The Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso

The Human Race’s Expression of Grief

If you’ve ever even been within walking distance of an art college, there is a fair chance you have heard about Picasso’s masterpiece Guernica. It’s a near black and white oil painting that was created to show the reaction of the bombing of the town during the Spanish Civil War. Guernica is famous in art classes because yes; it is a famous symbol about the suffering of war. But it also was well cataloged through its creation by a photographer Dora Maar. Because of this, it gives us a powerful example of how genius is created.

Weeping Woman is considered to be a continuation of Guernica. Dora was one of Picasso’s mistresses, and she painted many times by Picasso. Sometimes begin; sometimes tortured she was undoubtedly one of Picasso’s favorite topics. He spoke a few times about her, stating that he tried to paint the deep reality of a woman, not just a superficial one. Weeping Woman she represents the grief of humanity, something that goes beyond a singular event.

Color plays a large role in the painting’s message. The woman herself has real warm hues in her. Her hat and the background are a warm red, and it is not hard to notice that she has yellow on her skin. But the yellow is placed next to green and combined it radiates no warmth. All that is gives off is sickness that is almost painful to look at. Her entire body is distorted by the grief- face mashed with eyes front and complete to allow the view access to her tears. She has no words to offer us- her mouth is a cold whitish blue that no logic nor happy could survive in.

Likewise, the painting technique can suggest length. The brush strokes a wide and flat, giving us no depth to suggest a possible change. She stands there molded in sadness, body fused in the act in a way she will never be able to separate. Even her tear is placed solid against her- unable to escape and take even the tiniest sliver of pain off of the woman’s face. Even her breath is caught in her tissue, frozen in dark blues. By her design, she cannot blink nor cry nor breathe- just express pain and suffering. Picasso has made her stand there to be a permanent example of humanity’s weeping women that he called “suffering machines.”