Marie-Thérèse

In 1927, in front of the department store Galeries Lafayette Paris, the painter sighted Marie-Thérèse Walther (1909–1977), who was seventeen at the time and immediately caught his attention. The woman, who had never heard of Picasso before, later recalled their first meeting as follows: “He simply grabbed my arm and said, ‘I am Picasso! You and I are going to do great things together.’ I resisted for six months, but you can’t resist Picasso.” The artist continued to live his family life with Olga and Paulo, while his canvases started to get rich with Marie-Thérèse’s soft features. Picasso began a secret affair with the young woman, and in the fall of 1935, they had their daughter, Maria de la Concepción (Maya). Brassaï wrote the following about their relationship: “Picasso was charmed by Marie-Thérèse’s cheerfulness, laughter, and playful nature. He loved her blonde hair, the scent of her skin, and her sculptural body. From that day on, his art became nothing but a series of undulations.” Marie-Thérèse described Picasso as wonderfully terrible. Four years after the painter’s death, she took her own life at her home on the French Riviera.