Compare and Contrast

Original Work

Finished Project

For this project I wanted to make the subject (Dora Maar) look more natural. I made the subject look more proportional by changing out of place facial features like her nose and eyes, and painted her using one perspective. I also added a tree and sky to the scene outside the window to make it more interesting. The color palette for both pieces is the same since I really enjoyed the colors of the original. I also kept her original pose, the position of the window, and the book.

Work In Progress

Here is a look at how I re-created this piece....

Objective Critique

    Picasso’s Head of a Woman is a portrait of Dora Maar done from the shoulders up. The painting is done using oil on canvas in the cubist style. We can see the subject in a three-quarters pose, facing the viewer’s left, and reading a book in front of what appears to be a window and a maroon wall. She is supporting her head with her right hand and holding the book with the left. She is wearing a green dress and what looks like a necklace. She has shoulder length black hair that is combed away from her face and tucked behind her ears.  Her nose is the most prominent feature on her face and looks to be done in a frontal view. Her eyes are slightly larger than normal the right eye is also done in what appears to be a front view, while the left matches the position she is facing.  She has red lips and seems to be smiling.  In this painting Picasso uses complimentary colors to create contrast, he does this with the use of green on her dress and the red of the wall and her lips. We also see him using value to create balance, the bright shades of the window and book balance the darker colors used in the rest of the piece.  Another element of art we see used here is shape, here Picasso uses the shape of her nose to create emphasis and bring the viewer’s eye back to Dora Maar’s face.

Subjective Critique

    My first reaction while looking at Picasso’s Head of a Woman is that it looks as if he used multiple perspectives to paint his subject.  Some of the things I dislike about the painting are that her face is not proportional and looks very distorted, and the background of the painting is very plain.  What I disliked the most about this painting is the way he painted her nose as it dominates her face and is the first thing I always notice when I look at it.  What I would do to make the painting more appealing is to have Dora Maar look more naturalistic by making her facial features proportional. I would also like to add some kind of scene or object we can see outside the window to make it more interesting.  I enjoy the color scheme of this piece and will like to keep it the same.

Aesthetics Project - Basic Info

Original Work 

   
    Pablo Picasso - Head of a Woman (Dora Maar)
    Oil on canvass
    1900s