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The Three Dancers (French: Les Trois Danseuses^[1]) is a painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, painted in June 1925. It is an oil on canvas, 84.8 by 56 in (2153 by 1422 mm). ^[2]

The painting shows three dancers, the one on the right being barely visible. A macabre dance takes place, with the dancer on the left having her head bent at a near-impossible angle. The dancer on the right is usually interpreted as being Ramon Pichot, a friend of Picasso who died during the painting of Three Dancers. (Some critics believe it could well be Picasso's wife Olga Khokhlova.^[3]) The one on the left is claimed to be Pichot’s wife Germaine Gargallo with the one in the centre being Gargallo’s boyfriend Carlos Casagemas, also Picasso’s friend ^[4]. Casagemas shot himself after failing to shoot Gargallo, twenty-five years before Pichot’s death, and the loss of two of his best friends spurred Picasso to paint this chilling depiction of the love triangle.

Picasso painted this in Paris after a trip to Monte Carlo with his wife, ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova. His friend Pichot's death combined with the anniversary of his other friend Casagemas' death caused Picasso to paint this. At this time, Picasso was attracted to André Breton's Surrealism movement and it was also an influence.^[5] In 1926 it appeared in Breton's work Le surréalisme et la peinture (Surrealism and Painting). Others link Three Dancers to Picasso's failing marriage to Khokhlova.^[6]

Its caption at the Tate Gallery gives some insight into the background of the painting:

^[7]

It is owned by the Tate Gallery, London, having been purchased by it in 1965, and is currently on display as part of the Tate Modern's 'Poetry and Dream' exhibition.^[8] The purchase was facilitated by Picasso's friendship with Roland Penrose who was a trustee of the Tate at that time.

1. ↑  Picasso called it Les Trois Danseuses (French) despite being a Spanish citizen, and the painting is occasionally called this, the original title (see [9]), as well as its English translation. Picasso lived in France and French titles for his paintings were not uncommon (see Garçon à la pipe and Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, for instance).
2. ↑  Three Dancers at Artchive
3. ↑  Three Dancers at everything2.com
4. ↑  The Guardian 's Arts Feature, 7 July 2001
5. ↑  The Guardian 's Arts Feature, 7 July 2001
6. ↑  Tate Gallery: The Three Dancers
7. ↑  Tate Gallery: The Three Dancers
8. ↑  web.org.uk - The Three Dancers