But why do his female figures become even more distorted as time goes by? By closely examining his paintings, from The Toilet to Woman in shirt sitting in an Armchair, we see that that they become more and more sexually extreme. Starting by just portraying a decent nude in The Toilet he moves on to the Two nudes where one of his figures becomes more provoking by looking directly at us. Furthermore, in The Harem we see the erotic idea of prostitution and the notion of a man being a spectator to a sexual performance renders the painting more sexual. The Demoiselles d’Avignon incorporates the idea of prostitution but as an added characteristic, the painting gains a lot of sexuality through the pose of the figures. Some flex their arms, some open their legs and some twist their bodies, creating a greater sexuality.
In addition, their eyes are directed right at us which make them even more offensive but simultaneously more exposed. Finally, Picasso reaches the climax of his portrayed sexuality in Woman in shirt sitting in an Armchair painted in 1913 where he plays with imagination, perhaps the greatest sexual tool of every human mind. Picasso manages to create this imagination from the notion of
touch. The hint of the shirt creates an extra sexuality since it creates the pleasurable sensation of contact with what is beneath it, the body. The shirt refers to what we are unable to see! What is different however about this painting is the fact that Picasso does not increase just the distortion of the face but of the body too. And what is left to recognize? The breasts and the clue of a face. Since the breasts - probably the most erotic part of a woman’s body - are obvious and are featured so prominently, they seem to be the major interest of Picasso. By making unclear the rest of the figure’s body, he directs the viewer’s eyes straight to her breasts and renders her totally seductive. This seductiveness has a direct impact on the portrayal of the face since it is synonymous with sexuality. Therefore the figure needs to be scarcely recognizable as to make it less identifiable than ever. And that is what happens: we can see no face, just the feminine characteristic of long hair. The eyes, the mouth, the nose, even the oval face seen previously in The Demoiselles have now disappeared. In a sense, Picasso has finally managed to take out the feminine face in order to make his figure even less personal. We could say that he has reached his climax; he can now play with sexuality and eroticism without feeling that he is using women. Their identities, previously being hidden, are now lost. The painting is less personal than ever!
Picture: Picasso Pablo. Woman with Shirt Sitting in an Armchair.