The Embrace I (L'Étreinte. I) from the Vollard Suite (Suite Vollard)

Sexuality is a recurring motif in Picasso's art, depicted in various ways. In the 1930s he began making scenes of sexual aggression, to which scholars have since assigned titles ranging from the benign Embrace to Struggle, Battle of Love and Rape. At the time Picasso was influenced by Surrealism, which encouraged the exploration of unconscious thoughts and desires. Also, he introduced the Minotaur, half-man and half-bull, which the bodies of the male figures here resemble.

Credit: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Fund