250). At this point in his career, Picasso could represent Stein quite well. The style is neither abstract nor entirely avant-garde: it is reflective, slightly off-kilter, but encompassing of the subject and her character.

Picasso's portrait of Gertrude Stein, therefore, must be considered the better of the two, even if Rose's appears to be the more dynamic. Rose was an imitator, not exactly an orginal -- but then, could the same be said of Picasso? Both were feeding into the whirlwind that was modern art, constantly exploding and changing the dynamic of form and expression. Picasso's Stein, however, retains the dignity of the brush for a moment and is a thoughtful representation of a woman whose own influence over the art world was so great.

While, as Johnson says, Picasso's "distorted paintings of women are closely linked to the pleasure he got from hurting them, both physically and in other...
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