Portrait of Corina Romeu 1902

This is Picasso's *Portrait of Corina Romeu*, painted on canvas with oils, and look at those blues! Deep and moody, like a stormy sea. I can imagine Picasso in his studio, maybe even whistling, applying the paint with gusto, layering strokes upon strokes. There’s this real push-and-pull between the flatness of the surface and the illusion of depth. See how the blues behind her head almost seem to glow? Corina is so present with her face and thoughtful expression, but the work feels unfinished. I feel for Picasso here. Painting a portrait is hard! How do you capture a person’s essence? It must be an intense collaboration between artist and sitter; trying to get beneath the surface and capture what makes them tick. You can see him grappling with the paint. The gorgeous cross hanging from her neck reminds me of Klimt’s paintings. It is all an ongoing conversation, a lineage of painters riffing off each other. We can see Picasso looking back and also moving forward.