Portrait of Dora Maar 1937

No prizes for guessing the artist responsible for this 1937 oil painting, ‘Portrait of Dora Maar’! ‍ Now in a private collection, this vibrant work by the renowned Cubist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) depicts Dora Maar, a French photographer. Maar is best known for her experimentations with surreal imagery. Keep your eyes peeled to learn more about Dora Maar soon! Here, Picasso has made use of his signature perspective which combines the frontal and profile views of the face. We see the silhouette of Maar’s nose as if she is turned to the side, yet both of her eyes are also visible. She rests her head on her hand, her elongated fingers merging with the distorted shape of her nose. Picasso has used bold shades of yellow and green for Dora Maar’s skin. This unconventional colour palette is complete with white lips and a white highlight on her cheek. These areas of pale white create a striking contrast next to her dark hair. The background is completely flat, divided into areas of bright red and orange. Born in 1907, Dora Maar is best known as the model for many of Picasso’s most recognisable paintings. This includes the iconic ‘Weeping Woman’ (1937), now housed in the Tate Gallery. Yet Maar was far more than a simple muse for a famous male artist. In reality, she was considered Picasso’s intellectual equal. As a painter, poet, and anti-fascist political activist, Dora Maar was hugely successful during her lifetime. Her work was even displayed in New York’s Museum of Modern Art! 🖼️