Head of a Woman with a Chignon (Fernande)

This work depicts the artist and model Fernande Olivier (1881–1966). She was Picasso’s partner for eight years and frequent subject. The pair spent the summer of 1906 in the small town of Gósol in the Spanish Pyrenees and it was here that Picasso made the drawing. The artist rendered Olivier’s face and hair in passages of black chalk or brown and pink opaque watercolor, omitting any background detail. According to Olivier, their relationship was tumultuous because of their mutual jealousy, but, as a model and companion who catered to his demanding lifestyle, she was essential to his early success.