James Mackie, the senior director at the auction house, explained that the painting is a multi-faceted one. On first appearance, it is a beautifully executed portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter, but there is also a reference to the ‘Weeping Woman’, one of the key motifs of ‘Guernica’, arguably Picasso’s greatest masterpiece and one of the greatest paintings of the 20th century.
In the silhouette, there is a reference to Dora Maar who was Picasso’s muse and lover. Maar replaced Marie-Thérèse and was Picasso’s primary muse by 1938.