This portrait is of one of Picasso’s many, many mistresses, Dora Maar.

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 Picasso didn’t realize is that he was probably the one making her weepy! He was infamous for the horrible way he treated the women he canoodled with, to the point that two of them suffered full mental breakdowns and another two committed suicide. But Dora knew what she was getting into. She claimed, “As an artist you may be extraordinary, but morally speaking you are worthless.” Touché, Dora. 

This painting was done in 1937 – the same year that Picasso created Guernica, the legendary painting that captures the horrors of war and violence. In Guernica there is one woman depicted screaming with face upturned and tongue sticking out holding her dead child. This ultimate pain in the face of women became an obsession of Picasso’s. He created 60 drawing, paintings and prints of this same scene, which is enough to make us think that he was one sadistic S.O.B.

Everything about this painting exudes pain and terror. The teardrop-shaped eyes, the open, green mouth, the fingers clutching her chest all force you to feel the excruciating pain that this woman feels. It’s a bit much, really. Especially as he was often the cause of the misery. But putting his chronic misogyny aside, he did create some of the most important works of art in history and for that...we must thank him.