Girl before a Mirror 1932

Picasso made Girl before a Mirror with oil paint on canvas, sometime in the 1930s. Look at the way he’s approached the face of the girl, dividing it into contrasting halves, each with a distinct palette. There’s a dynamic tension in the composition as a whole, with flat planes of color and bold outlines that define each shape and form. I’m also drawn to the thick, almost crude, application of paint. You can feel the hand of the artist, the physicality of the medium, as if the painting was made with a sense of urgency. See the reflection in the mirror, how it seems darker, more fragmented, than the figure standing before it? The reflection is like a shadow, a glimpse into the depths of the girl's subconscious, or maybe her anxieties about aging. It reminds me a little of Francis Bacon, both artists using distortion and fragmentation to expose something raw and visceral about the human condition. Ultimately it’s up to you to decide how it speaks to you.