Clip & save art notes - discussion of Pablo Picasso's Weeping Woman

Arts & Activities, Nov, 2002 by Guy Hubbard

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). Weeping Woman; 1937. Oil on canvas; 59 cm x 48 cm. Tate Gallery, London.

ABOUT THIS PAINTING

Pablo Picasso was one the most productive and creative artists of the 20th century. He was among the first to recognize the abstract power of African art, its influence being found in his work from almost the beginning of his career. But he didn't cling to any idea for very long before either dramatically modifying it or being inspired by new artistic ideas. And, unlike many artists whose talents diminished as they grew older, Picasso remained creative and full of vigor until he died at the advanced age of 91.

The events of 1937 led to him being surrounded with great bitterness. Several of his friends were experiencing great unhappiness, while the bombing of the small town of Guernica in his Spanish homeland shocked him. Critics have likened his need to express himself about these things to Francisco de Goya's prints showing brutality during the time of Napoleon's conquest of Spain, and scenes from the slaughter of innocent people in Odessa, Russia, in the famous motion picture by Sergei Eisenstein, "The Battleship Potemkin."

Only during 1937 did Picasso explore images of weeping women. This painting is one of almost 60 on this theme. It was also at this time that he drew and painted the dismembered bodies of the victims of the Guernica bombing raid.

This painting of a weeping woman, however, is quite different from his other work on the same theme done during this period. In particular, the colors are unusually bright and bold for Picasso--especially in a picture devoted to grief and unhappiness. People are more likely to think of colors that are dull for subjects like this one and that is true of Picasso's other paintings and drawings of weeping women. But not this one.

The result is a kind of contradiction that adds shock to the painting. The brilliant colors make us think that the woman was happy and confident until the moment she received some tragic news. It was this moment that Picasso captured with paint.

Equally unusual for Picasso, the woman is wearing a fashionably designed hat and carefully brushed hair as though she had just been to the city either shopping or visiting friends. Picasso rarely dressed his models in normal, everyday clothing.

Bold painted lines mark all areas of the painting, from the parallel curves of the woman's hair to the hat with its flower decoration. But the most noticeable outlines are seen in the face. It is filled with sharp zigzag lines, like shock waves that explode in all directions. The white handkerchief pressed against the face with fumbling fingers has the effect of taking all the color out of her cheeks and yet it doesn't hide anything of the distraught face underneath and the mouth twisted by crying. Even the tears are outlined in black, so they become part of the design. What is perhaps surprising are the blunt shapes of the fingers, which look as though they belong to a man rather than a woman.

Picasso's painting of the eyes and nose are also very abstract, especially the thick eyelashes curving all the way around the eyes. The eyes, themselves, seem distorted, as though overflowing with tears.

The English artist and critic, Roland Penrose, first saw this small painting while visiting Picasso in his studio in France. He recognized how good it was and immediately asked to buy it. Picasso agreed, and the painting remained in Penrose's home for the next 45 years--until his death in 1982. The painting was then bequeathed to the Tate Gallery in London so anyone might go and see it.

While Picasso chose many different subjects throughout his life, people who knew him best believed that all of them were really about him--that they were biographical. The inspiration came from events in his personal life--from his friends, his family, as well as larger events such as the tragic civil war experienced by his homeland. It was as though he was painting his own personal feelings about the subjects he chose and not simply a picture showing other people expressing their feelings.

For this reason, the boys in a class at school may try and imagine what it would be like for them to paint a picture of a weeping woman as though it was something they were feeling. Similarly, girls might try and imagine painting the portrait of a weeping man and in doing so to try and show how they felt about his sorrow. They might also think of painting abstractly to focus on the feelings of the model, rather than being concerned with realism.