Garçon à la pipe (painting)

Pablo Picasso's painting Garçon à la Pipe is an oil on canvas. It was painted in 1905, when Picasso was 24 years old and living in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris, during his Rose Period. The picture represents a young Parisian boy with a pipe in his left hand and a flower garland on his head, which is flanked by two floral decorations. The subject was a small boy from the neighborhood named "P'tit Louis." The picture is considered one of the most valuable paintings, having sold for $104 million at a Sotheby's auction on May 5, 2004. It is currently Picasso's fifth most popular painting.

Several studies for the current painting show the same youngster in a variety of positions, including standing, sitting, and leaning against the wall. The artist also tried up other ways for the model to interact with the pipe, such as lighting it or simply holding it. Picasso chose to proceed with the youngster sitting down after multiple repositionings and, believing that he had sufficiently studied his topic, completed the work without the model.

Cost: 104 million USD