Depicts · 1923
Pablo Picasso
Captioned 'P. Picasso — Igor Stravinsky' in the album — Picasso in the bowler with his pipe, Stravinsky leaning in under the top hat.
Drawing
P. Picasso — Igor Stravinsky
by Jean Cocteau
Picasso in his bowler, pipe clamped; Stravinsky monocled under a top hat, bowing into the conversation — two revolutions of the Ballets Russes years caught gossiping in Cocteau's single wandering line.
- published 1923
- Pen-and-ink line drawing — plate 120 of Dessins (Librairie Stock, 1923)
About Jean Cocteau
What the drawing shows
Two men leaning toward each other in conversation. On one side Picasso in a bowler hat, a pipe clamped in his mouth; on the other Igor Stravinsky, monocled under a top hat, bowing slightly in. Cocteau catches them mid-exchange in a single wandering line, the way you would remember two people talking rather than the way a camera would freeze them.
Two revolutions, gossiping
The joke of the pairing is that both men had already broken their art in half. Picasso had taken painting apart into Cubism; Stravinsky had detonated music with The Rite of Spring in 1913, in a Paris theatre, to a riot. Cocteau knew both through the Ballets Russes years, and drew them not as monuments but as two acquaintances caught talking shop.
From the album he dedicated to Picasso
The drawing is plate 120 of Dessins, Cocteau's album of line drawings published by Librairie Stock in Paris in 1923 and dedicated to Picasso — so the man in the bowler hat is also the book's dedicatee. Published before 1930, the plate is in the United States public domain and can be shown in full; Cocteau died in 1963, so it stays under copyright in Europe until 2033.
Close reading
Reading the work, detail by detail
Cocteau draws Picasso and Stravinsky as two acquaintances leaning into talk rather than two monuments of modern art. The details show costume, gesture, and a wandering line making intellectual exchange look social and immediate.
1.Picasso's bowler and pipe establish one compact profile
Hat brim, nose, pipe, and chin lock together in a compressed sequence. A few attributes make the sitter recognizable while preserving the speed of a remembered encounter.
2.Stravinsky answers with top hat and monocle
The taller hat and fine monocle distinguish the composer immediately. His forward inclination makes the two profiles active partners rather than separate caricatures.
3.The empty interval becomes conversation
No speech is written between them, but both poses aim toward the same narrow gap. Cocteau lets untouched paper hold the exchange that gives the double portrait its subject.
4.Two hats distinguish the sitters before their faces do
The rounded bowler and tall top hat create contrasting silhouettes. Cocteau turns recognizable clothing into visual shorthand, allowing the two profiles to remain extremely economical.
5.Each profile is built from a different rhythm
Picasso's features gather into heavier compact curves, while Stravinsky's extend through sharper nose and chin lines. The differences preserve two personalities within one restrained graphic language.
6.The caption completes the identification
The two names remove any doubt left by the abbreviated faces. Image and text work together like a magazine caricature designed for readers who know the cultural figures being introduced.
Timeline
1923
Published in the same album Cocteau dedicated to Picasso — his double portrait of Picasso and Igor Stravinsky, two revolutions of the Ballets Russes years.
Where to see it
Published in Dessins (Librairie Stock, 1923)
This is a published reproduction, not a confirmed museum display. A public viewing address for the original has not been listed.
Frequently asked questions
Who is in this drawing?
Pablo Picasso in a bowler hat with a pipe, and the composer Igor Stravinsky in a top hat and monocle, leaning toward each other in conversation. Jean Cocteau drew both in his continuous line.
Why did Cocteau draw them together?
He knew both through the Ballets Russes years, and the pairing is pointed: Picasso had broken painting into Cubism, Stravinsky had broken music with The Rite of Spring in 1913. Cocteau draws two revolutions as two men gossiping.
What is Dessins?
Cocteau's 1923 album of drawings, published by Librairie Stock and dedicated to Picasso — who is one of the two figures in this very plate, number 120.
Why can the image be shown in full?
The book was published in 1923 and is in the United States public domain. Cocteau died in 1963, so the drawing remains under copyright in the European Union until 2033.
Does Stravinsky have his own page?
Not yet as his own page. He is named here and is a candidate for a record; Picasso, the other figure, already has one.
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References
References
The sources below include collection records, catalogues, scholarly research, and primary materials that informed this page. They document P. Picasso — Igor Stravinsky, its making, and its place in cultural history.
1Jean Cocteau, Dessins (Paris: Librairie Stock, 1923) — Internet Archive scan
ArchiveUsed forArchival evidence used to document the historical record connected to P. Picasso — Igor Stravinsky.
2Jean Cocteau — Les immortels, fauteuil 31
Official recordAcadémie françaiseUsed forUsed to place P. Picasso — Igor Stravinsky within Jean Cocteau's documented oeuvre and verify its period, medium, or institutional context.
3Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) — Bibliographie
WebsiteBibliothèque nationale de FranceUsed forUsed to cross-check artist chronology and the work's relationship to Jean Cocteau's wider practice.
4Encyclopaedia Britannica — Jean Cocteau
WebsiteUsed forUsed for an additional museum or scholarly perspective on P. Picasso — Igor Stravinsky's history and interpretation.
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Why these sources are here
These references provide the documented foundation for this work's history and interpretation. Claim-level citations remain attached to the specific claims they support.
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