“Portrait of Ambroise Vollard”

“Portrait of Ambroise Vollard”

“Portrait of Ambroise Vollard” (1910) is a painting by Pablo Picasso from Picasso’s Analytic Cubism period (lecture). I noticed how the forehead of the person in the painting seems long, like a gorilla’s. The person’s head also seems to be outlined in white, which might mean they have white hair. I looked at it a bit closer, and I noticed how there seems to be an outline of a jacket on the right side, and maybe a shirt in the middle indicating that the person in the painting is wearing a suit. The person’s face seems neutral, not really emotional. Compared to the impressionists, Picasso’s painting seems similarly “messy”, like the negative review about impressionism claiming how it was just “…dirtying three-quarters of a canvas,” (Emile Cardon). However, I do not dislike the “messiness”, but rather noticed how it appears “messy” like an impressionist’s painting. It also seems to be unnatural in color in certain areas which is another similarity to impressionism, or at least to the definition that we learned, like the person’s face is unnaturally red on one side, but implies how Picasso was “analyzing,” (use of period name) the person’s face, or how the chin is a purple red. (Note: Professor Johnson drew attention to the chin in the lecture, which influenced the last sentence.)


picasso-portrait-of-ambroise-vollard-1910

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