The Weeping Woman
Picasso's series of paintings depicting a weeping woman, inspired by the Spanish Civil War.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Pablo Picasso’s *The Weeping Woman* (French: *La Femme qui pleure*) is a series of oil paintings on canvas, with the final one finished in late 1937. The subject is Dora Maar, Picasso’s mistress and muse. He created these works as a response to the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, and they are closely tied to the imagery found in his larger painting *Guernica*.
The Spanish Civil War began in July 1936, when General Franco rebelled against the Republican government. Picasso made *The Weeping Woman* as part of a series reacting to the bombing of Guernica on 26 April 1937, when Adolf Hitler ordered the German air force to bomb the Basque town on Franco’s behalf. After seeing newspaper photographs of the event, Picasso created the paintings as a personal protest. In January 1937, he had been asked to paint a mural for the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exhibition. While working on that commission, the bombing occurred. Shocked by the massacre, Picasso stated in the *Springfield Republican* on 18 July 1937, “In the panel on which I am working, which I shall call *Guernica*, and in all my recent works of art, I clearly express my abhorrence of the military caste which has sunk Spain in an ocean of pain and death.” The *Weeping Woman* series has been described as a postscript to *Guernica*.
Picasso’s protest against Franco’s regime began earlier, with two etchings made in January 1937 titled *The Dream and Lie of Franco*. He accompanied this work with a prose poem, written on 8 and 9 January 1937, which includes imagery of weeping women and foreshadows his visual symbol of the weeping woman as a representation of Spain’s suffering under Franco. The poem reads: “…cries of children cries of women cries of birds cries of flowers cries of timbers and of stones cries of bricks cries of furniture of beds and chairs of curtains of pots of cats and of papers cries of odors which claw at one another cries of smoke pricking the shoulder of the cries which strew in the cauldron and of the rain of birds which inundates the sea which gnaws the bone and breaks its teeth biting the cotton wool which the sun mops up from the plate which the purse and the pocket hide in the print which the foot leaves in the rock.”
While creating *Guernica*, Picasso made his first studies of a weeping woman on 24 May 1937, but he did not include her in the final com
- Artist
- Pablo Picasso
- Subject
- Dora Maar
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Year created
- 1937 (last version 26 October 1937)
- Series
- 36 works depicting the weeping woman, May–October 1937
- Notable versions
- Tate collection (26 Oct 1937); National Gallery of Victoria (18 Oct 1937); LA County Museum of Art (26 June 1937); Musee Picasso (18 Oct 1937)
Lore & Background
Picasso created The Weeping Woman during the Spanish Civil War, which broke out in July 1936. The series was a response to the bombing of Guernica on 26 April 1937, when Adolf Hitler ordered the German airforce to bomb the Basque town on behalf of General Franco. Picasso stated in the Springfield Republican on 18 July 1937 that his work expressed his abhorrence of the military caste. The series has been described as a postscript to Guernica.
Picasso met Dora Maar in the winter of 1935. She was a photographer and became involved in the Surrealist movement. She documented Picasso's painting of Guernica and arranged the studio where it was created. Picasso portrayed her as a tranquil figure until the weeping women paintings, which displayed a noticeable change in his approach. Picasso physically abused Maar, which contributed to her breakdown. Maar stated, 'All (Picasso's) portraits of me are lies. They're Picassos. Not one is Dora Maar.'
Picasso made his first studies of a weeping woman on 24 May 1937, but it was not included in Guernica. After completing Guernica, he produced 36 works depicting the weeping woman between May and the end of October 1937. The most elaborate version, created on 26 October 1937, is in the Tate collection. Another version created on 18 October 1937 is housed at the National Gallery of Victoria and was involved in a high-profile political art theft.
Reader's Guide
The Weeping Woman series is significant as a personal and political response to the Spanish Civil War, specifically the bombing of Guernica. The paintings are closely associated with the iconography in Picasso's Guernica and have been described as a postscript to that mural. The series reflects Picasso's obsession with the motif of the weeping woman, which he revisited numerous times in 1937. The paintings also document Picasso's relationship with Dora Maar, who became his main model and was portrayed in tears. The series has been interpreted as a metaphor for Picasso's private agonies and the suffering of Spain under Franco. The Tate-held version is noted for its complex, fragmented composition and bright colors, which Roland Penrose described as 'highly disconcerting' for a face expressing sorrow. The series includes 36 works, with versions held by major museums, and one version was involved in a high-profile political art theft.
Did You Know?
- The Weeping Woman series was produced by Picasso in response to the bombing of Guernica in the Spanish Civil War.
- Picasso created 36 works depicting the weeping woman between May and the end of October 1937.
- Dora Maar, Picasso's mistress and muse, disliked the portraits, stating, 'All (Picasso's) portraits of me are lies.'
- One version of The Weeping Woman, created on 18 October 1937, was involved in a high-profile political art theft.
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