Reclining Figure

Although drawn from a long art historical tradition, the motif of the reclining nude in this work embodies something different, a collision between the classical and the surreal. In a few expressive brushstrokes, Pablo Picasso depicts model and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter sensually sprawled on a couch set before a decorative screen. She seems to be lost in her own world, oblivious to the viewer’s attention. This type of voluptuous erotic figure in a lush interior dominated Picasso’s oeuvre from 1932 to 1934.