“Portrait of Sylvette” by Pablo Picasso Postcard

One of forty portraits of Sylvette David that Picasso made during 1954, Portrait of Sylvette depicts a stylish and beautiful young French woman who met the artist while she and her fiancé stayed with her mother in the south of France. The portraits range from realistic to abstract and were painted on canvas, drawn on paper, painted on china plates, and rendered in sculpture. 

Since the early 1930s, Picasso had frequently painted a seated woman in profile. As in other works, he has altered Sylvette’s face to show both sides. The artist represented Sylvette’s face, neck, hair, hands, and rocking chair with fluid lines, while forming her body and a small space behind her back with triangles in white, grey, and black. This arrangement focuses the viewer’s interest on the sitter’s ponytail and clothed body rather than on the face, as in traditional portraits.