Picasso Portrait on Auction – level 3

28-02-2018 07:00

One of Picasso’s famous portraits went up on auction in London, and people expect it to sell for around 50 million dollars.

James Mackie, the senior director at the auction house, explained that the painting is a multi-faceted one. On first appearance, it is a beautifully executed portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter, but there is also a reference to the ‘Weeping Woman’, one of the key motifs of ‘Guernica’, arguably Picasso’s greatest masterpiece and one of the greatest paintings of the 20th century.

In the silhouette, there is also a reference to Dora Maar who was Picasso’s muse and lover and who eventually supplanted Marie-Thérèse. By 1938, she was the artist’s primary muse.

Difficult words: multi-faceted (having many features), motif (a design), silhouette (a shadow, an outline, a dark shape), muse (a person who inspires an artist), supplant (replace, take over from).

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