Portrait of woman (Dora Maar) 1942

This is Picasso’s ‘Portrait of a Woman (Dora Maar)’, it’s oil on canvas. Looking at the fragmented forms and muted palette, I think about the push and pull between observation and invention. Picasso's really having a go at seeing, un-seeing, and re-seeing his subject. It makes me think of the challenge of capturing a likeness while also breaking it apart. I imagine Picasso, brush in hand, stepping back, squinting, and then diving back in. Like he's trying to grasp something elusive. There's a feeling of tension in the geometric shapes and the way the planes intersect. I feel like the angularity of the hat contrasts with the soft curves of her face. I think of Cezanne, Braque and Gris, and the many conversations painters were having at the time. It's like Picasso is constantly in dialogue with painting itself. Artists never really work in isolation, it's more like they are constantly riffing off one another, transforming ideas, and creating new languages for expression.