Portrait of Erik Satie 1920

This is Picasso’s portrait of Erik Satie, made with ink on paper, so it has a spare and immediate feel to it. I can imagine Picasso, his hand moving quickly, capturing Satie’s likeness and his essence with these simple lines. It's so raw and expressive, isn't it? You get a sense of Satie as thoughtful and maybe a little world-weary. The way his hands are clasped, the set of his jaw - Picasso is really good at showing you the inner life of his subjects. I think he really understood that painting is about seeing and feeling - and then making marks that communicate that feeling. And there's something really moving about that, seeing artists across time, talking to each other through their work, you know?