The Poor (Les pauvres)
1905, published 1913
Medium
etching on wove Van Gelder paper
Dimensions
plate: 23.6 x 18 cm (9 5/16 x 7 1/16 in.) sheet: 51 x 32.5 cm (20 1/16 x 12 13/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
The John U. and Evelyn S. Nef Collection
Accession Number
2011.60.11
Art Historical Context
Pablo Picasso's *The Poor (Les pauvres, created in 190 and published in 191, captures the artist's early fascination with human suffering and the marginalized during his transitional Rose Period. Following the somber blues of his previous phase, Picasso began exploring warmer tones and circus motifs, yet this etching harks back to themes of poverty seen in his Blue Period works. Rendered as an intimate plate etching on fine wove Van Gelder paper—measuring just 23.6 x 18 cm—the print exemplifies his mastery of intaglio techniques, where acid bites into a metal plate to create rich, expressive l...
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...