Woman Sitting in a Garden [verso]
1901
![Woman Sitting in a Garden [verso] by Pablo Picasso](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/nga/thumb/woman-sitting-in-a-garden-verso-nga-91590.webp)
Medium
oil on cardboard
Dimensions
overall: 68.5 x 95.7 cm (26 15/16 x 37 11/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Accession Number
1996.129.1.b
Art Historical Context
In 1901, at just 19 years old, Pablo Picasso *Woman Sitting in a Garden [verso]*, an evocative oil on cardboard that captures his early experimentation in Paris. This verso (back side) work, measuring 68.5 x 95.7 cm, reflects the young artist's shift from his Rose Period precursors toward the somber tones of the Blue Period (1901–1904), influenced by personal tragedies like the suicide of friend Carles Casagemas. The intimate scale and everyday subject—a woman in a garden—hint at Picasso's fascination with transient moments amid urban alienation. The use of cardboard as a support was practica...
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...