Picasso Life 1903

[ text: La Vie (Life), 1903

Oil on canvas

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Gift of the Hanna Fund 1945. 24

Cat. no. 5] '2001 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York La Vie (Life) is among Picasso’s most complex and enigmatic paintings. Begun in Barcelona during the spring of 1903, the composition was revised extensively by Picasso during the painting process. Nearly a century later, its precise meaning remains the subject of considerable debate. X-radiography, infrared reflectography, and other methods of scientific analysis are now being used to develop new theories about Picasso’s alterations to the composition. Reconstructing the artist’s creative process and isolating the points at which crucial decisions were made about its content are vital to unlocking the meaning of this cryptic allegory.