Picasso

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Pablo Picasso. Self-Portrait. 1907. Oil on canvas.

The formal and visual elements most utilized, recognizable, and original in Pablo Picasso’s Self-Portrait 1907 are line, texture, time, and color. As far as principals of design go, emphasis on proportion and scale of certain features makes them stand out, thus enhancing the expression of his face. I chose this artwork because the simplicity of the painting, especially the bold use of line, is appealing to the eye and looks like something I’d draw.
It appears as though Picasso started the painting with a heavy outline describing and exaggerating the shape of the head and its features, then went on to fill in the body and background. The lines outlining the eyes, cheekbones, and nose are much heavier than the lines making up the mouth. Perhaps this is because he saw himself as more the observer who expresses himself better through his art than through his words. With the eyes and nose overstated, the expression is one of curiosity and constant awareness, as well as optimism and enjoyment. Picasso makes great use of directional lines in this self portrait. His forehead slants at the same angle as his jaw and ear, collar, and lapel. His hair is combed at an angle that matches with the neck, left cheekbone and collar. His right cheekbone is a continuation of the line representing where his shirt buttons up which also matches the line of his left lapel. It looks like he...

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