From the 1920s Picasso felt free to distort and disassemble the forms of human beings and objects, at will rather than as part of an artistic programme such as Cubism. More than ever, metamorphosis became the most obvious characteristic of his work; often, especially in the late 1920s, it served to express violent feelings by peopling the canvas with monsters - especially women.
By contrast, The Sculptor seems to have been conceived in a playful spirit, though its subject was one to which Picasso would return again and again: the artist at work or contemplating his work, alone or in the company of his model, who is also his lover. Here there is no model - but the erotic feelng expresed by their curving contours is unmistakable. The sculptor's countenance integrates profile and full face in a skilful, witty fashion that became one of Picasso's hallmarks.
