Picasso's Weeping Woman ( 1937): An Analysis

Cubism was a 20th century art movement that revolutionised Western painting. Its pioneers included Pablo Picasso and George Braque. It was influenced by primitivism, Iberian and African art. Furthermore, it deployed mathematical forms such as cylinders, spheres and cones. Typically, the Cubist painting breaks up, analyses and reconfigures an object in abstract form, depicting it from a multiplicity of viewpoints.

Building upon Cubism and Surrealism, some of Picasso's later work expresses this multiplicity of view points. Picasso's Weeping Woman ( 1937) is a portrait of his lover and private muse Dora Maar. It is essentially a study of just how much pain can be expressed in the human face. Picasso, via the use of Cubist techniques, seems to be asking the viewer to imagine him or herself within the universal face of pain. The face of the woman is depicted both in profile and as a frontal view. As the viewer gazes over the face, he/she is drawn to the centre, where the flesh seems to be peeled away by the corrosive action of the tears.

'...the woman's mourning continues, without end. She cries and cries.' ( Jones, 2000)

The handkerchief in her mouth is like shards of glass and her eyes are black apertures. Indeed, the angular shapes seems to serve as a metaphor for suffering in general:

' The searing emotion of grief experienced by this distraught woman is reflected with great intensity in the harsh colours and rigid brushstrokes. The viewer's attention is immediately focused on the cold blue and white area around her mouth and teeth; her eyes and teeth are dislocated- literally broken up with sorrow. The figure echoes those of Picasso's monumental painting Guernica painted in the same year.' ( Stirling, 1994, p.356)

It seems that the way in which the woman's face has been distorted and fragmented is a development of Cubist notions. Traditionally, a portrait of the human face humanises the subject. We tend to think of the eyes as the windows to the soul. However, in this particular painting, we see the subject reduced to a distorted monster of existential angst.:

' Picasso's portrait of Dora Maar, Weeping Woman, painted the same year as his great picture Guernica has a terrible power. It is a deeply unattractive picture, the shrill yellows and greens fighting bitterly and unrelentingly with the weary reds, sickly whites and sinister purples.' ( Beckett, 1994, p.645)

Weeping Woman reveals to the viewer the essence of the subject, rather than a realistic portrayal of her. Picasso skilfully cuts up the figure into different segments and depicts different views of her being, especially her sorrow. Via Picasso's implementation of Cubist techniques, the viewer encounters the weeping woman's torment in her grinding, chattering teeth that bite upon her existence. Moreover. One can see the torment in her teeth, that are separated from her once, ostensibly, colourful life:

' The tears are pouring violently from her eyes. Even her finger-tips seem to be turning into tears as soon as they get moist. The handkerchief veils her mouth, thus revealing the vehemence of her pain, and with its contrast of blue and white points to Guernica, The whole tragedy of suffering is contained in the contrast between head and handkerchief.' ( Walther, 1993, p.70.)

Perhaps, it is the case, that Picasso's Weeping Woman is in fact a victim of the Spanish Civil War. Perhaps, she represents the grieving mother, featured in Guernica, whose child has been slain: She is screaming, holding her dead baby and her tongue is like a dagger pointing at heaven. The baby's face is a cartoon of death.

There is an additional and more subtle interpretation: namely, that the work is a self-portrait revealing the artist's inner torment at the idea of his native country being torn apart by civil war. Picasso was extremely upset by the conflict and vowed never to return to Spain while Franco remained in power. As it was, Franco outlived him by two years.

The painting may also have a religious meaning. the Weeping Woman, for instance, could perhaps symbolize the pieta - the anguish of the Virgin Mary, as she mourns the horrifying death of her son, Jesus Christ. The hand of the trampled corpse under the horse in Guernica, contained signs of Christ's stigmata, indicating martyrdom, so there may also be a religious dimension to this painting. Furthermore, it is important to recognise thatThe Mater Dolorosa, the Weeping Virgin, or Our Lady of Sorrows ( relating to Mary) is a traditional image in Spanish art, often represented in lurid baroque sculptures with glass tears, like the very solid one that flows towards the woman's right ear.

Whatever Picasso intended, it is important to recognise that the aforementioned war continued to haunt him. For instance, in late 1937, he produced a small oil painting also entitled: Weeping Woman that was yet another colourful Cubist composition. Like its predecessor, it is also an iconic image of unspeakable grief and pain, representing universal suffering. The fragmented features and the use of acid green and purple heighten the painting’s emotional intensity.

Here is an interesting quotation about the Weeping Women series, which seems to shed light on what Picasso meant by 'weeping':

' The series that came to be known as Weeping Women was collected and shown in Los Angeles and New York in 1994. While visiting with a group of my daughter's friends at dinner in New York the night after I saw the exhibit, I asked if any of them had seen it and what they thought. One young woman immediately said, “ I don't think those women are weeping at all- those are screams of anguish.” I agree that Weeping Women is a misnomer for these anguished screamers. True, their tears are clearly visible, but these women are shedding teeth-gnashing, handkerchief-wringing tears of protest, rather than the quiet tears connotated by the word “ weeping”.' ( Nelson, 2005, p. 213.)

Clearly, Picasso's masterpiece expresses deep pain in an innovative way. It insists that we imagine ourselves into the corroded countenance of the woman: '  When you are inside this picture you are inside pain; it hits you like a punch in the stomach. ' ( Jones, 2000)

Reference List:

Beckett, W. ( 1994) The Story of Painting. London: Darling Kindersley Ltd.

Jones, J. ( 2000) 'Weeping Woman, Pablo Picasso ( 1937)'. Culture.The Guardian, 13th May.

Nelson, J. ( 2005) Tears: Crying and Attachment. New York: Brunner Routledge.

Stirling, S. ( 1994) The Art Book ( 1994) London: Phaidon Press

Walther, I. ( 1993) Picasso. Cologne: Benedikt Taschen.