Pablo Picasso Girl Before A Mirror Essay

784 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Feminist art 20th century

Elmar KrsoHUMN1101 Final Research Project Part 2Pablo PicassoEven at a young age Pablo Picasso was enthused by art. During his childhood his fatherwas an artist and a professor at the local school for art. From here is where Pablo Picasso foundthat spark of intelligence, or brilliance you might say that propelled him in the talks of being oneof the greatest artists to live. His popularity grew exponentially through the early 20 th century,being one of the last great artists of our passed generation. As he aged he saw the oppressionwomen had in society which infuriated him. The 1930’s were not easy times for women, theyhad a lack of freedom and power. In Pablo Picasso’s Girl Before a Mirror shows women at theirmost vulnerable state, their reflection. …show more content…

Adopting this method from Georges Braque, the two who wereinseparable and pushed each other to the extreme limits of modernism. (Sayre 456)When one first takes a look at Picasso’s Girl Before a Mirror they get a sense of beingoverwhelmed. This is done intentionally to get you to look at the painting slowly, and bit by bit.First you may notice the background, which Picasso is famous for. His use of backgrounds andlandscapes set intense moods to his paintings and on this painting it is no different.(PabloPicasso) What I personally get from this painting is what one sees when they lookthemselves in the mirror. You see all of your blemishes. The girl looking into the mirror isseemingly a beautiful woman, but her reflection is dark and hasty symbolizing her ugliness, iteven seems as she is frowning in the mirror. I believe what Picasso was getting at with thispainting is that everyone is beautiful, your reflection is a mirage of what you think everyonesees. Furthermore, looking into the painting we see the woman grabbing or touching the mirror,showing that she is connected to it in someway. I believe it is emotionally because of the factthat she doesn’t see herself in good light. I feel like with this painting Picasso has iterated athousand meanings, different for anyone who looks at it.Towards the end of Picasso’s life his art output never slowed down. He continuedreleasing art until his death in 1973, where he died at the age of 91. The amount of art releasedby him throughout his career is enormous, he created over 13,500 paintings and over 150,000illustrations and engravings. (PabloPicasso) To think the amount of money each of those piecesare today is amazing. Years before his passing he began doing reiterations of his favorite painterswho inspired and motivated him throughout his career. He abandoned his modernistic style andbegan adopting those of his

Show More
Related

  • Paul Delaroche's Portrayal Of Women In The 19th Century

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    The male artists portrayed women as a projection of their ideal woman. The artist’s often overlooked the women’s identity’s and personalities in favour of creating aesthetically pleasing art for themselves and other superior males to view and enjoy. This was especially harmful because the more popular the art grew to be, the more often women were categorised as objects rather than people. The art contributed to gender construction by creating these gender roles and reinforcing that in all situations, men were superior to

    Read More

  • Erick Fishl´s Scarsdale Painting

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    The composition of this painting forces the eye to the woman, and specifically to her face. Although the white wedding dress is large and takes up most of the woman’s figure, the white contrasts with her face and dark hair, forcing the viewer to look more closely into the woman’s face. She smokes a cigarette and rests her chin on her hands. She does not appear to be a very young woman and her eyes are cast down and seem sad. In general, her face appears to show a sense of disillusionment with life and specifically with her own life. Although this is apparently her wedding day, she does not seem to be happy.

    Read More

  • The Life and Styles of Pablo Picasso

    3408 Words  | 7 Pages

    Pablo Picasso is one of the most famous and well-documented artists of the twentieth century. Picasso, unlike most painters, is even more special because he did not confine himself to canvas, but also produced sculpture, poetry, and ceramics in profusion. Although much is known about this genius, there is still a lust after more knowledge concerning Picasso, his life and the creative forces that motivated him. This information can be obtained only through a careful study of the events that played out during his lifetime and the ways in which they manifested themselves in his creations (Penrose).

    Read More

  • Elisabeth Louise Vigée- Lebrun

    2103 Words  | 5 Pages

    Prior to the 20th century, female artists were the minority members of the art world (Montfort). They lacked formal training and therefore were not taken seriously. If they did paint, it was generally assumed they had a relative who was a relatively well known male painter. Women usually worked with still lifes and miniatures which were the “lowest” in the hierarchy of genres, bible scenes, history, and mythological paintings being at the top (Montfort). To be able to paint the more respected genres, one had to have experience studying anatomy and drawing the male nude, both activities considered t...

    Read More

  • Woman in the Studio

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this work, the colors and shapes come together to form the depiction of a woman in a chair gazing out at the landscape beyond a window. This subject matter relates to Picasso’s infamous relationship with women and may serve as a depiction of one of the many women he was linked with. The painting depicts the woman with a dual omniscient and introspective vision. Picasso develops this dichotomy through the depiction of a wayward eye gazing out the window and a larger ubiquitous eye glaring directly at the viewers. In constructing such a contrast, the painter is able to convey the personality...

    Read More

  • The Legacy Frida Kahlo

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    Diego Rivera was deemed the finest Mexican painter of the twentieth century; he had a huge influence in art worldwide. Rivera wanted to form his own painting fashion. Although he encountered the works of great masters like Gauguin, Renoir, and Matisse, he was still in search of a new form of painting to call his own (Tibol, 1983). His desire was to be capable of reaching a wide audience and express the difficulties of his generation at the same time, and that is exactly what h...

    Read More

  • Anne Sexton's Painting The Starrry Night By Anne Sexton

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...retation of the painting some aspects were surprising to how dark and heavy hearted she could speak, she took an interesting perspective. However in her interpretative poem she found a perspective of the painting that connected with her. As she used every stroke of darkness painted into the canvas an opportunity to have it symbolize this darkness and evil that resides in the world. It told her story and her experience of a starry night. Similarly Van Gogh had used every stroke of light painted into the canvas to be a symbol of beauty, and a symbol of his fascination of the night sky and its illuminating lights. He uses swift movements of his brush to depict a sky that seem to be able to sweep the mind away from the frustrations of this world in to the dreamy night light. A single painting worth a million words tells many stories through every perspective.

    Read More

  • Guernica By Pablo Picasso

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the many symbols that Picasso used was an anguished mother with a dead child. On the far left of the painting, we can see that a woman’s head is being thrown back and her mouth is wide open, as if she is screaming out on the top of her lungs while holding onto the body of a small, limp child. Perhaps she was a mother who was crying out in pain and despair over the her dead child in her arms. Her eyes, nose and lips were drawn in the shape of tears which may symbolize how much distress she was feeling after she realized that her child became a victim of the

    Read More

  • Fresco Diego Rivera Analysis

    691 Words  | 2 Pages

    Art movement’s characteristics vary from nation to nation, but painting can be used as a critique of the socio-political reality in a given nation. It is a creative way to communicate with a population about economic, education and social issues. Therefore, The History of Cuernavaca and Morelos: Crossing the Barranca (ravine) Detail (1929-30) Fresco by Diego Rivera is a good example of how an artist uses his creativity to connect with people in relation to Mexican history. Art is an inspired way to share the complexity and challenge of a community. It can be used a way to respond to them likewise. Therefore, the concept of accessibility takes ingenuity. With his deepen knowledge of European and ancient Mexican art, it was not a documentation

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Pablo Picasso And Jackson Pollock?

    1310 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the creation of art to its modern understanding, artists have strived to perform and perfect a photo realistic painting with the use of complex lines, blend of colors, and captivating subjects. This is not the case anymore due to the invention of the camera in 1827, since it will always be the ultimate form of realism. Due to this, artists had the opportunities to branch away from the classical formation of realism, and venture into new forms such as what is known today as modern art. In the examination of two well known artists, Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock, we can see that the artist doesn’t only intend for the painting to be just a painting, but more of a form of telling a scene through challenging thoughts, and expressing of the artists emotion in their creation.

    Read More

  • Wassily Kandinsky Analysis

    674 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Picasso painted from a model who sat in front of him, facing him”. Thus, you are “in the position of the artist”. The unique element of the painting is that use of cubism, which allows for the painting to carry a form of mystery behind it, as it does not simply give you the image, rather, it provides the elements of a complete composition that then the viewer must piece together. What the image truly shows us, however, is that of a naked female playing a mandolin with us as the viewer able to see the profile of her face looking down towards the strings of the mandolin, while her body faces towards the viewer, giving a good usage of twisted perspective. “The colors in this painting are shades of light brown, tan, yellow, and olive green. They all seem close to each in color, and they are all muted or dull” with “no bright color standing out. These factors make the entire surface of the painting appear unified in color.” Thus turning the piece into more of a puzzle that the viewer mush piece together rather than merely a painting one could simply

    Read More

  • The Movements of the 20th Century Culture

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the early 20th century several movements occurred in America and Europe, therefore it was an era that characterized by the imperialism industrialization which polarized the nation into two categories of high and the low class. And the western culture dominated most of the world possessions. The U.S was able to have power over their land and they gained high economic and political power. The American did not allow other countries free trade to enter their lands. Furthermore, the Modernism Cultural movements allow many artists to present their styles in a unique form of expression. Modernism is characterized radically by breaking down the trends which occurred in the past of the 19th century. Moreover, Pablo Picasso, he was a phenomenal modern artist; Picasso was very famous for all of his work of art especially the cubism arts. Therefore, some viewers consider his art to be disturbing because they...

    Read More

  • Pablo Picasso- A Biography

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pablo Picasso was one of the most recognized and popular artist of all time. In Pablo’s paintings and other works of art, he would paint what he was passionate about and you can see his emotions take control throughout his paintings and other works of art. Pablo Picasso works of art include not only paintings but also prints, bronze sculptures, drawings, and ceramics. Picasso was one of the inventors of cubism. ” Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” is one of Picasso famous paintings; this is also one of Pablo’s first pieces of cubism. Picasso went through different phases in his paintings; the blue period, rose period, black period, and cubism. Picasso was a born talented artist, with his dad setting the foundation; Picasso became the famous artist of the twentieth century.

    Read More

  • Women In Art Essay

    1561 Words  | 4 Pages

    The women in art history have used their passions to bring about a necessary change and bring women out of the shadows to which she has been pushed into over the centuries. Making painting their own they bring a new life and expression into the female personalities portrayed that men are not yet able to achieve. Showing the world where they stand and what they are willing to go through shows the strength in character a woman really has and that she is not the equivalent of a bowl of fruit or a vase of flowers in a man’s painting but so much more. These women are an inspiration because even though they lived in a society that thought them week and incapable they proved their strength and determination.

    Read More

  • Art Movements

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    The groundbreaking Demoiselles d’Avignon was controversial not only for the way the women looked but also for the positions of the women. Although Picasso did not emphasize on detail, he “saw that the rational, often geometric breakdown if the human head and body employed by so many African artists could provide him with the starting point for his own re-appraisal of his subjects”(Cubism 53). “The naked women become inextricably bound up in a flux of shapes or planes which tip backwards and forwards from the two-dimensional surface to produce much the same sensation as an elaborate sculpture…”(Cubism 54).

    Read More

More about Pablo Picasso Girl Before A Mirror Essay

Open Document