Woman with red hat 1934

Picasso painted Woman with Red Hat with oils on canvas, but there is no known date for its making. The way Picasso layered pinks, blues, and whites on this figure is a really particular and physical way of approaching the painting process. You can almost see how he was thinking. Look at the figure's face and how he places two profiles together. It’s as though he is trying to see the person from multiple angles simultaneously. The paint handling is so apparent in the way he blocks out the colour, you can almost trace the movements of his brush across the canvas. I especially like the way he’s painted the hands, those black lines that define the form give them the appearance of shards of glass. I’m reminded of Francis Picabia in the way he creates multiple perspectives in a single image, but Picasso brings a certain energy and playfulness to his work that feels unique. We are left with ambiguity rather than any fixed idea.