Still Life with a Glass and Ace of Clubs
1914
Medium
collage, charcoal and gouache on board
Dimensions
sheet: 33.8 × 20.2 cm (13 5/16 × 7 15/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Accession Number
2012.89.6
Art Historical Context
Pablo Picasso’s *Still Life with a Glass and Ace of Clubs* (1914) captures a pivotal moment in modern art when the Spanish-born master, working alongside Georges Braque, pushed Cubism into its Synthetic phase. Created during the tense months before the outbreak of World War I, the small collage—made of cut paper, charcoal, and gouache on board—reflects Picasso’s playful yet radical decision to incorporate everyday materials directly onto the surface. Rather than merely depicting objects, he assembled them, inviting viewers to reconsider what constitutes a picture. The work’s modest scale (rou...
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...