Executed in 1959, Two Women by the Window exemplifies Pablo Picasso’s groundbreaking innovations in linocut printmaking during the late 1950s. The composition presents two monumental female figures, seated beside a window, rendered in a bold palette of earthy browns, creams, and blacks. The figures are simplified into sculptural forms, their contours carved with expressive energy, reflecting Picasso’s fascination with both volume and flatness.

The linocut technique, which Picasso fully embraced in this period, is used here with striking inventiveness. Instead of layering multiple blocks, Picasso developed the “reduction” method, where the same block was progressively cut down for each successive color. This required immense foresight, as each stage was irreversible—a process demanding precision and vision, both of which are on full display in this work. The rhythmic interplay of lines, curves, and negative space underscores his ability to merge dynamism with harmony.

Thematically, the subject of women seated by a window recurs throughout Picasso’s oeuvre, serving as a stage for exploring intimacy, domesticity, and the dialogue between interior and exterior space. The two figures—one stylized and statuesque, the other vibrantly alive with flowing contours—embody Picasso’s oscillation between classical calm and expressive modernism. The light filtering through the window at right not only structures the composition but also dramatizes the contrast between shadow and illumination.

Deux femmes près de la fenêtre stands as a testament to Picasso’s mastery of printmaking at a moment when he redefined the possibilities of the medium. Far from being mere reproductions, his linocuts are unique artistic statements, carrying the same vigor and inventiveness as his paintings and drawings.