Countdown to Picasso: Celestina

On June 24, 2011, I get to see some of the 20th century's most esteemed and influential artwork, without a [costly] trip to Paris. Over the next two weeks, I will post daily links to and information about one work of art at the exhibit.

Today's work is la Celestine, from Picasso's blue period.

Picasso's 1904 oil-on-canvas masterpiece La Celestina shows a solitary, gray-haired bordello owner with a blinded eye. Picasso painted several similar portraits during his early-career Blue Period, characterized by somber tones and marginalized subjects such as beggars and prostitutes.

- Picasso masterpieces to tour the U.S., USA Today, October 6, 2010