Today’s trip to the Pace Gallery provided an interesting, new experience.  Walking in, I was already struck by the luxury; the golden lobby, the elevator man, and the customers suited up.

Although I was not allowed to take photos, three works of art resonated with me, as they chronicled Picasso’s later life.

Jacqueline in Turkish Costume, 1955:

This painting was only 2 years after Picasso met Jacqueline. Picasso was still expressing his younger exuberance, and energetic art through bright colors such as the yellow, red, blue.  This was an example of Picasso expressing the beauty he saw in Jacqueline. Through his use of these vibrant colors, Picasso was communicating his love and affection toward her.

As Picasso was nearing death later on in his life, he realized that things will not be the same in the future for the both of them, and he began to express much more somber, serious, and gloomy portraits of Jacqueline.  The “Jacqueline With a Headband I” painting got my attention as it expressed these very somber feelings that Picasso and Jacqueline were beginning to feel. Unlike his earlier paintings which were much more vivacious, this portrait was a dark, gloomy portrait of Jacqueline.  Dark colors such as black and brown dominate the portrait, and a seemingly serious and worried look on Jacqueline’s face is portrayed.  This is just one of many darker and more serious portraits that Picasso does of Jacqueline.  When he began creating these somber portraits, it marked a stark contrast to his earlier more energetic, colorful, and sexual portraits.

Lastly, the “Face of a Woman” portrait, 1962 got my attention as well.  At first glance, I thought it was a rather simple work as it was simply colored pencil that outlined her face.  I realized however that this portrait looked similar to the “non-linear” work that we saw in class!  This portrait differs from many of his other ones in that he doesn’t portray to us Jacqueline’s physical beauties. Instead what we see is a tall, narrow, expressionless face.

Overall, I’m extremely happy I got the chance to visit the Pace Gallery and learning more about one of the most influential artists in our history!