Weeping Woman with Handkerchief

This portrait is of Dora Maar, one of Picasso’s many mistresses. He stated about her: “For me she’s the weeping woman. For years I’ve painted her in tortured forms, not through sadism, and not with pleasure, either; just obeying a vision that forced itself on me. It was the deep reality, not the superficial one… Dora, for me, was always a weeping woman… And it’s important, because women are suffering machines.” What the artist failed to realize is that he was most likely the cause of her suffering. Picasso is infamous for the horrible way he treated the women he was involved with; two suffered full mental breakdowns and another two committed suicide. Thus, it is no surprise that this painting exudes pain and terror. The teardrop-shaped eyes, the open, green mouth, the fingers clutching her chest all force the viewer to feel the excruciating pain that Dora Maar truly felt, to empathize with her suffering.
SKU: 6488
Creator: Pablo Picasso
Date: 1937
Original Medium: oil on canvas
Original Size: 21 x 17 1/2 in
Location: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
© Succession Picasso 2012