vollard acquired it for exhibition in his Parisian gallery during the winter of 1911. This presentation attracted the attention of prominent artists of the time, such as the Ukrainian Alexander Archipenko and the Italian Umberto Boccioni, who considered it a revelation.
The impact of the work was further extended when American photographer Alfred Stieglitz included some photographs in New York's Camera Work magazine in 1912, giving it international recognition and an enduring legacy in the art world
Throughout his career, Picasso experimented with different techniques and materials in the field of sculpture. This particular work was notable for its radical departure from established conventions, fusing elements of ethnographic repertoires with a unique reinterpretation of the human face. His innovative approach laid the foundation for the later development of Cubism and remains a source of inspiration for artists of all generations.
Sources:
Musée national Picasso-París: https://www.museepicassoparis.fr/en/node/557
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía: https://www.museoreinasofia.es/coleccion/obra/tete-femme-fernande-cabeza-mujer-fernande-0
Art Insititute of Chicago: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/66039/head-of-a-woman-fernande