Portrait of Dora Maar 1937

This is Picasso’s Portrait of Dora Maar, a riot of color and fragmented form that captures the essence of his muse. Imagine Picasso at his easel, wrestling with the canvas. He lays down strokes of orange, white and red to render Dora Maar’s striking features. There’s a back and forth, a constant shifting and rearranging of planes. He probably stepped back, squinted, and charged forward again, driven by some inner rhythm, always trying to get to the core of what he felt about her. I see echoes of other painters who have grappled with the human form. There’s a nod to cubism, of course, but also a hint of something more primal, like the raw energy of an outsider artist. It’s as if Picasso is in conversation with all these voices, past and present, pushing the boundaries of what a portrait can be. Painting is ultimately an act of faith, a belief in the power of the hand and eye to make something meaningful out of nothing.