Tête de Jeune Fille – Portrait de Françoise, 1949 elegantly 1949 lithograph captures Picasso’s highly focused exploration of the human face during his post-war years, rendered here through a striking portrait of Françoise Gilot. The work balances clarity and spontaneity, two qualities Picasso explored intensely in his graphic output at the Mourlot Studio. Using the lithographic medium’s responsiveness to touch, he achieves a delicate interplay of bold structure and soft tonal modelling: the central axis of the nose and brow is articulated in strong, decisive strokes, while the surrounding features—wide, searching eyes, rounded cheeks, gently parted lips—are built through subtle gradations of charcoal-like grey.

Françoise’s hair flows in expressive sweeps that frame the face, contrasting with the rhythmic, almost calligraphic stripes of her garment. This patterning anchors the composition and amplifies the psychological presence of the sitter, giving the portrait both immediacy and a sense of quiet introspection. Despite its apparent simplicity, the work reveals the extraordinary nuance Picasso brought to lithography at this time, using minimal means to evoke character, texture, and mood.

Tête de Jeune Fille – Portrait de Françoise stands as a quintessential example of the artist’s late-1940s portrait style: direct, tender, and technically assured. It reflects the intimacy of his collaboration with Françoise and marks an important moment in his graphic oeuvre, when lithography became a primary vehicle for experimentation and portraiture took on a renewed emotional clarity. For more information or to buy

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