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Pretend Play

Diego Rivera, Viva Zapata, 1932, lithograph in black on Rives BFK paper, Gift of Mrs. Robert A. Hauslohner, 1990.106.51
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Painted entirely in shades of blue, this vertical scene shows a woman, an elderly man, and a young child standing close to each other near the edge of gently lapping waves. All three people have gray complexions tinged with blue, are barefoot, and their features, clothing, and bodies are outlined. To our left, the woman’s back is to us, and her face is turned in profile to our right as she looks down at the ground. Her navy-blue, nearly black hair is pulled up in a loose bun. She wears a deep ocean-blue shawl over a long skirt that covers her entire body except for bare toes peeking out under the hem. The form of the shawl protrudes a bit on the right as if she holds her arm across her body. The slightly taller man stands across from her to our right with his body mirroring the woman’s. He crosses his arms tightly across his chest as he gazes down in profile. The eye we can see is deeply shadowed, and his hands are tucked into his elbows. He has a beard and short, dark hair with streaks of sky blue. His long, marine-blue shirt blends into his pants, which are cut off at the ankles. Unlike the woman, he stands with the weight on one foot, the other knee bent. To our right and in front of the man, the child stands facing our left in profile. He has short, dark hair, and he looks toward the woman. He touches or gestures near the man’s thigh with his right hand, farther from us, and holds his other out in front of his waist. His shawl has a reddish tint, which contrasts with his ankle-length, stone-blue pants. The trio stands on aquamarine-tinted sand before gentle waves along a shoreline. In the top third of painting, the sky is a block of celestial blue. The artist signed his name, “Picasso,” in a dark blue in the lower right corner and dated the painting, “1903” in the upper right.
Pablo Picasso, The Tragedy, 1903, oil on wood, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.196
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We look slightly down onto a stage, at a woman who dances at the center of this square painting. The pale, white skin on her face is tinged with slate-blue shadows and heightened noticeably with pink blush at the cheekbones. She wears crimson-red lipstick and her dark brown eyebrows are peaked over blue eyes. Two flaring pink flowers, each about the size of the woman’s face, are pinned in the woman’s flame-red hair. The black bodice of her dress has puffed, elbow-length sleeves and a low-cut square neckline. The lime-green skirt flares around her dancing feet to billow up and reveal layers of bubblegum pink underneath. Her body is angled to our left as she points her left, black-stockinged foot and holds her arms by her sides. Behind her, thirteen people dressed in sapphire-blue, ocean-green, and black costumes suggest a royal court, including a dark-haired man who wears a brick-red bolero style suit. He stands near the woman to our right, watching her dance.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Marcelle Lender Dancing the Bolero in "Chilpéric", 1895-1896, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney, 1990.127.1
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Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, Horseman in a Storm, model c. 1878, cast after 1894, bronze, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1980.44.10
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