Portrait of Corina Romeu 1902

Picasso painted this portrait of Corina Romeu with oils on canvas, sometime during his early years. The limited colour palette creates a dreamy, almost melancholic mood. Look at the way the paint is applied, thin and translucent, letting the texture of the canvas peek through. It's not about hiding the process, it's about revealing it, and artmaking as a visible and tactile process. Notice how the blues in the background blend seamlessly into the whites of her shawl, creating this hazy atmosphere, kind of like memories blurring into one another. Then there are these details, like the small earring or the cross pendant, daubs of yellow that feel both deliberate and kind of off-hand, like "here, have a little sunshine." I can't help but think of Vuillard when I look at this. The colour choices and subject matter remind me of him. It’s funny, art is this big conversation across time, with artists borrowing and responding to one another.