BEZIEHUNG
WOMAN WITH A BOOK
In an intimate, sensual scene, Picasso depicts his muse, Marie-Thérèse Walter (1909-1977), a constant presence in his art and life from 1927 until the mid-1930s and the mother of his daughter, Maya (b. 1935). The night-time setting, reflecting their affair, is contrasted with the bright colours that illuminate Walter. Her dress is made up of large expanses of flat colour and patterns, typical of Picasso's style during this period.
Seated on an armchair with her right hand on her face, Walter re-enacts the pose of Ingres's Madame Moitessier. In this portrait, however, Picasso paints his beloved's face in profile and full-face simultaneously. The distinctive shape of Walter's nose reappears in Picasso's other portraits, illustrating his fascination with her face. The reflected image on the right also echoes Ingres's portrait, and the androgynous profile is that of either Walter or of Picasso himself. The fan in Moitessier's left hand is here substituted with an open book.
