Masked Persons and Female Bird (Personnages masqués et femme oiseau)
1934
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
etching [printed in 1939 by Roger Lacouriere]
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1950.16.157
Art Historical Context
In 1934, Pablo Picasso created *Masked Persons and Female BirdPersonnages masqués et femme oiseau)*, an etching that captures the artist's imaginative plunge into surreal and mythical realms during the interwar years. This period marked Picasso's deep engagement with Surrealism blending distorted human forms with dreamlike symbolism—here, enigmatic masked figures and a hybrid female-bird evoke themes of transformation and the subconscious, hallmarks of his evolving style post-Cubism. The work's medium, etching, showcases Picasso's mastery of printmaking, where acid etches intricate lines into...
About the Artist
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), born Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso in Málaga, Spain, was the son of José Ruiz Blasco, a painter and art professor who served as his first teacher. From age seven, Picasso trained under his father in figure drawing and oil painting, mastering naturalistic techniques by copying mas...