Focus on Le Repos (Picasso) and analyze the Background.
Picasso first met Marie-Therese Walter on the streets of Paris in 1927, when she was just 17 years of age. Walter would recall the event years later. "I knew nothing - either of life or of Picasso... I had gone to do some shopping at the Galeries Lafayette, and Picasso saw me leaving the Metro. He simply took me by the arm and said, 'I am Picasso! You and I are going to do great things together." At the time, Picasso was aged 46 and unhappily married to Olga Khokhlova, so the relationship with Walter remained a secret. Simon Shaw, co-head of Sotheby's Worldwide Impressionist & Modern Art Department, described Walter as Picasso's "golden muse" and opined that Walter was "arguably the love of his life".In 1932, Picasso and Walter spent a blissful period of time together at Picasso's recently purchased Château de Boisgeloup. This marked a change in their relationship, as it moved from a clandestine affair to a tranquil and relaxed home life away from Khokhlova. This turning point can also be seen reflected in Picasso's artwork, as it was during this time that his paintings moved away from depicting violent Surrealist distortions to a more gentle depiction of the female form in his portraits of Walter.Walter was painted by Picasso on numerous occasions in a variety of poses, particularly in notable works like Girl before a Mirror, Le Rêve and Nude, Green Leaves and Bust.
Surrealist Galeries Lafayette Olga Khokhlova Château de Boisgeloup Sotheby's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust Le Rêve Girl before a Mirror