Nessus and Deianira, Pablo Picasso, September 22, 1920
Pablo Picasso, portraitPablo PicassoSpanish, 1881–1973

Nessus and Deianira

September 22, 1920 · Drawing and Watercolor

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Not on view at present

Where is “Nessus and Deianira” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

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About the work

Picasso first used a specific subject from Classical mythology during his stay in the French town of Juanles- Pins between September 11 and September 22, 1920, when he made a series of six drawings based on the Greek myth of Nessus and Deianira. Recounted in the ninth book of Ovid's Metamorphoses, the story centers on the abduction of Hercules' s bride, Deianira, by the centaur Nessus, who had promised to ferry her across a river. In this drawing, we see the climax of the story, when the struggling woman is about to be raped by her abductor.

Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0

Details

Accession number
1965.783

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In the life of Pablo Picasso

The whole life
  1. 12 February 1918

    Marriage to Olga Khokhlova

    Picasso married Olga Khokhlova, a ballerina of Diaghilev's company, in the Russian church in Paris; the witnesses were Jean Cocteau, Max Jacob, and Guillaume Apollinaire.

  2. 12 July 1918

    Married: Olha Khokhlova

  3. 4 February 1921

    Son born: Paulo Picasso

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On the same theme · Mythology

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