Portrait of Fernande Olivier 1909

This is a painting of Fernande Olivier by Pablo Picasso, and I’m betting it’s oil paint. Looking at it, I see how Picasso uses a limited palette—ochres, grays, and browns—to build up this fractured portrait. It's like he’s thinking through the process of seeing itself. The way he breaks down the face into geometric shapes reminds me of how we piece together our perceptions, bit by bit. I am drawn to the area around the eyes. Each eye is a diamond shape, set within a complex network of lines. The texture is built up through layers of brushstrokes, some thin and transparent, others thick and opaque. It’s like he’s trying to capture not just the appearance of Fernande, but also something deeper. The deconstruction of form reminds me of Cézanne, another artist grappling with how we perceive space and form. What I see here is that art is an ongoing exploration, a constant conversation between artists across time.