Untitled 1955

This untitled painting was made by Pablo Picasso, probably in France, using oil on canvas, sometime in the 20th century. Like much of Picasso’s work, the painting presents a figure in a flattened and fragmented way. It’s rendered in near monochrome, but the striking, abstracted features of the woman have a strong presence. The visual language and art institutions of the time are important to consider. Picasso was part of a generation of artists who were challenging academic conventions, as well as questioning the role of the art market and of art itself. Rather than creating an illusionistic window onto the world, artists like Picasso made work that drew attention to the physical qualities of the medium and the process of making art. To better understand this painting, we might research the history of modernism, the politics of representation, and the changing social role of the artist. Considering these factors allows us to see the painting not just as an aesthetic object, but as a product of its time.