Pablo PicassoSpanish, 1881–1973Family of Saltimbanques
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
National Gallery of Art
Room217C · East Building, MezzanineWashington, D.C., United States
On public display.
- Checked
- 4 hours ago
- In this state since
- Aug 19, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the painting
Family of Saltimbanques (French: Famille de saltimbanques) is a 1905 oil on canvas painting by Pablo Picasso. The work depicts six saltimbanques, a kind of itinerant circus performer, in a desolate landscape. It is considered the masterpiece of Picasso's Rose Period, sometimes called his circus period. The painting is housed in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1963.10.190
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- National Gallery of Art: the museum's own open data · fetched 4 days ago
- Image: National Gallery of Art — © the artist or rights holder
Meanwhile, in the life of Pablo Picasso
The whole life1895–1904 · Workplace
Barcelona
1901–1904
The Blue Period
The Blue Period began — somber paintings in blue-green tones with themes of poverty and sorrow; Picasso divided his time between Barcelona and Paris.
1904
Move to Paris, Beginning of the Rose Period
Picasso settled in the Bateau-Lavoir residence in Montmartre; the sorrow of the Blue Period gave way to images of the theater and the circus — the Rose Period began.
1905
Meeting the Steins and Matisse
Picasso became a favorite of the collectors Leo and Gertrude Stein; at one of Gertrude Stein's gatherings in 1905 he met Henri Matisse — a lifelong friend and rival.
1907
Meeting Georges Braque
Picasso met Georges Braque; together they became the founders of Cubism, a movement that rejected the traditions of naturalism.
May 1907
Visit to the Ethnographic Museum
At the Ethnographic Museum in Paris Picasso was struck by the masks of the peoples of Africa, Oceania, and Polynesia — an experience that influenced the formation of Cubism.
![Scenes from the Passion of Christ: The Descent into Limbo [right panel], Andrea Vanni, 1380s](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/4205a539-eadd-4486-89a7-3cff9c1ba428/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
