Pablo Picasso Spanish 1881-1973 Oil on Canvas

Updated September 23, 2026

Title: Seated Woman with Red Fingernails Technique: Oil on canvas Measures: 20 x 16 inches Year: Undated Condition: Good overall condition. The painted surface presents vivid, well-preserved coloration with substantial applications of pigment, visible directional brushwork, and strongly articulated linear contours throughout. Minor surface wear and handling marks consistent with age and display may be present. The canvas appears stable and display-ready, retaining its saturated palette, textural character, and strong visual impact. Presented in a dark brown decorative frame with gold-tone ornamental detailing along the outer edge, showing light age-related wear. Provenance: Private collection, Southern California; reportedly acquired from a German-born collector who relocated to the United States during the 1930s. Additional ownership information was not available at the time of consignment. Visual Description: This vertically oriented composition presents a seated female figure constructed through dramatically simplified and fragmented forms. The sitter occupies nearly the entire pictorial field, her body compressed into a shallow interior space and articulated through intersecting planes of color and emphatic dark contours. Her face is shown primarily in profile while simultaneously incorporating frontal elements, creating a deliberately destabilized viewpoint. An elongated nose projects toward the right, while asymmetrically positioned eyes, sweeping brows, curved cheek passages, and sharply defined red lips reorganize conventional facial anatomy into a complex arrangement of geometric and curvilinear forms. The figure’s hair and head covering are rendered through broad passages of black, green, red, orange, and ochre, while a prominent earring introduces a contrasting black-and-white accent. Particularly striking are the sitter’s enlarged hands, which dominate the right and lower portions of the composition. Long black linear fingers terminate in vivid red nails, producing a rhythmic sequence of repeated oval forms. The upper hand is raised toward the face, creating an introspective pose, while the lower hand rests prominently across the foreground. The clothing and body are divided into angular fields of yellow, green, blue, violet, orange, red, black, and muted cream, with individual areas separated by forceful outlines. The surrounding interior is similarly fragmented into vertical and horizontal zones of turquoise, green, brown, orange, burgundy, and black, minimizing conventional perspective and reinforcing the flattened construction of the image. This composition reflects stylistic elements commonly associated with major figures in modern and contemporary art. For additional information regarding certification, provenance, or any inquiries about this piece or other items, please don't hesitate to contact us through the HiBid platform. A secondary market exists for uncatalogued artworks like this one, which often results in lower estima

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