Woman Standing with One Arm behind Her Head

Scholars have long thought that this drawing depicts Picasso’s first wife, the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova (1891–1955). Drawn the year after the birth of their son Paulo, the robed figure appears as if she is a statue come to life. Although the two remained married until Khokhlova’s death in 1955, they separated in 1935 because of Picasso’s infidelities.