''The Three Dancers'' (French: ''Les Trois Danseuses'') is a painting by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

artist

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, painted in June 1925. It is an

oil on canvas Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

and measures 84.8 in x 56 in (215.3 cm x 142.2 cm).

Description

The painting shows three dancers, the one on the right being barely visible. A macabre dance takes place, with the dancer on the left having her head bent at a near-impossible angle. The dancer on the right is usually interpreted as being

Ramon Pichot Ramon Pichot Gironès (; 1871 – 1 March 1925) was a Catalan and Spanish artist. He painted in an impressionist style. He was a good friend of Pablo Picasso and an early mentor to young Salvador Dalí. Dalí met Pichot in Cadaqués, Spain, w ...

, a friend of Picasso who died during the painting of ''Three Dancers''. (Some critics believe it could well be Picasso's wife

Olga Khokhlova Olga Picasso (born Olga Stepanovna Khokhlova; russian: Ольга Степановна Хохлова; 17 June 1891 – 11 February 1955) was a ballet dancer in the Russian ballet. She was also the first wife of Pablo Picasso, one of his ea ...

.) The one on the left is claimed to be Pichot’s wife Germaine Gargallo with the one in the centre being Gargallo’s boyfriend Carlos Casagemas, also Picasso's friend. Casagemas shot himself after failing to shoot Gargallo, twenty-five years before Pichot’s death, and the loss of two of his best friends spurred Picasso to paint this chilling depiction of the

love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...

Background

Picasso painted ''The Three Dancers'' in Paris after a trip to

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

with his wife, ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova. At this time, Picasso was attracted to

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

movement. In 1926 the painting appeared in Breton's work ''Le surréalisme et la peinture'' (''Surrealism and Painting''). Others link ''The Three Dancers'' to Picasso's failing marriage to Khokhlova. Its caption at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

gives some insight into the background of the painting: It is owned by the Tate Gallery, London, having been purchased by it in 1965, and is currently on display as part of the Tate Modern's 'Poetry and Dream' exhibition. The purchase was facilitated by Picasso's friendship with

Roland Penrose Sir Roland Algernon Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984) was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom. During the Second World W ...

who was a trustee of the Tate at that time.

Related works

Composer and ukulele player Ryan Choi's debut album ''Three Dancers'' was named after the painting.

References

Notes

# Picasso called it ''Les Trois Danseuses'' (French) despite being a Spanish citizen, and the painting is occasionally called this, the original title (se

, as well as its English translation. Picasso lived in France and French titles for his paintings were not uncommon (see ''

Garçon à la pipe ''Garçon à la Pipe'' (English: ''Boy with a Pipe'') is an oil on canvas painting by Pablo Picasso. It was painted in 1905 when Picasso was 24 years old, during his Rose Period, soon after he settled in the Montmartre area of Paris. The painting ...

'' and ''

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon ''Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'' (''The Young Ladies of Avignon'', originally titled ''The Brothel of Avignon'') is a large oil painting created in 1907 by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. The work, part of the permanent collection of the Museum o ...

'', for instance).
''Three Dancers'' at Artchive

''Three Dancers'' at everything2.com

Tate Gallery: ''The Three Dancers''

Tate Gallery: ''The Three Dancers''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Dancers, The Paintings by Pablo Picasso 1925 paintings Collection of the Tate galleries Dance in art