Girl before a Mirror.
|
Title |
Girl before a Mirror. |
|
Creator |
Picasso, Pablo (Spanish painter, sculptor, and printmaker, 1881-1973) |
|
Date |
1932 |
|
Cultural Context |
Spanish
European
Western European |
|
Style/Period |
Cubist
Modern (styles and periods)
Abstract (fine arts style) |
|
Subject |
Abstract paintings
Abstract works
Girls
Breasts
Mirrors
Reflections |
|
Description |
"Another stylistic shift in Picasso's work that was influenced by Cubism has been called Surrealism. This term literally means 'above real' and denotes a truer reality than that of the visible world. In the Girl before a Mirror of 1932, Picasso aims at psychological reality. He uses the multiple viewpoint in the service of symbolism, although the precise meaning of this picture has remained elusive and has been the subject of many interpretive discussions. The girl at the left is rendered in a combined frontal and profile view, but her mirror reflection is in profile. It is also darker than the 'real' girl outside the mirror, and the torsos do not match. […] The device of the mirror to create multiple views is not new. Picasso was certainly familiar with Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergères, Velázquez's Venus with a Mirror, and Las Meninas, all of which use mirrors to expand the viewer's range of vision. Here, however, the formal differences between the girl and her reflection suggest that outer appearances are contrasted with an inner, psychological state. One French term for mirror is psyché, which means 'soul,' and this provides a clue to the picture's significance. It reinforces the notion that Picasso transformed the multiple views of Cubism into multiple psychological views, which simultaneously show the girl's interior psychic reality and exterior appearance." (Excerpt, p. 893) |
|
Material |
Oil on canvas
Oil paint (pigmented coating)
Paint
Canvas |
|
Measurements |
5 ft 4 in x 4 ft 3 1/4 in (1.62 x 1.3 m) |
|
Technique |
Oil painting (technique)
Painting (image-making) |
|
Work Type |
Paintings
Oil paintings
Abstract paintings
Abstract works |
|
Repository |
Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) (New York, New York) |
|
Source |
Adams, Laurie Schneider. Art Across Time. 2nd ed. 2 vols. New York: McGraw, 2002. (p.893, 25.11). |
|
Rights |
Photograph reproduced in Adams courtesy: Gift of Mrs. Simon Guggenheim. Photograph © 2001 The Museum of Modern Art, New York/ © 2001 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. |
|
Digital Publisher |
University of Louisville Department of Fine Arts/Allen R. Hite Art Institute Visual Resources Center |
|
Format |
image/jpeg |
|
Digital File Name |
VRC 437-47.jpg |
|
Rating |
|
Add tags for Girl before a Mirror.
you wish to report:
...
