Picasso Version G is Central to the Harem

Though Picasso was a major abstractionist, he never left the figure or art history. He understood that the classical works were powerful images handed down through generations to teach successive artists secrets. He mined the ancient masterpieces for their primitive and spiritual force.

The linchpin of the Women of Algiers’ composition is the servant at the curtain who defines the depth and is the symbolic guardian of the enclave. Picasso focuses on her form in this single figure piece. The figure is given a monumental perspective and architectural role, figuratively holding up access to the harem and central to the composition, like one holding up the building as an ancient Greek Kore from 500 BC at the Acropolis in Athens. This work belongs to a private collection.