powerful men and young women...

...an age old story and one that is currently catching headlines because of certain lurid violent acts, perpetuated by such men known to have ingratiated themselves in the public eye, have been unearthed..
i hadn't planned on posting about this (enough good and bad has been written on the topic), but then I caught myself being fascinated with this image:

Woman with a Fan
Pablo Picasso (1905)

I thought, here is an image I want to post. Something about it's simplicity and complexity intrigues me. It is what it says it is (and it's beautifully achieved) but the awkward posing and emotive colour scheme both hearken the postures of Egyptian hieroglyphs and the expressionism of turn of the century European art- achieved through a more moody, withdrawn and more than anything, controlled technique and composition. This image spans time and space and it is a portrait of a woman- one of the most popular themes in Western art. In attempting to find out more about this piece (that is described as part of Picasso's Blue and subsequent Rose period and in fact, was completed right after he met his first know love interest and right before his work transitioned out of his Blue Period understood to be inspired by a deep depression following the suicide of a close friend) I (perhaps inevitably) became engrossed in the artist's biography and specifically his relationship(s) to women. Picasso is notorious for his philandering and abusive (emotional and physical) tendencies with respect to the women in his life and yet his work - especially his work portraying women- continue to be celebrated. Why is that and does it have something to do with his understanding and ability to both uniquely and referentially depict the patriarchal eye?
As an artist, Picasso has been celebrated as a radical, exploding perceptions of dimension and expression and his personal predilections (from what I can tell) have largely been understood as reflective of the emotional struggles that an artistic genius- such as himself- is wont to endure and enjoy. This doesn't sit right with me and recent "outings" of famous men abusing younger and less powerful women suggests that while such abuse of power continues to be a problem, women have occasionally found ways to fight back.
While the above image inspired me to write about the mysteries of Picasso, this image (below) reminded me that, while a brilliant artist, it's important reflect upon how his misogyny was a driving force in his work. Also, articles like this one demonstrate how easily one can slip into celebrating misogyny as a motivational tool in art.

Picasso looks on (with what seems to be confusion) at the foregrounded figure- his mistress, muse and mother to two of his children, Francoise Gilot. Gilot was an up-and-coming artist at the time of their meeting and left Picasso on her own terms, becoming a celebrated artist.  (Photo by Robert Doisneau)

Regretfully, I've completed another "unfinished thought" post ...