Weeping Woman by Picasso and The Penitent Magdalene by Caravaggio

The paintings Weeping Woman by Picasso and The Penitent Magdalene by Caravaggio have one thing in common – they both depict a woman in distress. Even though the subject of the works is similar, they do not convey the same ideas that are expressed in different forms.

1. Weeping Woman and The Penitent Magdalene belong to different genres – abstraction and realism. This affects the form of women. Caravaggio’s Mary can be definitely called a woman, but it is problematic to find something from a female in Picasso’s beauty.

2. Picasso introduces multiple exaggerations in his work, unlike Caravaggio. The eyes in the painting are too big, the lashes are too thick and it helps the artist to create a focus in the picture. Caravaggio does not need to use over dramatization, he emphasizes the details in his work mildly, like a thrown away jewelry.

3. Picasso uses aggressive palette unlike Caravaggio, who prefers to work with mild colors and shadow.

4. There is no chiaroscuro in Weeping Woman.

5. The primitiveness of form in Weeping Woman underlines the woman’s horror. It is possible to say that abstract art is a quintessence of emotion and idea.

6. Weeping Woman has a more intimate meaning for Picasso than The Penitent Magdalene for Caravaggio. Picasso used his lover as a model.

7. The image of the weeping Virgin or the Mater Dolorosa is traditional for Spanish culture. Weeping Woman is strongly related to this imagery.

8. Picasso’s work is connected with a series of other works. The artist uses a figure of a weeping woman from his mural Guernica.

9. It is problematic to find religious message in Weeping Woman like in The Penitent Magdalene.

10. Caravaggio expressed the sorrow with the form. Picasso seems to peel off the art and so he expresses the raw idea.