The artwork titled “Portrait of a Woman” was created by Georges Braque circa 1911. This oil on canvas portrait measures 91 by 61 centimeters and is a prime example of the Analytical Cubism art movement. It is currently located in a private collection. This particular period in Braque’s career was marked by a collaborative exploration with Pablo Picasso, which profoundly influenced the aesthetic of his works.
The artwork presents the viewer with a fragmented and abstracted vision of a female figure. True to the principles of Analytical Cubism, the composition is dissected into a series of geometric planes and faceted surfaces, creating an intricate visual puzzle. The woman’s likeness is reconstructed with muted earth tones, intertwined with shades of beige, brown, and grey, which obscure the boundaries between the figure and the background. The planes seem to jostle for position — overlapping and intersecting — which challenges the conventional perspectives of proportion and depth.
The portrait demonstrates a deliberate departure from the realistic representation of form and instead emphasizes the two-dimensional nature of the canvas. This method of breaking objects into planes and then reassembling them abstractly was revolutionary at the time and denoted the artist’s intention to capture the essence of the subject rather than a mere likeness. Braque’s signature can be seen towards the lower right of the canvas, offering a subtle contrast to the complex geometry that dominates the piece. Despite the abstract style, there is an organic quality to the shapes and lines that suggests a human form amidst the surrounding chaos of color and pattern.
