On the Beach

On the Beach (La Baignade) was painted this by Pablo Picasso on February 12, 1937, at Tremblay-sur-Mauldre. This oil, conté crayon, and chalk work on canvas measures 129.1 x 194 cm and is considered one of the icons of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

The composition features two bathers rendered as graceful yet monstrous, almost sculptural figures engaged with a small boat. Their geometric, volumetric forms recall Picasso's bathing scenes from the late 1920s and early 1930s. The pictorial space creates deliberate tension: while the bathers appear three-dimensional, the background consists of flat, two-dimensional bands dividing beach, sea, and sky.

A third figure looming on the horizon introduces a veiled sense of menace. This voyeuristic element evokes classical mythology, particularly Diana's bath and the biblical tale of Susanna and the Elders. The work was acquired by Peggy Guggenheim in 1947 from Mary Callery and became one of her favorite pieces in the collection.