Figure and profile 1928

Curator: Right in front of us is Picasso’s 1928 painting "Figure and Profile." He employed a mixed-media approach here, combining paint and collage elements. Editor: My immediate impression is… fractured. The colours are quite bold but somewhat muted at the same time. There’s a definite tension between the flat planes and the implied depth. Curator: Yes, Picasso's use of cubism and surrealism in this portrait is very striking. Notice the juxtaposition of the fragmented profile on the left against the geometric abstraction on the right. The figure on the right contains 3 eyes placed vertically. How do you see this "displacement"? Editor: This disruption creates several points of focus that invite exploration through pattern, rhythm, line, and shape, which altogether are structured within what almost reads as a vertical triptych composition. It creates a really dynamic visual experience and a fascinating dialogue between flatness and form. Curator: And doesn’t that fragmentation reflect the psychological complexity that emerged post-war? The shattered image of the individual mirroring a shattered society? Those repeated vertical stripes in the backdrop feel almost like bars…perhaps evoking a sense of confinement or distortion of reality. Editor: Interesting point. For me, those elements enhance, more than imprison. I see the layering of form breaking free, a celebration of material exploration rather than a reflection of societal confinement. Even the repeated form becomes interesting rather than oppressive when viewed this way. Curator: It is a painting that stays with you, regardless of your first impression. The interplay of deconstructed image with its emotional presence makes Picasso one of the most influential of all Modernists. Editor: Agreed. There is a power in that surface that invites us to engage with a completely new type of representation.