In the early 1930s, Picasso returned to sculptural modeling after a break of some twenty years. He had recently bought a château in Boisgeloup, forty miles outside Paris, and converted a stable on the property into a studio, catalyzing a period of intense sculptural production. Picasso's inspiration for Head of a Woman was his young companion, Marie-Thérèse Walter, whose features, he felt, lent themselves to representation in a classical mode.
Over the course of his long career, Picasso devoted himself to sculpture wholeheartedly, if episodically, using both traditional and unconventional materials and techniques. Unlike painting, in which he was formally trained and through which he made his living, sculpture occupied a uniquely personal and experimental status for Picasso. He approached the medium with the freedom of a self-taught artist, ready to break all the rules. This attitude led him to develop a deep fondness for his sculptures, to which the many photographs of his studios and homes bear witness. Treating them almost as members of his household, he cherished the sculptures’ company and enjoyed re-creating them in a variety of materials and situations.
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