MAYA Ruiz-Picasso Walter, the eldest daughter of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, who served as a model and inspiration for many paintings and drawings, has passed away this Tuesday, December 20, at the age of 87.

The announcement was made by the family lawyer Richard Malka, who limited himself to making public a brief statement from the family.

“Maya Ruiz-Picasso passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at the age of 87,” Malka said.

Born María de la Concepción “Maya” Widmaier-Picasso in the French town of Boulogne-Billancourt in 1935, later known as Maya Ruiz-Picasso, she was the painter’s eldest daughter and fruit of the artist’s relationship with the French model Marie-Thérèse Walter, one of his great loves, with whom he was with between 1927 and 1935.

Maya posed for Picasso on numerous occasions, both for paintings and sculptures, including a series of portraits of her in the painter’s full Cubist period, in 1938, such as Maya with doll (1938), Maya with doll and horse (1938), Maya in sailor costume (1938), Maya at the boat (1938) or Apron Maya (1938).

Picasso’s works featuring Maya are currently the focus of an exhibition at the Musée Picasso in Paris, which explores the paternal-filial relationship between the two and how the birth of their daughter enhanced the artist’s curiosity in the theme of childhood.

The exhibition, which opened in April, ends on 31 April.

Maya devoted part of her life to the study and preservation of the legacy of her father and her occurs at the gates of the beginning of the Picasso year, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death.

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