Marie-Thérèse Walter (13 July 1909 – 20 October 1977) was a French model and lover of Pablo Picasso from 1927 to about 1935 and the mother of their daughter Maya Widmaier-Picasso.
Their relationship began when she was seventeen years old; he was 45 and married to his first wife, Olga Khokhlova.
It ended after Picasso moved on to his next relationship, with artist Dora Maar.
Walter is known as Picasso's "golden muse" and inspired numerous artworks and sculptures that he created of her during their relationship.
Marie-Thérèse Walter was born on 13 July 1909 in Le Perreux, France.
She was the illegitimate child of a French woman and a Swedish businessman.
1927
On 8 January 1927, Walter first met Picasso in front of the Galeries Lafayette in Paris.
At the time, she was living with her mother and sisters at Maisons-Alfort, a suburb southeast of Paris.
Picasso approached her and said, "You have an interesting face. I would like to do a portrait of you. I am Picasso".
Walter was unfamiliar with his name but was flattered by the attention.
The relationship began after Picasso invited Walter to visit his studio on 11 January 1927, which was situated on the floor above his apartment on Rue La Boétie.
He studied her face and body and invited her to return the next day.
The visits continued daily causing Walter to tell her mother that she had a job.
She said, "He told me that I had saved his life, but I had no idea what he meant".
A week after they first met, they were in a sexual relationship.
At the time, Picasso was married to Olga Khokhlova, a Ukrainian ballerina, with whom he had a five-year-old son.
1928
In the summer of 1928, the Picasso family stayed at Dinard, where Picasso also installed Walter at a summer camp for girls and arranged to see her in secret at his rented beach cabana.
1930
In July 1930, he bought a château at Boisgeloup close to Gisors, which he used as a studio for sculpture.
His wife frequented the estate on weekends before returning to Paris, while his mistress spent the week with him.
Walter was the unseen shadow of the family and became his model and muse for both paintings and sculptures.
1932
In September 1932, Walter nearly drowned after falling out of her kayak on the river Marne.
This event caused her to contract a viral infection that resulted in hospitalisation and the loss of her hair.
In response, Picasso painted Rescue on 20 November, an image of a woman being saved from drowning.
In October 1932, Picasso's first major retrospective took place at the Galeries Georges Petit, which displayed numerous artworks depicting nude portraits of Walter, revealing the nature of his relationship with her.
These portraits included The Dream and Nude, Green Leaves and Bust.
1934
In 1934, Walter became pregnant.
She informed Picasso on Christmas Eve 1934.
Khokhlova had already left the family apartment on Rue La Boétie that year, but rather than moving in with Walter, Picasso rented a neighbouring house for her.
When Khokhlova was informed by a friend that her husband had a longtime relationship with a woman who was expecting a child, she immediately left Picasso and moved to the South of France with their son, Paulo.
1935
He and Walter, then seventeen years old, began a relationship which was kept secret from his wife until 1935.
Walter reinvigorated Picasso's artwork.
He began to draw her portrait repeatedly, inspired by her fresh, athletic appearance, curves and oval face.
Walter was very active, involved in rowing, gymnastics and cycling.
Walter commented, "My life with him was always secret, calm and peaceful. We said nothing to anyone. We were happy like that, and we did not ask anything more".
On 5 September 1935, Picasso and Walter's daughter, María de la Concepción, called "Maya", was born in Boulogne-Billancourt.
1936
Walter and Maya stayed with Picasso at Juan-les-Pins in the South of France from 25 March to 14 May 1936, and then moved to Le Tremblay-sur-Mauldre, 25 km from Versailles, in autumn 1937.
Picasso visited on the weekends and some weekdays to play with his daughter.
1938
Maya also modeled for some of his paintings, including Maya with Doll (1938).
By the time of Maya's birth, Picasso had already been seeing several other women including Alice Paalen and Valentine Hugo.
1955
Picasso and Khokhlova never divorced, although Picasso was intent on it and explored the legal possibilities, Khokhlova was "bitterly opposed to the whole thing"; instead she impounded his work until he came to terms eventually paying her a large allowance, they lived separately until her death in 1955.
