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A girl before a mirror (1932) by Pablo Picasso

Oil on canvas
 Museum of Modern Arts

  A Girl before a Mirror

Pablo Picasso’s piece represents a girl looking into a mirror. The piece was made in 1932
during Picasso`s cubist period. He uses what is called a cubism style which is the style of taking
an object and breaking it down into basic objects. The style was popular In Paris and Picasso was
one of the founding fathers of the style. The piece`s current location is at the Museum of Modern
Arts in New York.

The painting is broken down into two images, a girl looking into the mirror and her
reflection (Guernica 1941). The one on the left side is really beautiful but her image doesn`t
seem to reflect the same. Her image looks aged. Pablo's use of colors brings this difference
between the two images. The girl looking into the mirror has an angelic face full of light but the
image in her mirror is dark making this young girl look very aged, from the green discoloration
of her forehead to the darkening of her facial features (Juan 1939).

Pablo uses bright colors for the girl on the left side to bring out her smooth face which
makes her appear young like she has makeup on. The girl looking into the mirror is beautiful and
has makeup on. Her reflection is of how old she sees herself to be at night when she is not
wearing her make up on or when she takes it off. The rough charcoal texture tries to portray her
image at night while the bright colors on the girl`s skin and the makeup she is wearing show her
image during the day.

In this piece, the light source is not seen. However, it appears to be coming from the left
side of the painting. Her face appears to be painted with a side profile and divided into half by a
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line. This helps to show that light is coming from the left side of the painting forming a shadow
on the other half of her face (Charles 1960). The light seems to be artificial.

Pablo`s use of colors has brought about the texture of the painting. He uses bright colors
for the girl on the left and dark colors on her image. The bright colors show a smooth texture,
one which is polished while the dark colors show a rough texture. Obviously, we expect a young
girl to be having smooth skin and an old lady to be having rough skin. When she looks in the
mirror, she is no longer an object of beauty or perfection. This is how she sees herself in the
mirror. She is seeing herself as an old woman.

It is observed that there are oblique lines forming the image of the mirror frame which is
dark black. The frame encloses the image in the mirror. This suggests a tone of death for the self-
image in the coming years. The black lines outlining the mirror act as a very powerful statement
which suggests that one day one will die (Dante 1951). Death will one time take place in our
future and there is no way to escape death.

Pablo has drawn his painting in a two dimensional way. This enables him to use shapes in
his artwork. The girl on the left has rigid breasts whereas her reflection has distorted breasts.
This has helped to bring out the essence of age. It also helps to contrast the difference in the
shape and the sizes of their stomachs. The girl looks into the mirror and sees distorted breasts
and a saggy stomach. She may be judging her self-worth.

The girl is actually holding on to the mirror and is trying to reach out to the image in the
mirror. She maybe wanting to have a closer touch of her future. It is the idea of maybe wanting
to get in touch with the mature self, older self, or the self that is at the brink of death. This is
shown by lines comprising her hands reaching into the mirror image which are thick black and
the skin on her hand is pink. The pink color shows a polite way of trying to reach out to what one
fantasizes to be an older self. The girl`s image and she are totally different. Her image is an
imaginary of what she will look like in her old age. More of fantasy.

The coloring in this painting has brought a sense of feeling. The face of the girl has been
divided into two parts: the left part which is painted yellow with a bright intensity and the right
part painted with lavender-pink. The bright yellow side suggests a feeling of intensity being
aware of her self-capabilities like striking beauty. It also brings about a mood of joy and content.
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The pink side of her face suggests a feeling of calmness and a relaxed mind which comes at
night.

The yellow part resembles the color of the sun while the lavender-pink part resembles
that of the moon. Her capabilities such as her beauty, rigid breasts are well known to people
during the day. Since it is at this time when most of the people get to see her. The other part
suggests a sense of calmness since she does not need to worry about who sees her while she is
alone at night. The left image of the painting shows the image of a woman who is lively yet
calm.it shows a continuing struggle within oneself.

The girl on the left side wears makeup and her head is held high. When you first look at
the picture, her face might be one of the things to notice. The bright colors used to do her face
bring a good first sight impression, bringing in a mood full of life, energetic, exciting too. This
can be compared with the girl`s image on the mirror. The dull green color on her face showcases
a dull lifeless mood. This shows that Pablo`s pick on the color of each image has brought
different moods in the painting to a person looking at it.

Notice, the eyes in the image on the right side`s image are hollow and have the color
brown with a black shadow, her hair changed color to green, her distorted breasts, her saggy
stomach, her old face, they all suggest the idea of the degrading of life or at least the gradual
death of the liveliness of womanhood and also being human. Picasso has brought this contrast by
the use of different shapes and changes in color.

I bet everyone from time to time, look at themselves through the mirror. You notice that
when one looks long enough, you no longer see the actual image of yourself but you begin to
look at future projections of how your life might be. You begin to look at yourself in a different
way. Most people may have looked in the mirror and were not happy with how they appeared.
The girl in the mirror was Picasso`s mistress. Even though she was an attractive young lady as
the painting suggests, she saw flaws of her physical beauty when she looked into the mirror.
Shape, line, color, texture, tone, are some of the works of art which Picasso has used to explain
this and has brought contrast of the different image people see of themselves when they look in
the mirror This unhappiness with oneself is visible in this painting of a woman who tends to
foresee the future which awaits for her.