Variation on Delacroix's "Women of Algiers": IX 1955

This is Variation on Delacroix's "Women of Algiers": IX, a print by Pablo Picasso. It is part of a series he created in response to Eugène Delacroix's 1834 painting of the same name. Picasso embarked on this series in the mid-1950s, a time of intense political and cultural change as former colonies fought for independence. Delacroix’s painting depicted a scene of orientalist fantasy, a voyeuristic glimpse into a harem. Picasso, however, reclaims this space through the lens of his own cubist style. The women are fragmented, their bodies reduced to geometric forms, challenging traditional notions of beauty and representation. This distortion can be interpreted as a commentary on the exoticized and objectified portrayal of women in Western art. As Picasso said, "This Delacroix is very important to me." The raw, almost aggressive lines of the print evoke a sense of tension, disrupting the seductive passivity often associated with odalisque imagery. This print invites us to consider the power dynamics inherent in artistic representation and the ways in which artists can both perpetuate and subvert cultural stereotypes.