The painting I chose was Pablo Picasso’s “Seated Female Nude”. Born Pablo Ruiz Picasso (his full name is rather long) in Spain, he’s a prominent figure in the art world, being a painter, sculptor, and ceramicist and is considered one of the pioneers of cubism, one of the streams of modernism in art. Picasso’s famous works include “Le Rêve”, “Guernica”, and “The Weeping Woman”.
“Seated Female Nude”, according to the MET website, is an oil painting and was painted during the winter of 1908, which is said to “offer a view into Picasso’s formulation of Cubism in 1908”. The painting features a nude woman who appears to be sitting on, perhaps, a stone and holding what appears to be a white cloth in between her legs. The lady also seems to have an unclear definition of her stomach and left thigh, which also happens to be positioned in a rather odd way with the way the anatomy is painted.
The similar ideas shared during modernism was that artists didn’t have to be confined to what their eyes saw, but rather allow their creativeness to roam freely and paint how they see the world. In this case, the use of cubism is just that, along with treating the world as two-dimensional, thus compressing complex shapes into geometric figures as seen when Picasso not only painted the woman but the landscape background as well.
When recalling how I encountered this piece, it was just 2 relatives and I roaming the MET and we came across a gallery with various sculptures and and paintings. Having not found a painting that took place during modernism yet, I went in and as it was the first painting, it briefly caught my attention as I recognized the woman’s head as a moai, which are monolithic human figures carved in Easter Island. I didn’t think much and continued walking but a relative pointed out this painting and suggested that I can use this painting for my assignment. I figured why not, it fit the criteria just fine.
As I looked at the painting more, I find it to be a simple but also fascinating painting. It seemed like a normal woman initially but I remembered this was painted when Picasso was entering into Cubism, and took note of the geometric shapes he’s used in the painting. Although I am confused why it seems like the lady has no stomach and a probably elongated left leg. Perhaps it has to do with how Picasso began formulating Cubism and that’s just how it is.
Thanks for this post. I am impressed that you saw the resemblance to the Easter Island carvings. One of the most important things that Picasso did was to embrace non-Western artistic influences, and this is a great example of that.