Nusch Éluard, wife of Paul Éluard, the French poet, collector, and champion of Surrealism, posed for Picasso many times. These depictions of Nusch, as well as their close relationship, led to rumors that the two were having an affair. Indeed, Paul was thought to have blessed and even encouraged the liaison as a way of symbolizing his love for both of them.

In this drawing of Nusch, the sitter is elegantly dressed and formally presented—she is erect and dignified. Her self-possession is emphasized by the constraints of her jacket. Of all Picasso’s portraits of Nusch, this is the most indebted to a realist vocabulary and the truest to the sitter’s beauty.