The artist painted the picture Head of a Woman (Jacqueline) in 1962, though he had been working on its creation for a year. The painter used oil and canvas to portray a woman who was his wife. The paintings' dimensions can be considered average: 39 3/8 x 31 3/8 in. Frame: 44 × 37 × 3 in. (111.76 × 93.98 × 7.62 cm). This picture attracts with its mystery and illusion. At first glance, Jacqueline's face seems rather ordinary and does not have any notable details. However, if one looks at it closely, the "puzzle" starts a kind of a dancing. Each of the picture's components, i.e. each part of the face, is separated from each other without having anything mutual. In this case, each part of the face is visible, as if the author has decided to portray even the invisible features of his woman.
Analysis of the Picture. Basically, a greater part of the painting is performed in dark colors. The woman's face and her hair are black. The background of the picture is blue with a turquoise hue. Most of the lines shown in the picture are twisted and intertwined. It can be said that the perspective of this picture is almost absent, as Picasso focused more on its texture and the pattern of the woman's face. The artist has implemented a special play of shadows with the help of the dark colors and achieved a separation of the each facial feature by means of the certain tones and shades. In addition, it should be noted that every detail of the painting has the geometric elements. According to Podoksik, Picasso "made Head of a Woman in an analytical manner" (109). That is, every feature of the face represents a part of a geometric design. The artist implemented mainly 3 colors in the painting: i.e. black, gray, and dark turquoise. In addition, the representation of the picture is penetrated with the elements of surrealism and abstract art. The face of the woman portrayed by Picasso is a sort of abstraction, each component part of which is a separate geometric puzzle. It is a puzzle in both direct and figurative meaning, as Picasso emphasized Jacqueline's “sphinx-like profile” (Brink 52). The elements of cubism strike the viewer's eye. This style allows complementing the portrait using one's personal perception. The author does not detail or specify the image of Jacqueline, although he believes in her feminine ideal. "Picasso’s portraits of her “are not just aesthetic, but also highly dramatic, and even today they proclaim the eternally youthful inspiration of the painter by his model”" (Brink 53-54). Her image seems a surreal mystery, which is able to fill the viewer with ambivalent feelings. The face is depicted from different angles simultaneously, which indicates that the diversity of the woman's nature. The darker tones imply the mystery of her identity. It is necessary to pay attention to the overall perception of the image in order to discover the surreal elements of the painting. One gets an impression of an illusory and a movement of the parts from a long-term examination. The face seems to come to life; moreover, it reflects different emotions with each new look. The meaning of this painting, which Picasso has put into it from the very beginning, most likely lies in the image of the female soul and the female character. The color scale indicates the mood and the type of Jacqueline's personality. The artist painted a portrait of the mysterious lady. He used the surreal and abstract elements for an accurate picture of his companion's personality type.
Works Cited
Brink, Andrew. Desire and Avoidance in Art: Pablo Picasso, Hans Bellmer, Balthus, and Joseph Cornell. Psychobiographical Studies with Attachment Theory. New York, NY, USA: Peter Lang Publishing, 2007. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 13 April 2016.
Podoksik, Anatoli. Great Masters: Pablo Picasso. New York, NY, USA: Parkstone International, 2010. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 13 April 2016.
