Explore the Visual analysis of this artwork.
Woman VI is a life-sized painting. A woman figure stands in the center of the painting, the proportion of the figure on the painting is two thirds. There are many Abstract Expressionist elements in the painting, such as the composition, space, line, and color.
By combining simple, large shapes with violent, slashing brushwork, De Kooning has created a bold and dramatic composition. The female figure is built using an odd geometry. Two circle eyes peer comically out of a smeared face. The irregular shape of the chest, the broken arms, and the absence hands or feet gives the figure a sense of disintegration.  This fracturing is heightened by a background composed of similar geometric shapes that flatten the picture plane; there is no delineation of space between the figure and ground.  Though the painting demonstrates a palpable pictorial tension and frenetic energy, the composition also produces a unique sense of balance and harmony. 
When observing the painting, one experiences a viewpoint from below because the head stands high. It is not a symmetrical composition, but either side looks quite balanced. This is because the main figure is on the vertical axis, and the horizontal axis goes through her abdomen. It is a two-dimensional painting, for there is no illusion of depth and the canvas is all surface. Each part of the composition conveys a sense of unity. The emphasis of motif, which is woman, was achieved through the position and large scale.
Abstract Expressionist