Composed figure II (Figure composée II)

In 1945, when he was in his mid-60s, Picasso began to re-engage with the medium of lithography. Over the next decade and a half, he created hundreds of prints, working closely with the Paris-based lithographer, Fernand Mourlot, who served as his printer. Picasso’s earlier prints, in particular his etchings, relied on line; however, his lithographs from this period have a painterly quality, the result of his working method, which, as with this work, began with a drawing with brush and ink on lithographic paper; this was then transferred to the stone by Mourlot for printing.

As with many of his lithographs, this work is a portrait of Picasso’s young lover, Françoise Gilot. The date on the upper corner indicates it was made shortly before Gilot gave birth to their second child, Paloma. Picasso’s approach to the dating of his works served as a form of diary-keeping and this lithograph was one of three portraits of Gilot made on that day, all significantly different from each other. In this work Picasso transforms the frontal view of an earlier version to a composition that encompasses two viewpoints – frontal and profile. Although the face is recognisable in this melding, it nevertheless creates an uncomfortable tension. It has been argued that Picasso’s subject in these works is vision, and that his purpose was to provoke the viewer's habits of seeing.

Maria Zagala, Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs