Focus on Child with a Dove and analyze the Description.
Child with a Dove is an oil painting on canvas and measures 28.75 inches (73.0 cm) by 21.25 inches (54.0 cm). It is signed by Picasso on the centre left of the painting. It depicts a girl, with short ginger hair, wearing a white gown tied at the waist with a blue sash. The subject stands holding a white dove in both hands, beside a ball with brightly coloured segments like a colour wheel. The background is painted flatly, as an abstracted blue sky and green grass. The items in the scene, such as the girl's hair, the ball and the dove's feathers, are suggested by their shapes, yet display very little detail. The perspective is limited and implied only by the girl's arms and folds of her dress.
The work has been interpreted in several ways. It can be read as a picture of the innocence of childhood. It may be an experiment in abstraction, due to the simplified shapes and reduction of detail. It may also be regarded as a commentary or critique on colour theory, as it displays large blocks of colour; the girl's bright orange hair is set against a blue sky, and her white dress is set against green grass. With these elements, Picasso broke convention, perhaps as a way to challenge the older generation of established artists.
abstracted colour theory colour wheel