Cubism is one of my favorite periods of art, largely because the imagination and innovation of the artists is almost unfathomable to me. How could Picasso have conceived painting from different angles in one portrait? In a period of time when artistic innovation was at odds with traditionalism, how could other Cubists have had the insight and incentive to look for underlying angles and lines in a still life or a landscape.
There are a number of portraits by Picasso (and innumerable similar pieces by others) where he paints a face both straight on and in partial profile. Consider this photograph as the tide line – land, water, and light – copying art, rather than the other way around.