Woman with comb 1906

This is an oil on canvas work by Pablo Picasso, titled 'Woman with Comb', housed here at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris. It's an image which presents the female nude within the conventions of early 20th century European art. Picasso, a Spaniard working in France, brings the visual traditions of the Iberian peninsula into dialogue with the Parisian avant-garde. The depiction of the female nude was, of course, nothing new, but how did artists like Picasso make it new? The lack of idealization is notable; we see a raw, earthy portrayal. To fully understand this, we need to look at the complex institutional history of the nude in Western art, tracing how academies, salons, and museums shaped the way we see the body. We need to research the social codes around nudity in this period, and ask, 'what politics of imagery' are at play here? The historian’s role is to uncover these layers of meaning.