Description
In Head of a Woman, Picasso gives a familiar face the firmness of carved form. Gray-green facets break across the cheeks and forehead, while darker hair surrounds the central head. The shoulders introduce warmer ochre tones beneath the face. Instead of smoothing these changes into an illusion of continuous flesh, he lets edges and planes remain visible, so the portrait seems to turn and project within a shallow space.
Picasso painted the work during his summer stay in Horta de Ebro in 1909, using his companion Fernande Olivier as the model. The Art Institute notes how these portraits explored the underlying structure of the head. Her bun is brought into view even though the face is presented from the front, challenging a fixed viewpoint. This close attention to volume helped connect his painted investigations with his subsequent sculpture.
Read our guide to giclée prints, browse more Pablo Picasso prints, or explore Seated Woman.
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