Girl before a Mirror 1932

"Girl before a Mirror" was painted by Pablo Picasso in an unknown time. You see how Picasso has applied layers of paint to build up this image, the flat colours, the dark outlines. Imagine him stepping back from the canvas, squinting, adding a bit more green here, a slash of red there. It must have been a real back-and-forth process, trial and error, until the painting felt just right. I see the artist considering ideas about representation and reflection, both literal and psychological. That tear-drop shape emerging in the mirror! Is that simply a compositional form, or a symbol of inner turmoil? I think about the conversations Picasso was having with other artists, like Matisse and Braque, all pushing the boundaries of what painting could be. Picasso inspires my own practice, reminding me that painting is a space for experimentation, for embracing uncertainty.