Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was a Spanish painter who painted Girl Before a Mirror in March of 1932. A first glance at the painting could lead the viewer to think of vanity because the girl is starring at herself through a psyche mirror. However, the painting reveals more than that due to evidence of a grown womb and an older face. The girl is captivated by her mortality, which leads to an obsession with her ability to procreate. Girl Before a Mirror is a large five foot tall oil painting that is almost life size. Pablo Picasso utilizes different oval, circular and diamond exaggerated shapes, as well as sharp lines to differentiate the face profiles. These shapes expressively overlap one another. Picasso developed many bold and vivid colors to his painting to intensify both the main focal point, of the girl's face and the face of her reflection as well as the rest of the canvas. .
Picasso's painting is well proportioned as he placed the mirror close to the vertical axis. By doing so Picasso has divided the painting into two, where the girl is to the left and her reflection is to the right. Although it is a reflection, the two images do not exactly mirror each other. On the left, the warm colors of her face change to a deeper color and the reflection on the right is of a side profile as opposed to the girl's front profile. Picasso has skillfully managed to connect the image as one despite it being separated down the middle. He has done so by using her arms and hands. One is pressed upon the mirror, whereas the other acts as if it is dearly embracing the image. To magnify this detail, Picasso uses a stripped red pattern. This enables the viewer to see it as a whole. The unique wallpaper acts as a gluing agent for this piece, as it glides across the entire painting .The girl's face is the main focal point. It was stressed by one half being fair and the other half yellow. Her head is surrounded by a faded green and white oval shape to separate her from the wallpaper.
