1909 Femme assise dans un fauteuil Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Period of creation: 1908-1918

The composition presents a figure seated in what appears to be an armchair. The artist has fractured the form into geometric planes, dismantling traditional notions of perspective and spatial representation. There is no clear foreground or background; instead, elements interpenetrate one another, creating a flattened pictorial space.
The woman’s body is rendered as a series of angular shapes – triangles, trapezoids, and rectangles – that overlap and intersect. Facial features are absent, reducing the figure to an assemblage of forms rather than a recognizable portrait. The chair itself shares this fragmented quality, its contours dissolving into the surrounding planes.
A muted palette dominates: ochres, browns, grays, and touches of blue-green create a somber, almost melancholic atmosphere. Light is not depicted as emanating from a single source but seems to be absorbed and reflected by the various facets of the composition. This contributes to the overall sense of ambiguity and visual complexity.
The subtexts within this work suggest an exploration of perception itself. The artist isnt attempting to reproduce reality faithfully, but rather to convey how we experience it – as a collection of fragmented impressions. There’s a deliberate rejection of illusionism in favor of a more conceptual approach.
The figure’s posture is ambiguous; she appears both present and withdrawn, suggesting a psychological state of introspection or perhaps even alienation. The absence of detail encourages the viewer to engage actively with the work, piecing together the fragmented forms and constructing their own interpretation of the scene. Its possible to read this as an investigation into the nature of identity itself – how it is constructed, deconstructed, and ultimately perceived.