1937 La femme qui pleure avec mouchoir III Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Period of creation: 1931-1942

The composition presents a figure consumed by grief, rendered in a fractured and angular style. Here we observe a woman, her face contorted in anguish, pressing a handkerchief against her mouth. The palette is dominated by ochre, yellow, and deep crimson tones, punctuated by the cool blue of the cloth.
The artist employed a Cubist approach to dismantle conventional representation. Facial features are distorted; the eyes are disproportionately large and filled with an unsettling intensity, while the open mouth reveals teeth in a grimace of despair. The nose is reduced to a sharp line, emphasizing the skeletal quality of the face. This fragmentation contributes to a sense of psychological breakdown rather than merely depicting sadness.
The woman’s attire – a voluminous shawl or cloak – adds to the overall feeling of oppression and confinement. Its rigid planes echo the angularity of her features, suggesting an inability to escape her emotional state. The folds of the fabric are not rendered realistically but are instead broken down into geometric shapes, further emphasizing the paintings formal structure.
The handkerchief itself is a focal point. It’s not simply an object used for wiping tears; it becomes a barrier, muffling sound and obscuring expression. Its crumpled form suggests a desperate attempt to contain overwhelming emotion. The way she clutches it – fingers tightly gripping the fabric – indicates a visceral need for solace.
Subtly, theres a sense of theatricality in the pose. It’s as if this woman is performing grief for an unseen audience. This could be interpreted as a commentary on public displays of emotion or perhaps a reflection of the artist’s own anxieties about representation and performance.
The painting evokes a profound feeling of suffering, not just personal sorrow but potentially a collective trauma. The starkness of the composition and the distorted features suggest a world fractured by conflict and despair. It is an image that speaks to the fragility of human existence and the enduring power of grief.