Fan, Salt Box, Melon

Fan, Salt Box, Melon — Pablo Picasso. 1909.

Medium: oil on canvas. Dimensions: Framed: 100.3 x 83.5 x 7.3 cm (39 1/2 x 32 7/8 x 2 7/8 in.); Unframed: 81.3 x 64.2 cm (32 x 25 1/4 in.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

One of Pablo Picasso’s earliest Cubist paintings, this still life depicts a wooden salt box, a sliced melon in a crystal bowl, and a rumpled cloth resting on the table. A green fan is opened and propped against the wall, where it dissolves into faceted, geometric planes. While some objects are depicted from a frontal view, the table is tilted upright, as if seen from the ceiling, providing multiple simultaneous views of the scene, which became typical of Cubist works of art.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.