Jacqueline in turkish costume 1955

Pablo Picasso painted "Jacqueline in Turkish Costume" with oil on canvas, and the way he built up those colours feels so immediate and intuitive. It's like he's feeling his way through the image, making decisions on the fly. Look at the face, how it's split by light and shadow. It's not just about representation, it's about the act of painting itself. The brushstrokes are visible, almost crude in places, but that's what gives it its energy. The flat blue of the hat is so different in texture to the buttery yellows and reds in her outfit. There’s a real physicality to it, like you could reach out and touch the paint. And the eyes, they’re so direct, almost confrontational. They pull you in, make you complicit in the act of looking. This reminds me of Matisse, the way he uses color to create space and emotion. Like him, Picasso doesn't care about perfection, it's all about the process.