WOMAN-FLOWER
Femme-fleur
1946
Picasso had known the young painter Francoise for several years when they had an affair. He kept trying to reduce the distance between them. Finally, he persuaded Francoise to move in with him, and in May 1946 she settled at the Rue des Grands Augustins. It inspirited Picasso to paint a series of portraits of Francoise — it was that spring that her image as a “flower woman” was born, which was later used in a variety of works. Interestingly, Francoise’s green hair in the portrait was inspired by Matisse. Shortly before that Picasso had acquainted her with the maestro, who decided he would create his own portrait of Francoise. Picasso was outraged – how could Matisse even dare to think of painting his model!
![Woman in a chair [Figure]](images/works/1175_s.jpg "Woman in a chair [Figure]")
