In Femme assise en costume vert, Picasso employs two painterly tropes often associated with his depictions of Gilot: the primacy of line and the color green. In the early years of their relationship, Picasso depicted Gilot as inherently linked with the natural world and this painting features the rich, vegetal green that evokes this idea, whilst incorporating a clear linear demarcation of form. The striking intensity of the work is achieved through Picasso’s balance between monochrome passages and isolated segments of vibrant color. Through this fragmenting of the picture plane, Picasso develops the linear style with which his portraits of Gilot are often associated. Unlike the soft and fluid lines of earlier portrayals, this work retains an almost sculptural quality that prefigures his work with sheet metal.

The image of the seated woman was employed frequently by Picasso throughout his career. Often the armchair is employed as a means of framing the figure, however, the unusual angle in Femme assise en costume vert allows the chair to separate the monochrome elements of the figure’s body from the background. The tight weave of the chair is echoed in the hatched lines outlining Gilot’s hair, richly patterned lattice-work motifs that anticipate elements of Picasso’s seminal Femmes d’Alger paintings of 1954-55. In addition, the figure presented is not encased within the chair, as in previous compositions, but seems enthroned on it. There is a drama and dynamism to the work, amplified by the jagged lines and expressive use of black paint haloing the figure’s head. In all its elements, the painting encapsulates Gilot’s strength of character, Picasso’s enduring respect for her, and his slipping hold on her.