The Rape

"The Rape," painted by Pablo Picasso in 1920, is a compelling and often overlooked work executed in tempera on wood. This piece dates from a highly fertile and transitional phase in the Spanish artist's career, following his full engagement with Cubism and preceding his eventual turn toward Surrealism. The specific period of its creation places the work around the summer of 1920, often associated with his time spent in the south of France, specifically Juan-les-Pins.

While many of Picasso’s contemporaneous works emphasized the monumental, Neoclassical proportions found in figures like those of the Trois femmes à la fontaine, The Rape presents a compressed, violently energetic scene. The choice of tempera on wood, rather than traditional oil on canvas, contributes significantly to the painting’s effect. The medium results in a dry, matte texture and demands precise application, lending a stark linearity and brittle surface quality to the composition. Picasso utilized simplified, almost primal forms and intense tonal contrasts to convey the dramatic tension and psychological intensity between the figures.

This work serves as a critical link between the rigorous formalism of earlier periods and the emotional volatility that would define the artist’s output later in the decade. The influence of Juan-les-Pins, 1920, is evident in the experimentation with intimate subject matter and the exploration of mythological themes rendered in a modern, often unsettling, vocabulary. The painting is recognized today as a key document of Picasso’s sustained figurative practice. It currently resides in the esteemed collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Though the physical artwork is held in the museum, the enduring legacy of this masterful piece is recognized through high-quality prints and reproductions, ensuring its accessibility for scholarship.