Mental Disorders in Paintings: Dysmorphia in Picasso’s Art

Artists have always used different forms of art and creativity  to express thoughts, emotions, and challenges. A painting is often a reflection of what’s going on through an artist’s mind, and it helps in understanding their perspective of life. For instance, mental disorders affect the way artists express themselves and influence their work. They may paint to heal or to express their suffering and their concerns. On the other hand, some painters may not suffer from a mental illness but choose to portray it through their paintings for a specific motive. Recently, some paintings are being interpreted as a reflection of mental disorders. While mental health was a taboo decades ago, such disorders have always been manifested in paintings such as Munch’s “The Scream” and several of Van Gough’s work.

 Pablo Picasso has influenced generations of artists and individuals who were impressed by his work. The most striking approach of Picasso’s art is cubism through employing geometric shapes to form a picture- a face of a person. Picasso’s paintings that featured cubism are similar to a dissociative face with scattered features and parts. Some look like a distorted or disfigured face that shows no unity or coherence. These paintings could be associated with Dysmorphic Mental Disorder, whereby a person perceives themselves as flawed in their appearance. There occurs an incongruity between the person’s image to themselves and how others perceive them. Eventually, the person views their figure with defects.

Background

Picasso’s work has been highly influenced by his personal life. Throughout his career, Picasso adopted several approaches and styles of drawing.

Blue Period

During 1901, Picasso’s “Blue Period” began. In this era, Picasso painted the famous “The Old Guitarist”. His paintings depicted suffering such as beggars, inmates in prison, and people in the streets. Picasso’s paintings in this period reflected a sadness that was influenced by the death of his close friend through suicide.

Rose Period

Several of Picasso’s paintings featured a shade of pink and rose color. That’s how the Rose Period began in 1904, which was completely opposite to the Blue Period. Picasso’s paintings became more colorful and full of joy, featuring clowns, circus performers, and other examples. Thus, this transformation might be attributed to a change of Picasso’s state of mind.

Matisse‘s Work

Henri Marisse and Pablo Picasso met in Paris in 1906, and since then, they were influenced by each other’s works. They were rivals, and each was deeply interest in the other’s paintings. Both artists critiqued their works and challenged themselves. While trying to seek innovative approaches, both artists were inspired by the work of Paul Cezanne and Paul Gauguin, as well as African art.

Cubism

Pablo Picasso was the first painter to invent Cubism, an era that lasted from 1908 until 1914. This approach of painting is the most impressing among Picasso’s.

These are some examples of Dysmorphia in Picasso’s paintings during the Cubism era

1. Girl Before a Mirror 

   

   “Girl Before a Mirror” by Picasso, 1935

   Picasso painted “Girl Before a Mirror” in 1932 and is one of Picasso’s most renowned works. The painting portrays a girl standing before a mirror, and her reflection is not the same as her real figure. In both cases, her face seems kind of distorted. Her reflection shows her face with different colors and her features are not clear. The mental disorder in this painting could be Dysmorphia.

2. Woman with a Green Hat

   

   “Woman with a Green Hat” by Picasso

   “Woman with a Green Hat” is a painting of Dora Maar, a close companion to Picasso. There are a series of paintings of Maar that show her as a distorted figure. In this painting, the features of Maar’s face are scattered, making her look like a disfigured person. While some have asserted this to the relationship between Picasso and Maar, it is intriguing to see Picasso paint people in this way. Based on the assumption that paintings reflect the way they perceive the external world or themselves, Picasso may have had image issues or perceived Maar as a person who is dissociated. Perhaps, this disfigured picture reflected in many of Picasso’s paintings may symbolize a trait in their personality. To illustrate, it could symbolize traits such as being alienated, dissociated, indecisive, and complex.

3. The Evolution of Picasso’s Self-Portraits

   

   The Evolution of Picasso’s Self-Portraits

   The evolution of Picasso’s Self-Portraits is striking. While these paintings portray the artist’s different styles and approaches, they also depict the way he perceives himself. As his portrait evolves, his figure becomes more disorienting and less coherent. Finally, it becomes a completely disfigured painting.

   Could this imply that Picasso suffered from dysmorphia mental disorder and used his art to express this disorder? Could it simply be a style of drawing? This topic could be worth discussing and delving into. Mental disorders in paintings is a significant issue. Many use their creativity and their art in order to heal since art is a form of therapy. Expressive art and art therapy are one of the most important tools to get better.