Pablo Picasso David and Bathsheba, after Lucas Cranach (David et Bethsabée, d'après Lucas Cranach) 1947

  • Not on view

Like many artists, Picasso looked to the history of art for inspiration. From the late 1940s to the early 1960s he focused with particular intensity on individual works by past masters, making variations in painting, drawing, sculpture, and prints. The work of these historic figures had a catalytic impact on Picasso at a time when contemporary art—the various forms of Abstract Expressionism, for example—was going in directions counter to his own aesthetic concerns.

Based on a painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, this series comprises thirteen states and variations in all. In the Bible, King David lusts after Bathsheba, a young woman he sees bathing.

Gallery label from Picasso: Variations and Themes, March 28–September 30, 2010.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
composition: 25 13/16 x 19 3/16" (65.6 x 48.8 cm); sheet: 25 13/16 x 19 5/8" (65.6 x 49.8 cm)
Publisher
Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris
Printer
Mourlot, Paris
Edition
50
Credit
Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest (by exchange)
Object number
254.1947
Copyright
© 2024 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Department
Drawings and Prints

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