The artwork titled “Head of a woman with green curls” was created by the renowned artist Pablo Picasso in the year 1946. This portrait is rendered in oil on canvas and measures 35 by 27 centimeters. Picasso’s work on this piece can be situated within the artistic movements of Expressionism and Naïve Art (Primitivism) which emphasize emotional experience and a simplistic, raw style.
The portrait displays Picasso’s distinctive style, marked by the bold use of color and abstract representation. The subject’s facial features are fragmented and reassembled, a hallmark of Picasso’s experimentation with form that challenges traditional notions of perspective and proportion. The use of contrasting colors, such as the vibrant blues, oranges, and greens, create a dynamic and engaging visual experience. These colors are not just confined to the figure but also extend into the background, which is relatively muted, allowing the subject to dominate the canvas.
As in many of Picasso’s portraits, the representation of the figure is not realistic but conveys the essence of the individual through a series of expressive, simplified forms. The artwork’s title indicates green curls, which are abstractly depicted around the head, suggesting an unorthodox approach to portraying hair. This treatment endows the artwork with a sense of vivacity and motion, as if the curls are an animated extension of the subject’s character.
Overall, Picasso’s “Head of a woman with green curls” embodies the spirited experimentation with the form that typified much of his work, conveying emotion and abstraction while simultaneously breaking away from conventional portraiture to create a piece that is both unique and indicative of the artist’s revolutionary approach to art.
