Abstract
The provenance of Pablo Picasso's racy Erotic Scene, commonly known as La Douleur, of 1903, remained an enigma for decades. When it entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection in 1984 through bequest, nothing was known about the canvas’ history prior to its acquisition by the American collector Scofield Thayer in the 1920s. The painting was not included by Christian Zervos or Pierre Daix in their catalogues raisonnés, because the artist disowned it. It wasn't discussed in the Picasso literature until 1991, and was never exhibited until 1998. Elucidating the provenance of this canvas of the artist's Blue Period not only puts an end to speculation about its attribution, but reveals that its fate was intertwined with that of a cubist still life, and throws a completely new light on its meaning within the artist's oeuvre. Despite the painter's concerted efforts to conceal and disclaim La Douleur, after a century of oblivion its past has been unveiled and its significance is revealed.
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