Olga

Olga Hohlova (1891–1955) was a dancer with the Ballets Russes whom Pablo met while he was designing the sets and costumes for the company’s production of
Parade. According to an anecdote, when Picasso took Olga – who was already his fiancée at the time – home to introduce her to his family, Pablo’s mother said, “Poor girl, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. If I were your friend, I’d advise you not to marry him under any circumstances. I don’t think there’s a woman who’d be happy with my son. He’s only accessible to himself.” Olga and Pablo were married in 1918, and their son, Paulo, was born in 1921. However, the woman, who came from a good family and longed for a life of privilege, and the painter, who remained committed to a life of creative freedom, had very different ideas about everyday life. This was a constant source of conflict, so much so that Picasso began to mockingly distort Olga’s figure in his paintings. The end of their marriage was marked by the pregnancy of Marie-Thérèse Walther, the painter’s mistress; however, although Olga filed for divorce, Pablo refused to divide their assets (which included his own works of art), so they were never legally divorced. According to accounts by Picasso’s later partner, Françoise Gilot, Olga’s presence remained a daily occurrence for many years afterward: at times she sent reproachful letters to her husband, and at other times she followed him down the street, insulting Picasso’s new family with both words and actions. The marriage finally came to an end with Olga’s death in 1955.