Face of Marie-Thérèse (Visage de Marie-Thérèse)

Face of Marie-Thérèse (Visage de Marie-Thérèse) by Pablo Picasso is a foundational example of the artist's graphic output from the late 1920s. Created in 1928, this important lithograph captures the distinctive features of Picasso's young muse, Marie-Thérèse Walter. The piece was executed during a period of intense artistic and personal transformation for the Spanish master, characterized by the emergence of a new sculptural, curvilinear vocabulary that often bordered on Surrealism.

The work is characterized by the simplified, almost architectural forms that Picasso developed under the influence of Walter, who inspired a profound shift toward sensuous, organic lines in his painting and prints. Unlike the harsh, fractured geometry of earlier Cubist works, the facial structures here are rendered through sweeping, volumetric contours that suggest underlying mass and sensuality. Picasso frequently used the study of Marie-Thérèse’s form to explore the boundary between identifiable portraiture and pure abstraction, where the recognizable features of the sitter become springboards for formal experimentation. The black-and-white nature of the medium emphasizes dramatic contrasts, relying on the interplay of stark light and shadow inherent to the technique of lithography.

As an exceptional example of graphic work, this piece demonstrates Picasso’s profound mastery of the printmaking process. Though renowned globally for his canvases, the artist engaged deeply with creating editioned prints throughout his career, often using the medium to quickly iterate on themes and develop new visual ideas. The stylistic choices reflect the cultural ferment of the late 1920s European art scene, fusing classical references with a modern, psychological depth. This powerful 1928 lithograph, rooted in Spanish artistic tradition yet fiercely modernist in execution, is held in the prestigious collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, where it serves as a key marker of Picasso’s enduring influence on modern portraiture and the history of prints.