Painter and his model 1963

In this painting by Pablo Picasso, you can see a painter at work with his model posed in the background. The colour palette is restrained, composed of greens, yellows, blacks and oranges. I wonder what it was like for Picasso to make this work. Did he begin with a representational study, and then slowly, through trial and error, abstract the figures? Or was it pure improvisation? I like how the forms feel tentative and in flux. The black outlines are so bold, and yet the figures feel insecure, as if on the verge of collapse. I am especially drawn to the way Picasso painted the palette. You can see the individual globs of paint sitting on the surface. This small detail speaks to Picasso’s own fascination with painting. He is literally inviting us to witness the act of painting itself. Painters are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time. Picasso was surely looking at other artists, even as he made something entirely his own. And now, his paintings continue to inspire new generations of artists to embrace the messiness, ambiguity, and freedom of painting.