Jacqueline

When Jacqueline Roque (1927–1986) appeared in Picasso’s life in 1952 she instilled a new creativity in his work and her image soon became a constant presence in his production. Jacqueline, whom he married in 1961, did not only inspire some two hundred portraits (paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures) but her spirit imbued all his feminine figures. The physical likeness between Jacqueline and one of the main characters in Delacroix’s "Les femmes d’Alger" (Musée du Louvre, Paris) was one of the factors that prompted Picasso to produce a series of interpretations of this picture between December 1954 and February 1955, which should be read as an ensemble rather than a succession of unique works.
Jacqueline’s is also an underlying presence in the "Las Meninas" suite. Just as King Philip IV and Queen Mariana visited Velázquez’s atelier to inspect his work, Jacqueline would look in on Picasso’s studio, located on the upper floor of their home. As a tribute to her quiet and discreet collaboration, Picasso included this splendid portrait in the series.
While the presence of the king and queen in the Velázquez composition is reflected in a looking glass, Picasso simulated the frame of a mirror to set the portrait of Jacqueline, his queen, a title he gave her in a dedication on a drawing of 1959, «Pour Jacqueline / Reina», a work that is currently in a private collection. Similarly, the red background becomes an interpretation of the draperies hanging over the royal image in Velázquez’s picture. As is also the case in some versions of Princess Margarita, Jacqueline’s face is divided into two as her profile is superimposed on a blurred frontal image.