Maria Agustina Sarmiento (Velazquez) 1957

This is Picasso's take on Velazquez's "Maria Agustina Sarmiento," painted with oil on canvas, and it’s like he’s having a conversation across centuries. Look at the way he's broken down the face, almost like a map, with each part saying something different. I love how the thick paint gives everything a kind of raw, emotional punch. Especially around the eyes, it's like he's digging into the very idea of seeing and being seen. The brushstrokes are so obvious, you can practically feel Picasso wrestling with the image, trying to capture more than just a likeness. There's something about that off-kilter perspective that reminds me of Francis Bacon, but with a playfulness that's all Picasso. It's like he's saying, "Here’s a classic, but let’s see what happens if we turn it inside out." Art, for Picasso, was clearly about challenging our perceptions, constantly pushing and pulling at what we think we know.