Throughout his lifetime, Pablo Picasso created a multitude of art forms which spanned over his several modern art movements. Picasso’s various artistic movements were jarring in their aesthetic differences; however, it is clear to the trained eye that Picasso was able to maintain certain and specific underlying elements throughout his changing movements. These underlying elements included brush stroke patterns, shading, as well as emotional projections. Picasso’s Woman Plaiting Her Hair and Girl with a Mandolin are prime examples of Picasso work that from first glance, have stark differences, but share both underlying artistic technique as well as emotional depth. Despite being painted only four years apart from one another, Woman Plaiting Her Hair and Girl with a Mandolin show few similarities in composition, color and style. The works are so distinguished that to an untrained eye, these pieces might look like works from two different artists entirely. Woman Plaiting Her Hair uses soft curves and warm skin tones to draw the viewer closer to the subject. Girl with a Mandolin on the other hand, forces the viewer to step back from the canvas and analyze the geometric intricacies and watch as the various shapes and lines connect to form the body and face of a girl. But when juxtaposed, both pieces project feelings of youth and beauty onto the viewer. While these paintings may not look alike on first glance, similarities help connect these two pieces in the timeline of Picasso’s art career. His ability to paint similar subjects in completely different styles across his art movements helps reveal his range and ease in artistic translation over time.

 

-Eli McClain