Find an abstract expression that a teenage girl you don't know once thought resembled her.

September 26, 2007 12:51 PM

Help me find a print of an obscure Picasso charcoal.

My girlfriend's birthday is coming up, and she's mentioned to me before that when she was a teenager, she saw an abstract charcoal drawing of Picasso's at a museum in Lucerne Switzerland that reminded her of herself. I've been browsing through galleries of Picasso prints, but have thus far been unable to locate any charcoal drawings at all (let alone any that resemble my girlfriend). Neither of us is very informed about art, and I don't want to clue her in by asking a whole lot of questions. Is there any way for me to take a look at some of Picasso's charcoals and try to make an informed decision?

posted by solipsophistocracy to media & arts (12 comments total)

Have you considered trying to contact the museum directly? A quick google search indicates that there is a large Picasso Museum in Lucerne. Their telephone number is: ++41 (0)41 410 35 33. Having a German speaker on hand might help...
posted by JMOZ at 12:59 PM on September 26, 2007

A little lame an answer, but maybe trawl through his extensive (google images) take on woman and see if anything strikes a chord.
posted by brautigan at 12:59 PM on September 26, 2007

The Picasso Museum in Lucerne doesn't seem to have a website. But as JMOZ suggests, you might try contacting them. Museums often have a book for sale with detailed photos of the museum's collection.
posted by R. Mutt at 1:07 PM on September 26, 2007

Also, Google image search for "picasso, lucerne"
posted by R. Mutt at 1:11 PM on September 26, 2007

This?
posted by R. Mutt at 1:14 PM on September 26, 2007

228 Picasso charcoal drawings from the French national archives, it may be there.
posted by fire&wings at 1:14 PM on September 26, 2007

You can buy the catalog of the collection. From which R. Mutt's posted pic came from.
posted by lucia__is__dada at 1:25 PM on September 26, 2007

R. Mutt, I'm pretty sure that's it. Any ideas on how to find a print? I'm gonna look through lucia__is__dada's catalogue presently. Thanks so much everybody!
posted by solipsophistocracy at 2:22 PM on September 26, 2007

I think your only chance would be if the institution that owns it happens to sell a poster/postcard of it. Given that it is a drawing, however, I doubt they would choose that image to reproduce as a poster. But you never know.
posted by R. Mutt at 3:20 PM on September 26, 2007

Not directly helpful, but lucia__is__dada's link gives the name of the sketch as "Angela Rosengart." In this link, you'll see what your girlfriend might look as an older woman. (e.g. a more recent photo of Angela Rosengart).
posted by JMOZ at 8:15 PM on September 26, 2007

Actually, disregard my last post. I think Angela Rosengart is the editor of the book. (Though it could well be her)
posted by JMOZ at 8:17 PM on September 26, 2007

I've emailed the museum a few times with no response. Short of calling them (I don't speak German), does anyone else have a tip on how to find a print of this? My girlfriend's birthday is only a couple weeks away, so if I don't hit gold soon, I'm going to have to think of something else.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 3:15 PM on October 4, 2007