About this artwork
Although Picasso is best known for his work as a painter, he also experimented extensively with sculpture. This bronze cast of a clay model almost certainly depicts the artist’s own right hand. Similarities can be drawn to an earlier self-portrait, painted in 1906, in which he holds a palette with his left hand and loosely clenches his right. Intriguingly, in preparatory drawings Picasso depicted a paintbrush in his right hand. By excluding it in the final painting, the artist gives testament to his belief that his skill as an artist went beyond his tools. Picasso encourages the viewer to contemplate his sculpture, ‘La Main’, it in a similar way by representing his hand with the distinct marks of the maker’s fingers.
Updated before 2020
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artist:
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title:La Main [The Hand or Arm with Sleeve]
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date created:1948
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materials:Bronze (3/10)
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measurements:6.70 x 24.00 x 9.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Bequeathed by Hannah Gluck 1978
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accession number:GMA 1996
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gallery:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
The son of an artist, Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain, and studied at art school in Barcelona. He visited Paris in 1900 and after several extended stays settled there in 1904. Picasso was a hugely prolific and highly influential artist who worked in numerous styles throughout his life. His cubist...