Picasso painted his second self portrait while he was working on another piece, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Painted in 1907, Picasso created this piece after he decided to take a break from working on Les Demoiselles. Besides this self portrait, Picasso also did another self portrait in 1901during his Blue Period.

The face of Picasso reflects the faces in Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Having a three-dimensional sculpture quality, both the Demoiselles and Picasso faces seem something like a statue. According to rumour, earlier that year Picasso bought two simple Iberian head sculptures from the secretary of Apollinaire, a French poet. The sculptures were stolen from the Louvre in Paris, one of the largest museums in the world. Therefore, some believe that Picasso was inspired by the sculptured heads, and he chose to use that sculpture quality in his self portrait and in Les Demoiselles. (Pictured below: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon).

Though Picasso was around 26 when he painted his self portrait, the way he depicts himself in the painting carries an air of adolescence. The vacant, almost empty eyes contrast the high level of energy that the painting gives. Picasso was particularly interested in the expressionless look, and he used it again in his painting, Profile of a Woman's Face, painted in 1960.

Compared to his first self portrait in 1901, Picasso is much younger and happier with softer and more inviting facial features. In addition, the vivd colors surrounding him add an intense level of energy into his seemingly empty eyes. His 1901 self portrait gives a feeling of isolation and fear while his 1907 self portrait portrays more energy and aspiration. (A link to a picture of Picasso's self portrait in 1901 is below if you would like to compare the two images for yourself).

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Self Portrait 1907
Self Portrait 1901
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

The woman in Asleeep, painted in 1932, is again Marie Therese, Picasso's mistress. The two colors red and green are so bold and intense that they accentuate the tranquility of Marie Therese while sleeping. Like the women in Picasso's neoclassical period, Marie does not have any "expression or character" written on her face. Instead, her face is almost unpleasantly sizable and unchanging, which is how the women were portrayed during that period of Picasso's painting.

The black lining around the woman is like the black binding of subjects during the Fauvism movement. To the right is a painting by Charles Camoin entitled La Petite Lina. The subject's purple clothing and hat are outlined with a subtle dark line, much like Marie.

Notice Marie's hands. Her claw-like features give her an "animalistic primitivism," which is a belief in the simpleness and unsophistication of life. However, Picasso's delicate and elegant lyricism contrasts her unattractive quality. This theme of beauty and ugliness intrigued Picasso, and he depicted it in many of his other paintings.

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"Asleep"
"La Petite Lima"