The artwork titled “Drawing nude seated in armchair” was created by the artist Pablo Picasso in the year 1965. It is associated with the Art Movement known as Naïve Art, specifically Primitivism, and falls under the genre painting category. This work reflects a distinct phase in Picasso’s prolific career, showcasing his unique style and experimentation with form.
Upon examining the artwork, one notes the abstract depiction of a seated figure. The rendering of the person is highly stylized with exaggerated, simplified features characteristic of Picasso’s later style. Picasso employs a palette that relies heavily on contrast, using shades of greens, whites, and blacks to highlight the contours and shapes of the subject. The perspective is non-traditional, as the face is presented in both a profile and frontal view simultaneously, a hallmark of Cubism, which Picasso famously co-founded and that greatly influenced his artistic delivery throughout his career.
Distinctive to Picasso’s work, the piece includes geometric fragmentation of the body and face, as well as the flattening of the pictorial space. Although the Art Movement mentioned is Naïve Art, this particular description seems in conflict with Picasso’s more commonly associated styles of Cubism and Surrealism; it is perhaps a conflation or a categorization that draws attention to the artwork’s direct and unpretentious quality, attributes sometimes associated with the naiveté in art.
The choice of depicting the human form in such an abstract manner suggests a freedom from classical representation, allowing the viewer to engage with the image through an emotional or psychological lens rather than a purely visual, realistic one. Picasso’s innovative approach to portraying the human figure remains influential and is a testament to his relentless exploration of new artistic vistas.
