The guitar 1916

Picasso painted "The Guitar", with oil on canvas, and what strikes me first is how he's playing with flatness, kind of collapsing space. Look at the texture; it's not trying to trick you into thinking it's something else. It's right there, the materiality of the paint, thick in some spots, thin in others. It is like Picasso’s saying, "Hey, this is paint, and I’m arranging it to make you see something." The colors, ochre, red, and black, aren't super vibrant, but they create this moody, almost somber atmosphere. See how the guitar strings are not quite straight? It's like he's saying, "Life's not perfect, and neither is art." There’s a kinship I feel here with Braque; they were really pushing what painting could be. It's like they're having a conversation across canvases, across studios, about how to break down and rebuild the world. So great!