Painted in the Netherlands in the summer of 1905, La Belle Hollandaise is a key painting that marks a transition from the subdued hues of Pablo Picasso’s ‘blue period’ to brighter and happier ‘rose’ works. 

Little is known about this young Dutch woman from a tight-knit village who sat for Picasso. Working quickly in water-based paints and chalk on card, the artist captures an intimate and relaxed moment with this ‘beautiful Dutch girl’. Picasso must have been pleased with the result — he inscribed the work at the top left as a gift to Paco Durio, his dear friend and neighbour in the Parisian suburb of Montmartre.

Work installed in QAG's Gallery 2 (l–r): Degas’s Danseuse au repos, les mains sur les hanches, jambe droite en avant, première étude c.1882–95, cast c.1919–21; Picasso’s La Belle Hollandaise 1905 / © Succession Picasso/Copyright Agency; and Rodin’s L’Age d’airain (The Bronze age) 1876–77, cast 1955, October 2010 / Photograph: N Harth, QAGOMA