Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
1901
Oil paint on canvas
61.3 x 46.5 cm
Acquired by Oskar Reinhart in 1935
In 1901, prompted by the suicide of his close friend Carlos Casagemas and a desire to make his art more profound, Pablo Picasso began producing works in a sombre palette, dominated by the colour blue. This portrait of his compatriot, the sculptor Mateu Fernández de Soto, is one of the first works from the artist’s ‘blue period’.
In the background hangs a painting, also by Picasso, commemorating the burial of Casagemas, who had previously occupied the studio in Paris where this portrait was made. The painting’s introspective character is matched by Soto’s concentration in carving the object in his hands.