Seated Woman in a Chemise

Pablo Picasso's Seated Woman in a Chemise, from 1923, is painted in a style known as classicism. Classicism is an approach to art based on ancient Greek and Roman art, together with the assumption of an accompanying set of values - such as order and harmony. Picasso's classical period coincides with a general political and social conservatism that enveloped other artists in France. There was a craving for tranquility and wholeness after the destruction of the First World War and the rapid period of industrialization which preceded it. The art created during this Classical Revival appealed to the public due to an appearance of being apart from progress, 'timeless' and indifferent to development.

Seated Woman in a Chemise, 1923 by Pablo Picasso(1881-1973)
© Succession Picasso/DACS 2002