Portrait Of a Lady (plastic drawing) 1915

Lyubov Popova made this oil on canvas, 'Portrait Of a Lady,' and though undated, it looks to me like she might have been having a really good time. The palette is a mix of blues, reds, and greens, all fractured and faceted. I bet Popova’s studio was like a laboratory of form. I can imagine her pushing paint around, trying to make a person out of shapes. There’s an openness here, an uncertainty about what a portrait even *is*, and that feels radical. Look at the blue and white strokes at the bottom – they could be fabric, or just pure movement. And the way she balances abstraction with a hint of figuration—it's like she's asking us to piece together our own version of reality. Popova, like other artists such as Malevich, was concerned with a radical art divorced from history and social role. I admire the way these artists help each other think. What do you think?