Verre et pichet 1944

Pablo Picasso painted "Verre et pichet" with oils, and he wasn’t shy about leaving traces of his process right there on the canvas. The surface is alive with visible brushstrokes, each mark a testament to the artist's hand. Notice how the colors of the table seem thrown down, in contrast to the flat background, which almost reads like another plane. In the pitcher, the way the white, grey, and blue come together, it's like Picasso is building form and space at the same time. It’s almost like he’s asking, what’s the difference, really, between a line and a volume? And, yeah, this reminds me of Matisse, with his bold lines and simplified forms. Like Matisse, Picasso challenges our perceptions, blurring the lines between representation and abstraction, and reminding us that art is always an ongoing conversation across time.