Bust of a Woman (Maria Theresa)

The sculpture is a bust of gypsum . The nose of the sculpture is formed from the image of Picasso's penis, which is thrown over Walter's forehead ^{[1] [2]} . Biography of Picasso John Richardson wrote that the chest of the bust gives him "the look of a sitting sphinx" ^[3] .

The work was created simultaneously with another plaster bust: " The head of a woman . " Photographs of two sculptures taken in the studio of Picasso in Bouagelupe show that the artist originally tried to connect the two bust together and that both of them had long necks that looked like giraffe necks. A woman's head also has Picasso's genital references: her eyeballs are likened to the testicles, and her nose is also modeled from the Picasso's penis ^[3] .

In an article for Artnet, Blake Gopnik criticized Picasso's attitude to Walter, believing that “whatever the personality of Maria Theresa before she met Pablo, she plays, at least in his mind and in this sculpture, the role of his guide excessive masculinity. " Gopnik paid special attention to the mouth of the bust, describing him as "... beautiful, gentle, sweet ... priceless? As if Picasso needed to recognize the beauty of his mistress, and also, perhaps, his true love for her, even when treating her cruelly in art. Or maybe he realized that her beautiful mouth was crucial for making the rest of her cruelty. " Gopnik came to the conclusion that "... instead of being just a charming masterpiece, this bust for $ 100 million is the work of a tragic genius - the one with whom no one should want to live .... I hate Picasso's male chauvinist vision of women, but I have to admire how brilliantly he builds him ” ^[1] .

The bust was presented at the largest exhibition of Picasso Sculptures in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York in 2016 in the last 50 years ^{[1] [2]} .

In 2016, a legal dispute arose about the sale and ownership of the sculpture between the art agency Pelham Europe, acting on behalf of the Qatari royal family, and the American art dealer Larry Gagosian , who resold the bust to Leon Black. The trial was scheduled for September 2016 ^[1] , but in June 2016 an agreement was reached with the help of the sculpture owner Maya Widmeier Picasso and the claim was settled. By agreement, Leon Black received the sculpture, and Widmeier Picasso, paid Pelham Europe an unknown amount ^[4] .