Pique I 1959

This is Pique I, a printed image by Pablo Picasso, using an ochre-colored background and a rich, chocolate brown to depict a bullfighting scene. I can almost feel the artist’s hand, the pressure and movement involved in creating this image. You know, carving a block is a real physical challenge, a kind of dance between control and accident. Just imagine Picasso, wrestling with the wood, making deliberate gouges and cuts, and then inking it up, pressing it onto paper. There’s a directness here, a rawness that I find really appealing. Look at that charging bull, the way it's been reduced to its essence, all power and aggression. And the horse rearing up, almost frozen in its panic. It’s like Picasso has captured a moment of pure, distilled drama. It's a primal scream rendered in brown and ochre. I bet this print was born out of countless trials, failures, and happy accidents. It's like he’s inviting us to witness the very act of creation, to see the world through his eyes. It feels like he is talking to other artists through this work.