Pablo PICASSO
Spanish 1881-1973
Weeping woman
1937
oil on canvas
55.0 x 46.0 cm
Purchased by donors of The Art Foundation
of Victoria with the assistance of the Jack and Genia Liberman Family, Founder Benefactor 1986
IC2-1986

Picasso painted Weeping woman in October 1937 only a few months after he had completed the mural Guernica, a chilling depiction of the bombing of the town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.
The weeping woman is an iconic image of unspeakable grief and pain, representing universal suffering. It also reflects Picasso's own emotional response to the break up of his relationship with his mistress, Dora Maar, who was the model for the painting. The fragmented features and the use of acid green and purple serve to heighten the emotional intensity of the painting