Head of a Woman

My name is Feely T. Heart, and I will be your guide today through one of our paintings: nn Before you stands "Head of a Woman," a captivating work painted by Pablo Picasso in 1909. Even if you are new to art, you have probably heard of Picasso! He was a very influential artist in the early 20th century, and this painting is a great example of his early experiments with a style called Cubism. nn Instead of showing the woman realistically, Picasso uses geometric shapes and fragmented forms to represent her head and upper body. Notice how the colors are mostly browns, grays, and whites, which adds to the painting's sense of depth and form. See how he uses light and shadow to create the illusion of three-dimensionality on a flat canvas. nn "Head of a Woman" is a relatively small painting, measuring just 0.61 meters high and 0.5 meters wide, but it has a powerful presence. It helps us understand how artists were moving away from traditional ways of painting at the beginning of the 1900s. They were exploring new ways to show the world around them. nn The Art Institute of Chicago, where this painting is housed, is renowned for its impressive collection of modern art, and "Head of a Woman" is a shining example of the groundbreaking works you can find within these walls.