Mythological creatures appear throughout Pablo Picasso’s body of work, and in the mid-1940s he created a series of fourteen small clay sculptures depicting nymphs and satyrs sitting, standing, and playing instruments. The works were then cast in bronze and, later, made in ceramic. In the mid-1960s, he revisited the motif and transposed the playful figures into cast blue glass in collaboration with master glassmaker Egidio Costantini (Italian, 1912–2007). Picasso was attracted to these characters’ playfulness, and they served as poignant symbols within his personal iconography. One of the satyr figures here is said to be a self-portrait of the artist.

Label from Picasso: The Artist and His Models, November 5, 2016–February 19, 2017